Non-profit school Christel House has raised more than R500 000 to feed 250 families until the end of July. Picture: Supplied Non-profit school Christel House has raised more than R500 000 to feed 250 families until the end of July. Picture: Supplied
Cape Town – Donations from around the world have raised enough money for Ottery-based non-profit school Christel House to feed more than 250 families until the end of July.
Christel House serves 1 000 pupils from 20 impoverished communities on the Cape Flats.
At the start of last month, the school started a fund-raising campaign called “Help a family in crisis during lockdown” to provide food for 166 of its most vulnerable families during the lockdown.
The plan was to provide weekly stipends to these households for eight weeks so they could buy basic food supplies and other necessities. The public’s response to the campaign has been positive with individual donors and businesses from South Africa and around the
world managing to raise more than R500000 to increase its support to over 250 families and for an extended period.
However, its aim is to support these families up until the end of September.
One of the biggest supporters of the campaign was Uthando SA, a non-profit organisation and responsible-tourism initiative based in Cape Town.
“So many people in South Africa are feeling hopeless, facing starvation and deeply fearful of the future.
“The silver lining to this horrendous crisis has been the most remarkable sense of community, sharing and love that has unfolded,” Uthando SA director James Fernie said.
A senior social worker and admissions co-ordinator at Christel House, Janine Welby-Solomon, said many parents worked in the informal
sector, and with the lockdown, they had not been able to work and subsequently lost their only means of income.
“We also have larger families who only rely on a single social grant or pension to care for their whole family.
“We know that our families depend on these stipends to survive the lockdown and are so grateful to all donors for their support,” Welby-Solomon said.
The school has also implemented a remote learning curriculum for pupils.
For more information about the campaign, visit: https://www.givengain.com/cc/help-a-family-in-crisis-during-lockdown/donate/#start