Paballo Ya Batho Partnership

Just in case you think we're eating all your cans of food.

Here's proof that we're not.

Random Act of Kindness #1

My first random act of kindness.

A homeless man in Johannesburg CBD mentioned to our good friends at Paballo Ya Batho that his crutches has lost their rubber base and as a result he often slips.

Today he gets a brand new pair of crutches.

A huge thank you goes out to Alex Vorster and Haylee Fletcher for helping with the delivery this afternoon.

Alex on his way to deliver the crutches to Paballo.

Haylee from Paballo was kind enough to deliver the crutches personally.

Random Acts of Kindness

So, starting tomorrow I will be handing out these Random Acts of Kindness cards and small gifts to random people I run in to.

Friends. Strangers. Family. 

You might get a chocolate, a flower, a Lotto ticket, or even just a few coins to pay for your parking at the mall.

The possibilities are endless.

I will also be posting lots of pictures of my adventures on the blog.

Let's see if we can change the world - One random act of kindness at a time.

Cakes for a Great Cause

By Aandre Wessels

Inspired by a similar charity hosted overseas, I decided to try something similar for my 30^th Birthday. I must add, it had two purposes, the first, and most obvious, was to support an awesome charity, Africa Food for Thought, the other, was to promote the awesome cakes of Fox in a Box bakery, run by a good friend, Liane Williams.

The charity was suggested by Nicole Moore, a colleague of mine at the University of Johannesburg, and together we set out to do the cake raffle for the group. Utilizing Let’s Do Something Meaningful, a group I started on Facebook in 2008 which focuses on charitable events and promoting causes to support, and the word of mouth of those interested to help, we collect R2000 for the charity

The winners of the yummy cakes were:

Cheesecakes:

Deana Viljoen

Pam Wilton

C. Shankland

Chocolate Tortes:

Colleen Otto

Henda Kirsten

Stephan Ferreira

Sinnerbons:

Joyce Ferreira

Alida Kuhn

Louise Otto

Rae Israel

Carole Haskins

Thank you to everyone who supported the cause J

Causes we Support

Don't forget to click on the direct links we have posted for more information about the charity organisations we support.

Our projects normally only run for a month because we want to spread the love and try to help as many organisations as possible. But you are most welcome to get involved directly should you find a charity close to your heart. A big part of what we are trying to achieve is creating awareness and encouraging others to do the same.

Also, if you know of a charity that needs help, get in touch. Unfortunately we cannot help everyone but we do what we can.

You will find direct links to our friends on the right.

The (Not So) Final Count

So... Just when we thought we were done, more donations are on the way. (It never ends)

This is so amazing!!

We thought we would give you an update on our progress and what we have achieved to date.

We have received a total of 77 donations (thank you everyone) and this is what we have received (so far):

2241 cans of food!!!!

Also.....

3 x 500g Milo Energy Drink

5 x 400g Soup Mix

1 x 10kg Rice

1 x 5l Juice Concentrate

1 x Pack Biscuits

1 x Tin Coffee

3 x Noodle Packets

1 x Bundled Pack of 5 Packs of Noodles

1 x Bag Iwisa

10 x 2kg Bags of Tastic Rice

1 x Bag Pasta

2 x Packets Soup

4 x Boxes Cup a Soup

1 x Muffin Mix

4 x Boxes of Stock

(Unfortunately we could not fit all the donations in to one picture - but this is SOME of what we have.)

Paballo Ya Batho - You CAN do it.

Paballo Ya Batho (caring for the people) is an organisation in the Joburg CBD that strives to provide care and assistance to the homeless of the Joburg CBD.

They aim to strengthen the unity of people who are homeless and destitute and to lobby for their basic human rights. They work in partnership with the Central Methodist Mission and the people concerned. It started out as a project primarily looking at providing a meal but now has evolved to do so much more for them as people: providing medical care, providing blankets and clothing, offering spiritual care and counselling. Furthermore, they assist in getting people passports and IDs and helping them return home.

We just thought that was so powerful, so much more than just satisfying a need, they are working on really helping the person and not just the body. So often we see these people on the road but do we really see them? Their hopes and dreams, wants and dislikes, their happiness and sadness. What happened to their loved ones? They are often the victims of hate crimes and all they are trying to do is just survive. So can our one good deed make a difference? Yes, we really believe it can.

By us assisting this organisation, we can help in one small way that could really be the turning point for someone. We can’t be sure that the meal our cans of food contributed to would be the turning point for someone to get back on their feet but it could be that ray of hope, someone really needed before giving up on life.

OUR GOAL: To donate 1,000 cans of food to Paballo Ya Batho in the month of July 2014.

I personally had a few reservations and was worried that this was not doable. But I was wrong.

Within a week we reached our target and we kept going. Eventually reaching the 1,500 and then 2,000 mark.

This week we will collect the final donations (and do a final count) before the big delivery on Friday 1 August 2014.

We promise to post more pictures soon!!!

The Baby Box Project - Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital

The Baby Box Project aims to provide some hope to new mothers, by giving them a shoe box filled with items which will help them care for their new baby. The high incidence of abandonment of new born babies in Gauteng is evidence of how many mothers feel totally overwhelmed and helpless themselves. This project works on basis that every mother deserves the dignity of being able to take home their baby with some items to care for them.

The organisation operates through the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital (Coronation Hospital) where approximately 900 babies are born per month. The hospital staff and social workers help to identify the poorest and most destitute mothers who would benefit from such a donation. This organisation is also involved with Impact Africa who run a baby rescue facility in Diepsloot.

So what is required?

·         Cover/decorate a medium-sized shoe box and include the following contents:

·         1 blanket

·         1 babygro (0-3 months)

·         1 seasonal outfit or another babygro

·         2 vests

·         Socks

·         Hat

·         1 facecloth

·         1 roll cottonwool

·         1 tub Vaseline

·         1 baby soap

·         1 packet thick sanitary pads for the mother

·         1 pack nappies (about 20)

Jackie and her friends showed extreme dedication and were able to donate boxes and boxes of goodies to this amazing project!!

This is another great example of the remarkable difference a group of people can make if they have dedication, perseverance, selflessness and kind harts to back it up and get the job done.

A big thank you goes out to each and every one who made this project so successful.

Grace Family Church - April Shoes!!!!

In April 2014 we teamed up with the Grace Family Church to support their Soles for Jesus project.

PROJECT SIZE:

• 12 Pre-primary Schools (Public & Privately owned).

• 100 Supervisory Staff of the Pre-primary Schools.

• 70 Classes.

• 1,500 toddlers and children.

OUR GOAL: To collect and distribute as many pairs of kiddies shoes for the 1,500 Pre-school toddlers and children aged one to six.

After a month of dedicated hard work and generous donations we were able to contribute over 200 pairs of shoes to this amazing project.

A huge thank you to each and every one who supported this great cause!!