Lynne
spent several years of her (long and varied!) career working for two charities
in London, so she has a special place in her heart for NGOs that make as much
difference as StreetSmart. You may notice, when you dine out at good
restaurants, that you have the opportunity to add R5 to your bill which goes to
StreetSmart to support homeless children. They have been very successful indeed
this year and your generosity has contributed R1 120 000 to this worthy cause.
We were invited to the annual presentation of this money to the various NGO's
they supportThe event was held at the Silesian
Institute in Somerset Road, Cape Town and was well attended
The event was held at the
Silesian Institute in Somerset Road, Cape Town and was well attended
MD of StreetSmart Melanie Burke
told us an important fact; every penny you donate via the restaurants goes
direct to the recipients. The organisation and its sponsors raise all the money
needed for administration, salaries and infrastructure separately. This year
the total donated by the R5 addition in restaurants raised was R1 120 000.
They fund 31 programmes which individual aim to prevent, to cure, to educate
and to get the children back into society
These are the certificates
which go to the top restaurants for their contributions
The childrens’ choir sang
us two songs, both à capella (unaccompanied by music or instruments). They do
have the member who beats time on a djembe drum. They sang ‘Judgement Day’ and a
moving song called ‘I know who I am’. And they do have potential. However, we
feel they so need some musical support and hope one of our readers will be
tempted to volunteer to assist. A pianist, a guitarist or a band would give
them a much better range of notes and rhythm. You can see how some of them love
to sing, aided by their choir master. They so need some joy and fun in their
lives as they rediscover their place in society
Margi Biggs, who started
StreetSmart 12½ years ago, did the draw of lucky numbers; a number
of prizes had been donated. She told us how the organisation was growing. First
they get a representative in a town, others join and then they form a group. Some
accommodation partners are coming on board, like the Cape Town Backpackers and
François Hayden with his "Farm for Real"
Then it was time to hand over
the cheques to the Agencies working with the street children. If you are
interested in what they do, we have put in the links to their organisations.
R90 000 to Cape Town Multi Service Centre.
Sue Birch, a Trustee, presents a cheque for R90 000 to Home from Home
Caroline Bagley, owner of Savoy
Cabbage restaurant and a Partner, presented R90 000 to Learn to Live
R90 000 went to T.L.C. Children's Home
and another Cheque of R90 000
went to School
of Hope Centre for Education Innovations
Caroline Bagley, who is a
partner, told us a moving story of a donation from one of her regular customers
who wishes to remain anonymous. He was celebrating with a large group of
friends at Savoy Cabbage as they were all off to Antarctica and has made very
big donations before. This time his donation was for a staggering R40 000!
"It is the right thing to do", he said and everyone cheered. She said
it is so great to collect these donations and then see how they are used
We then heard from this brave
young lady who has come from the School of Hope. She shared her story of what
it has done for her. At 13 she was on the street and addicted to Tic (crystal
meth) and uncontrolled. StreetSmart has provided her with schooling,
counselling, given her many chances and she is doing her matric again, even
though returning to school was very difficult for her. "Education" she
says, "is my stepping stone"
Chef Richard Chamberlain of Out
of this Planet Caterers donates his and his staff’s time and the food to
StreetSmart events
The event's sponsors
Certificates were presented to
some of his staff for their individual contributions
Angelo Casu who runs Grand
Dedale Hotel in Wellington with his wife Tina, took part in this year's Cape
Epic cycle race and raised R35 353 for StreetSmart. He has also donated his
racing sweater to them. He will be doing the same next year in the 2018 Cape
Epic. And what an epic that cycle race is! He has called on you to help sponsor
him and his cycling partner Johan so that he can raise even more money for them
this year. You can find him on Facebook or Linked In
Here presenting his donation to
MD Melanie Burke
Time for some wine
And some canapés - sundried
tomatoes on goat's cheese
Salmon mousse topped with
capers
Tuna and salmon ceviché topped
with sesame and soy mayonnaise
Tiny filo tarts with olives and
cream cheese
And outside, mini gardens
developed by Francois
Hayden; how to produce sustainable produce and feed people in a small space
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
