THESE PAGES GIVE READERS THE CHANCE TO HELP OTHERS, WHETHER IT’S VEGETABLES FOR A SOUP KITCHEN OR TOYS FOR A NEEDY CRÈCHE
FOUR years and 14 000 people later YOU readers’ are still reaching out to fellow citizens in need. In April 2006 we asked you to help for the first time and since then our Ubuntu project has been able to bring generous donors and deserving recipients together every month.
Johan, a bright street kid in Strand, is one of them. Thanks to Ubuntu he has new spectacles and for the first time he can read what’s written on the blackboard in class.
We won’t forget the day Nomawethu Mnweba of Samora Machel informal settlement in Cape Town made the first beaded black ribbons as part of our Unite Against Crime campaign. This gave her the courage to start a business with unemployed women in her community. She also entered the Metropolitan Life Dream com-petition by writing about her dream of having a workspace for her team – and won.
Then there’s Doreen Venter of Gansbaai who collects dolls from rubbish dumps and restores them. More than 700 of her “children” have been distributed to toddlers countrywide.
Readers’ generosity has inspired us to step up our efforts to mobilise support for needy people. In future Ubuntu will showcase several opportunities each week for you to reach out and we’ll continue to give feedback about charitable deeds.
We’ll also continue making up care packs for women and children who have become victims of crime. The packs contain basic toiletries such as soap, tissues and facecloths as well as underwear and soft toys. Your help is always welcome.
Other good news is that Ubuntu is going digital, which means we will be able to tell you faster about cases of people in need. Go to www.you.com and click on the Ubuntu link or visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/youmagazinesa.
WHO WE’VE HELPED RECENTLY
A big thank you to all readers who have reached out and helped us with these donations. Thanks also to Wilmain Heilbron of our courier service On the Dot, without whom
we couldn’t get the donations delivered. She responds to requests without hesitation.
How we’ve made a difference:
- Myra Yslie of Parow West, Cape Town, remains in touch with the Pikkewyntjie playgroup in Lamberts Bay. Carol Burger thanks her for the donation and for always thinking of her. Charity work can be lonely at times, she says.
- Our article headlined Feed the Babies moved Janene Nates of Woolworths in Cape Town to immediately donate a box filled with baby clothes.
- Our June article prompted Betty Howard of Umzumbe to sponsor a baby (Donations and thank you’s, 24 June).
- Stacy and Jess Wolpert once again donated Penguin books, to Eureka Primary in Elsies River. The school urgently needs a therapist for learners with difficulties.
- Trimcor Agencies in Gauteng donated fabric and needlework accessories to Make a Difference Knitters in Edenvale where 100 women knit for the needy.
- Mike Vermeulen of Cape Town collected blankets for Tshofelo Children’s Home at Daniëlskuil in the Northern Cape.
- Samantha Coetzee of Newsclip in Johannesburg wanted a suitable recipient for a fridge. We suggested FDSA which runs soup kitchens on the West Coast. Thanks, Sam!
- Jaco Jacobs heads a community initiative on Graymead Farm at Elgin where they’ve built a library for farm workers. Elna van der Merwe, the book editor of YOU’s sister magazine Huisgenoot, collected a box of wonderful books for them. They need more.
- Doreen Venter collects and restores discarded dolls for children. Doreen, thanks for your commitment – the kids of Bana Ba Kgosi in Winterveld, Pretoria, are ecstatic about their new toys.
- ICSA donated 40 rolls of fabric to Isabel Taylor of the Hou Moed Bejaardes Club in Elands Bay and Joan Henderson of Port Elizabeth. Joan makes aprons and other articles with women in needy communities. She’s also involved with Jesus Is Lord Ministries. They need mealie meal for their feeding scheme.
THIS WEEK WE’RE HELPING . . .
1 NONCEDO is a daycare centre 25 km from Matatiele, Eastern Cape, where Patience Gingca has created a place of safety for more than 100 children who have been affected by HIV/Aids. The kids are aged between three and 16 and Patience looks after them while their parents are at work. King Edward High School in Matatiele is actively involved in Noncedo and has asked Ubuntu to help.
UBUNTU IS AIMING FOR
- A water tank (5 000-litre capacity)
- Vegetable seeds for their garden
- A sand pit and toys to be used outside
2 CHARLOTTE JANSE VAN RENSBURG is 14 and dreams of a career in acting. She lives in Pretoria North and is home-schooled. Her father is unemployed and they can’t afford drama classes. Can anyone make her dream
come true?
UBUNTU IS AIMING FOR
- Someone who can help Charlotte with basic drama and singing lessons
- A sponsor for regular drama classes near her home
- An opportunity to visit the set of a soapie
3 WILLEM PRETORIUS AND MIDDELVELD HOSTELS at AJC Jooste Primary in Petrusburg, Free State, are having
a tough time, despite the education department’s support. The learners are responsible for their own personal items. Some don’t have shoes to wear in the freezing winter weather and for many the hostels are their only home. The hostels also need basic household equipment.
UBUNTU IS AIMING FOR
- School clothes for Grades 1 to 11 (grey pants, white/grey shirts, grey socks, school shoes)
- 80 mattresses
- Kettles for both hostels and bed linen for 170 beds
IF YOU NEED HELP
Individuals or groups are welcome to approach Ubuntu for assistance. We don’t donate money. To ensure help goes where it’s needed most, everyone who applies must fill in a form, available HERE. Or contact us by letter, fax or e-mail (see Contact Details) to obtain a form. We want to help as many people as possible but we won’t necessarily be able to comply with all requests.
IF YOU WANT TO HELP
We have a fundraising account for contributions. The details are:
Bank: Absa (current account)
Account name: Media24 Ltd
Special name: YOU/Huisgenoot Ubuntu project
Account number: 40 6501 0715
Clearly state for which person or institution the money is intended. When there’s enough in the account for a specific project – as indicated by our readers – YOU will make the necessary purchases.
Contact details
Send all forms and letters – whether you’re asking for help or offering it – to YOU Ubuntu, PO Box 8362, Roggebaai 8012 or fax them (clearly marked For attention: Ubuntu) to 021-406-3316. You can also e-mail ubuntu@media24.com. These contact details apply if you wish to donate items as well. In some cases On the Dot will assist with delivery.