TZANEEN: Recce tales on the sommelier’s grapevine
The community of Tzaneen reached deep into their pockets to bid on the items, with a total of R34, 000 being raised.
Round Table Tzaneen 96 in collaboration with Round Table Paarl 44 held a wine auction on Saturday evening at Hotel@Tzaneen in order to raise funds for God’s Haven Care Centre and for Heart Foundation NPO who are building a school in the Cape.
A total of 26 wine lots were auctioned off and the community of Tzaneen reached deep into their pockets to bid on the items, with a total of R34, 000 being raised.
Seventy percent of the profits made during the evening will go to God’s Haven whilst 30% will go to Heart Foundation NPO.
The guest speaker for the evening was a veteran from the Angola war, Wynand du Toit. Du Toit captivated the auction guests with his story of being captured during the Angola war. He spent two and a half years in solitary confinement after his two comrades, fellow South African commandoes, were shot during a raid on the Cabinda oil refinery on May 21, 1985.
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Du Toit spoke of the struggles he faced but also commented that there were small things that gave him hope.
After noticing a small creeper outside of his cell that was struggling to grow, he fashioned a string out of the threads of his towel and used a battery tied to the thread to lasso the creeper. The thread gave the creeper something to cling on to and as he watched it grow, the creeper became symbolic for Du Toit’s determination to also keep holding on and grow, despite the odds.
His wartime tales were nothing short of an inspiration for those in attendance.
Henk Mienie, the Secretary of God’s Haven told the LETABA HERALD, “It was good to be able to promote God’s Haven and raise general awareness as the care centre largely relies on public contributions.”
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Mienie advised that the daily care for each elderly resident of God’s Haven comes to a monthly figure of R14, 500, with the families of the elderly contributing R7000 per month. The R7, 500 deficit is covered by contributions from locals as well as overseas donators.
Caring for a maximum of 23 senior citizens at any time, the bills from the care centre can mount up quickly and so events such as those held on Saturday go a long way to securing the sustainability of the centre.
Leon de Lange from Round Table Tzaneen 96, said: “The evening went well. We set the platform to grow the event in the future and make it an annual event.”
Round Table Tzaneen 96 would like to extend their thanks and gratitude to those that made the evening possible: Lannie Motors, Lombard Agri, Hotel@Tzaneen, Sand River Crop Protection, K&M Bolt and Radio Centre.
