Sasol gives back to Jacksons Drift children

A Christmas party was held for the children at Jacksons Drift informal settlement in Eikenhof courtesy of the NPO Making a Difference SA.

December 11, 2017

SHERNOVIA REDDY 2 minutes read

MAGIC: The magician with some of the children at the camp.

OVER 500 children were in attendance at a Christmas party that was held for them on November 25, courtesy of Making a Difference SA non-profit organisation (NPO) and Rene Parker, who we all know heads charity drives in the south.

HELP OTHERS: Children waited in the tent for their food.

Each volunteer made the Making a Difference SA party a success despite the downpour of rain on the day. Each child was entertained by a Christmas dance show and a magic show. After the two shows, the two groups of children were given goodie backpacks together with a McDonald’s meal.

Making a Difference SA is not a formalised NPO yet, but will be registered early next year.

“We are a collective of individuals who care about our community and the most vulnerable in our society. The people involved in contributing to our various charity initiatives include my family, friends and colleagues from Sasol who make up about half of the contributions we raise,” said Chan Naidoo, co-ordinator of the party.

Making a Difference SA began about eight years ago and is a team of ordinary people who have come together to make a difference. Thus far the team has impacted communities across Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KZN. They target children and other vulnerable people, but their main focus is children.

“A key focus is to in some way improve the learning experience and to keep our children at school so that they can be empowered through education and eventually be taken out of the cycle of poverty. There is full transparency and accountability. Our books are open for inspection. We use Facebook extensively to show how much we raise and who benefits from our work,” said Naidoo.

The Making a Difference SA team provided close to 500 children with McDonald’s meals, a ball, a bottle of bubbles, coloured pencils, a colouring book, a story book, a slinky and a Rubik’s cube among various other fun and educational items, which were included in the goodie backpacks mentioned above.

“Our aim is to provide both fun and educational items for the kids to keep them occupied over the holidays. The children at Jacksons Drift were targeted as the need was so dire in this area. We previously provided shoes and Christmas goodies to the children of this community and continue to be touched by their needs and their gratitude,” Naidoo concluded.

Naidoo and his team were able to erect a marque at the camp for the party and worked with an amazing team to bring the joy of Christmas to the children at Jacksons Drift and thus achieved their objective. Visit their Facebook page: Making a Difference SA (https://www.facebook.com/Making-A-Difference-SA-526130490922376/)

“We wish to express our gratitude to Rene Parker and her team for facilitating the arrangements to get the children to the grounds to accept deliveries,” said Naidoo.

HELPING: Rene Parker helps hand out bags and food at the party.

Rene Parker will be giving an outfit to each child at the camp on Saturday, December 16 and is looking for as many donations as possible. You are urged to assist in any small way you can. Please read the article below and see what the camp needs: Selflessness, compassion and humility personified in Rene Parker