JULY 2013 New happenings General news Project news Charity shop news Enterprise development news news Vol 1 no 3 Much time has passed and many miracles have occurred since our last Feed A Child Newsletter in April. Things are happening at such tremendous speed that we barely have time to touch the ground each day, but this just means we have so much more to report to you, and we do so with joy! Bennie fund Donor hall of fame New happenings A Feed A Child first was held in May. We had a very enjoyable Golf day which was made all the more special by motivational speaker, Dr David Molapo and his H.O.P.E. message, which was a unequivocal hit Middelburg City Mayor, Michael Masina and with the audience. Muso Dr David Molapo. Molapo, Dr David’s son, celebrated his birthday the previous day. He chose to join his dad at the golf course in Middelburg and fund-raise for Feed A Child instead of receiving gifts. According to Dr David, to not receive gifts but instead serve in some way is a family tradition of the Molapos, an example of selflessness and generosity that profoundly touched the hearts of the Feed A Child team. In addition, the Middelburg City Mayor, Michael Masina, graced the event with his presence, and all participants left feeling inspired and uplifted. We thank them from our hearts! With the same purpose, but different in style, a sumptuous dinner in aid of Feed A Child projects will be hosted at the Milkplum Café, in the Pretoria Botanical Gardens on August 1. At R200 per person for dinner, and other perks, it promises to be a wonderfully relaxing and enjoyable evening. Call us to book ahead. Bring your friends! Groundbreaking new operation Got game’s pop-up digital learning centres. We are honoured to partner with Arthur Anderson and the ‘Got Game’ initiative, an innovative operation that entails popup digital learning centres at disadvantaged communities. It uses technology to create a stimulating and state-of-the-art learning environment, whilst yielding all the benefits of topnotch security and infrastructure. Feed A Child is most excited about this newly-formed partnership, and expresses a heartfelt welcome to Arthur and his team! Another honour we are grateful for, and pleased to mention, is the invitation by the African Development Bank to join a congress on the elimination of fraud in ground-level projects. Feed A Child wants to thank them for this opportunity to be part of the national launch of these important discussions, and we look forward to the event. We are so grateful and inspired every time we announce an increase of staff members to the Feed A Child team. This time our joyful welcome is to newcomers Connie Kruger and Charl du Toit – we are excited to have you on board and may you be blessed beyond your wildest expectations with us! Charl du Toit Connie Kruger Charity shop news General news Our Facebook friends were spoilt with the most beautiful photos (by professional photographer Eben Liebenberg) of a spectacular outreach by spectacular people. The cast of the hugely successful Jesus Blyspel joined the Feed A Child team for a day among Krugersdorp’s disadvantaged children, and the actors’ general reaction was one of awe – these outreaches are often life changing. We thank the Feed A Child team & Jesus Blyspel cast with the actors for their time and children during the Krugersdorp-outreach. generous giving of themselves that day. Visit (and ‘Like’) our Facebook page for the whole stunning story in pictures. A huge thank you goes to Aerobridge, who is sponsoring clothes on a regular basis. They help Feed A Child to help others, and make the lives of so many people in our projects much easier. We also extend a heart-felt (and amazed!) thank you to Jeanette and Maritha - two nutcases who completed the grueling Great Wall of China Marathon this year, and represented Feed A Child at the event. Jeanette & Maritha Another school that astonished us with their generosity and enthusiasm is Hoërskool Lydenburg – thank you so much for your support of Lydenburg Feed A Child’s Charity Shop Jumble Drive! Take note, readers in the area, the shop is Fltr: Jeanette Kruger-Hibbens, Hannelie Paulik, now a veritable treasury of Nikita Paulik and headmaster Johan Loots. vintage everything. Thank you also, Nikita Paulik, who headed this project for us. Middelburg is now also boasting its own Feed A Child Charity shop, which was opened in June. We welcome Cathy van der Merwe as our shop manager and wish her many blessings. Middelburg Charity Shop manager, Cathy vd Merwe. Thank you very much to Innovative Glass, for sponsoring a trophy towards the Best Performing Charity Shop Ansie in Klerksdorp, first winner! each month. The first winner to take it home is our Klerksdorp Charity shop - well done, Ansie!! Enterprise development news Project news I Can Care project at Hoërskool Eldoraigne. Sometimes one plans a project, feels excited about and expects much from it, and yet it still manages to blow one’s socks off, so to speak. The pupils at Hoërskool Eldoraigne have exceeded our expectations in such a way, not only in terms of the 850 full I Can Care donation tins, but also for their enthusiasm and participatory spirit regarding the project. We want to thank them for making a difference in the lives of so many under-privileged children. And a big thank you to all the schools participating in this project - we invite (and challenge) you to break this fantastic record! Our vegetable tunnel projects keep us busy and very positive – see the beautiful cabbage and spinach in the Wepener and Hobhouse tunnels! Congratulations to Nico and his team for opening a butchery in Tembisa as another Feed A Child Enterprise Development. Best wishes and well done! Vegetable tunnels, Wepener & Hobhouse. The Feed A Child butchery in Tembisa. Bennie fund There is now a lot more hope for Bennie Botha, whom we’ve mentioned in every newsletter so far. In an act of great generosity, Shanduka has recently pledged R10 000 towards the cornea-replacement operation that Bennie needs to have his sight restored. Thank you, Shanduka, this feels like such a miracle, we are so grateful! While the operation is very expensive (corneas alone cost approximately R35 000), we are hopeful and optimistic that Shanduka’s example will inspire other donors – this operation will make a world of difference to Bennie who is not only blind, but autistic and deaf as well. Another miracle we can’t wait to report about is the donation towards a little boy’s tendon-lengthening treatment for one foot and hand, to improve his movement. We were preparing to ask for donations in this newsletter, but grace moved ahead of us and a medical device has been sponsored, which, according to an orthopaedic doctor, will suffice for treatment of Detroit’s limbs. Thank you so much! Detroit, from Stilfontein. C o n tact U s Alza Rautenbach +27 (0) 82 322 6815 [email protected] Arnau Van Achterbergh +27 (0) 76 966 2309 [email protected] Judy Van Deventer +27 (0) 82 802 4803 [email protected] E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.feedachild.co.za www.facebook.com/Feedachild1 We want to sincerely thank the following people for their assistance in putting the Feed A Child Newsletters together: Christa Davel (writer), Annemie Visser (graphic designer) & Kurt Donald (copy editor). James 1: 27 “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” Donor hall of fame Our heartfelt and warmest thank you to the following generous donors and sponsors: McCarthy Toyota Exxaro Momentum Cell Find Optimum Coal Mine Eurobridge Calculus Auditors Columbus Kanhym Biltong Mini Explorers PJ Tech Chartech Zizwe – Lydenburg Middelburg Cold Storage Twizza La Rochelle Guest House Thabo Printing Oaks Monica van der Merwe Innovative Glass Belgium Bakery Wimpy Middelburg Drive Control Central Melk Golf in a Box Milkplum Café Fire Cherry Creative Branding Photo Elements Groenkloof Melkery Shemasa trading as OHS Academy CC UMFA MP Business Trust 3RD Degree Project Engineering Petro Pals cc Panacea Mobile (Pty) Ltd Zippy Office Furniture Applied Lifestyle Sciences Krukon Elektries Hutech International Group Epsilon Engineering Loeriebos Bed & Breakfast Café Lumiere Little Swift Investment Oasis Water, Middelburg