This Mandela Day, JAM mobilised its formidable volunteer force to transform rundown children’s learning centres into bright and cheerful havens.
The wide-eyed awe, bubbling laughter, and shrieks of delight that came from the children at the handover ceremonies drew emotional tears from the volunteers who made it all happen.
“We see a lot of that,” smiled JAM Managing Director, David Brown.
“Makeovers are an integral part of our on-going hunger relief programmes, and the handover ceremonies, when the children see their new school for the first time, are always particularly emotional. We throw a party, the children laugh, the grown-ups cry. We’ve even seen big, burly men so deeply humbled and moved, they break down into sobs.”
It was Nelson Mandela himself who said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”.
In order to break the cycle of poverty and to ensure that children have a solid foundation in life, they need a safe and stimulating learning environment. And this is where the school makeovers come in.
Sometimes all they need is a lick of paint. Sometimes they’re no more than corrugated iron shacks – draughty, dingy, and dangerous. Sometimes there is no running water. Sometimes there’s no electricity. With the help of its sponsors and volunteers, JAM changes all that.
This year, as part of its Mandela Day activities and with the support of its sponsors Spur, Marsh, and Google, JAM’s volunteers painted walls in a splash of vibrant colours, installed soft, beautiful artificial grass, gave out toys, and threw parties at several early childhood development centres in Diepsloot and Nooitgedacht.
In the wake of yet another big-hearted Mandela Day, David confided that it still astounds him how people are so ready to help others. “It’s such a gift to see how deeply a day like Mandela Day can transform people – those who receive the help, and those who reach out and give it. It truly shows people why every day should be like this.”
That’s why JAM has found a way to feed a child a day for just R1.
“With your support, with your monthly pledge of just R30, we can make every day a Mandela Day,” David said. “We can keep giving children the nutrition they need to be able to play and learn, to dream dreams and to have hope, so that one day, they too can take their rightful place and flourish as members of society.”
Visit https://jam-international.org/ and make every day a Mandela Day.
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