A huge thank you to both Karin Spykerman and Marline Jonker. Their donations found a home. Annah Ndlovu and her husband, Shepherd, from Madzibandlela Orphanage came to town today to pick up some stuff that they desperately need to take care of the children at their orphanage. Annah, not only, runs a daycare and community centre from her home, she also takes care of orphans, mostly abandoned babies. Marline donated biscuits for the children in January, but I held onto it until more donations could be picked up, making a trip from Soshanguve worth while. Karin contacted me earlier this week and told me that she has a mattress, hotplate, television set and portable radio that she wants to donate. I knew that Annah has trouble with beds...some of her little ones sleep 3 to a single bed and, because she prepares food for the kids at the creche AND some drop-ins from the community,the one stove they have is simply not good enough. The little classroom has no amenities, so I suspect the radio and television will be a welcome addition to their educational tools.
REMEMBER....Annah also asked for school uniforms. She told me today that she will prefer financial donations, as the uniforms must be bought from a supplier in Soshanguve. It is specific clothing with the school badge printed on it....not just any colour will do. So, if you can help them (it is just for four children - 2 boys and 2 girls), please follow the link below to IHF's account details or contact me...I'll gladly collect cash/cheques. You can also contact Annah directly at cell number: +27834238887.
Click here for our account details.
(EFT's = MadziUniforms; Cheques made out to 'The Ilze Halliday Foundation' and
As you'll remember I requested toys for the month of February in an earlier post. Over the week-end, however, I've received an urgent request from one of my facilities...Odinburg Community Centre in Mabopane, North of Pretoria. They need educational toys for their little ones ASAP. As you can see in the gallery pic's above, the classrooms are empty of any suitable, educational items. The kids must make do with what little they have and the parents are not able to finance any purchases as well...they can barely afford to pay the school fees of R 50-00 per child. Many of the children are, in fact, attending the school for free. The head mistress, Busisiwe Ramathoka, told me that, to them, it is more important to lay a foundation of education than to receive any money for it....the children MUST be prepared for their future. The question, however, arises, what type of 'proper' education can be provided to these little guys if no funding is received for educational tools? These teachers and support staff provide meals, not only to the children, but to the entire community; they have soccer and netball teams and they make their own uniforms for these teams. They also provide after-school care for the children that attend primary and high schools in the area. All that I can do at this stage is ASK for some type of support....if you can provide funds, please deposit into the account with the description 'OdinToys' and your surname. (Click here for account details) If you wish to contribute toys....second-hand is fine, please contact me so that arrangements can be made for pick up/drop-off/courier. Kindly enter 'OdinToys' in the heading of your e-mail/SMS.I thank you.
http://theilzehallidayfoundation.weebly.com/1/post/2014/02/young-mother-looking-for-a-job.html
A young, 29 year old, lady from Eersterust is looking for a job. She is extremely trustworthy and I can highly recommend her. She is desperate and will do any kind of work at this stage as she has a family to take care of and has been without a steady income for some time.Please contact me if you need any more information.Thank you.
http://theilzehallidayfoundation.weebly.com/1/post/2014/02/biscuits-found-a-home.html
The biscuits mentioned in an earlier post found a home. I received a request from Madzibandlela Orphanage Home to donate said biscuits to them. Since Annah Ndlovu and her team take such good care of the orphans living at the home, I thought it may also be a fine idea to, at this time, ask for some clothing for the children. The little ones, boys AND girls, range in ages 2 to 10 years. If you are cleaning out your kids' cupboards, please contact me before you throw anything out (toys, books and educational supplies will also be welcome). Annah doesn't only take care of the children as a surrogate parent, she also manages their education and runs a small pre-school.Her classroom is empty of any educational tools and things like a black or whiteboard, crayons, paper, playdough and other stationery, story books and educational toys are non-existent. If you can therefore help in any way, please do not hesitate to give me a call/send an e-mail.
http://theilzehallidayfoundation.weebly.com/1/post/2014/02/biscuits-received-from-marline-jonker.html
Thank you my dear friend, Marline Jonker, for donating this bucket of biscuits to one of my facilities. I don't know where it should go yet, but be sure that it will find it's way to a place where the little children will be very happy to receive it.
Yesterday I placed a post about giving 'small things' instead of making huge donations....this is one of those, people. These biscuits will be enjoyed by children at a facility where things like sweets, cookies and cold drinks are a real treat. Remember, some of my facilities have no electricity or running water and they source food from their community to feed the masses of children they help daily. When you look at them; how they struggle to survive (yet, they never give up....to them educating the little ones, is far more important than serving luxury meals) one cannot but believe that there is a God....a God that looks kindly upon those who open their hearts and treat others with kindness and generosity, despite the impoverished circumstances they, so very often, find themselves in.
So, once again, thank you Marline.....the taste of your donation will linger on the tongues of the children for a very long time. With this gesture you created a special moment for them....who knows, perhaps it may become the one moment that changes lives forever. Perhaps nibbling a sweet biscuit will bring hope and encourage them to stand up and fight for their right to live a proper, decent life, so that they can, someday, return the favour or perhaps pay it forward.
http://theilzehallidayfoundation.weebly.com/1/post/2014/02/february-is-toy-month.html
Toys are the main focus of this month's donations request. Many toy stores have post-Christmas sales....some toys marked down to less than 70% of the Christmas price (have a look at Reggie's and ToysRUs...I'm NOT lying...it really is that cheap!) If you have the time, pay these stores a visit and have a look for yourself. Second hand toys will also be welcome, so if you are spring cleaning your kids' toy chests, please contact me before you throw anything away. Some toys can be salvaged, you know. Once again I will keep the toys in my office until I've found suitable homes for it (you will be kept well informed if and when I hand it over to a facility). If I don't find homes for it now, it will be kept safe until September/October for the annual Santa Shoebox drive. Whatever may happen, your donation will eventually find its way into the hands of a child or children who will appreciate it very much.You will remember that last month I asked for stationery. I received just one such donation from the lovely Tanya Pegram of Faerie Glen, Pretoria (once again I thank you, dear Tanya). I still require donations in this regard, so keep it in mind and keep the pens, pencils, crayons, rulers erasers, etc coming.Many people have this idea that, if they donate something, it has to be a HUGE, notable donation. Surprise, ALL DONATIONS ARE NOTABLE AND WORTHY and, perhaps more important, NEEDED...ALWAYS! I've been thinking about this and realised that if every person on my Facebook Friend's list and each follower on Twitter (about 450 people in all) give me one item every month of the year I'll be able to fill450 shoeboxes with all the required items for Santa Shoebox. I will therefore be able to help 450 children (2 medium sized facilities). Furthermore, if each one of those people donate just R1-00 towards my cause every month, I'll be able to buy 9, 7.5kg bags of potatoes and 9 bags of maize meal to feed children at 9 different facilities...do you see what I'm getting at? Every little bit counts and will make some kind of difference in someone's life. Think about that.You may also think that giving to big organizations means more than helping my little, insignificant foundation....you may be right. Those organizations are very powerful, some of them have been doing this work for a very long time....they are experienced, have many staff members working towards all their different goals and have celebrities speaking for them and their influence reaches far and wide to every corner of the world. This is something I don't have...I don't even know any celebrities and I stand alone in this foundation...I don't have a single volunteer helping me...but then I think that charity starts at home. We should take care of the people around us, the people we see on our own streets in our own neighbourhoods...and those of us that have the means, also owns the key to power....power to make a difference in another life. It doesn't matter how small our act of kindness seem....the point is, you've made the decision to BE kind. That does count for something.So, if you should consider donating this month; toys, educational supplies, whatever...do not hesitate to contact me immediately.*** Click here for contact details.*** Click here for account details.Have any comments? Click here.I thank you.
