Christel House school in Ottery is appealing to residents to help Cape Flats families in crisis.
The non-profit school is closed for the national lockdown but staff are still hard at work trying to raise funds for the school’s most at-risk families and they need your help.
The school set up an eWallet system for these families where they will receive a small stipend every week for the next eight weeks to purchase basic food supplies for their families and to assist with academic support for students during this crisis.
Just R250 can support one family for two weeks, R500 will help the family for one month and R1 000 will support the family for two months.
All of the students who attend Christel House come from severely impoverished homes, but the families who have been selected for the stipend are particularly destitute – many only receiving a single social grant to meet all of their basic needs.
Many of the households struggle with food scarcity, chronic illnesses, recent traumatic events such as fires or the passing of a breadwinner and some of the households are headed by grandparents.
Yvonne Perries, the mother of two Christel House students and who lives in an informal settlement, has a household of 11 people who share bathroom facilities with three to four other families.
“The lockdown has been tough for us and some of the people in my community. I was worried that we wouldn’t have anything to eat over the Easter weekend but then we received the great news from the school. We are so grateful, and I would like to thank Christel House SA and each of the donors involved,” said Ms Perries.
Adri Marais, Christel House South Africa chief executive officer, thanked those who already donated.
“So many people came forward to support, many contributing from their personal, already stretched pockets. With all the help, we’ve almost reached our target for this campaign. We have, however, received requests from more families, asking for our support. Many parents who worked in daily paid jobs before the lockdown are now not earning anymore and are struggling to provide their families with the essentials.
“We urge the public to keep donating to charitable organisations like ours so that we can overcome this difficult and uncertain period together,” she said.
To donate to Christel House SA and support families in need, visit the Christel House Givengain page on: https://www.givengain.com/cc/help-a-family-in-crisis-during-lockdown/donate/#start
All South African donors will receive Section 18A tax certificates and businesses can also earn BEE points for their contributions.