NPO donates stationery to children of Khabazela Village

LOCAL non-profit organisation (NPO), The Seed Fund, recently donated various items of stationery to 27 children of Khabazela Village near Avoca Hills.

Arianne Hayes-Hill, who started the NPO as a way to help uplift the community of the Malacca Road Informal Settlement, said she was moved by an appeal for help from one of the community leaders, Dumile Magaqa, who runs the soup kitchen in the area.

“I saw the appeal from Dumile on Facebook, and there were 27 children, who sadly couldn’t afford any stationary ahead of their first day of school this week. We felt we needed to do something and the most important thing is that these children go to school with dignity. There’s nothing worse than going to school and not having what you need.

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“Our NPO has been blessed with the support of the community, and we bought essentials for all of the children. Education is something close to my heart and to the volunteers at The Seed Fund, and we felt we could give back in a meaningful way. We also have a wonderful relationship here with the community and the soup kitchen. It’s heartwarming seeing the children reacting so happily ahead of the first day of school this week. There is more to come, but to make this kind of impact is a win,” she explained.

Each child was given a pen, a pencil, a ream of paper, an eraser, a ruler, a pair of scissors, glue, colouring pencils and colouring pens.

For Dumile, the appeal was bittersweet in that many of the children come from less fortunate positions.

“We feed many of these children on a daily basis, so I know their situations and backgrounds. It was clear to me, as early as last year, they would not have the bare essentials come the first day of school. So I put out an appeal on my own Facebook page and typed out my message in English and then used Google Translate to change it to Afrikaans.

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“I was hoping for support from the greater Durban community. I was so pleased when Arianne phoned me to say she was happy to support these children. Even though we are a soup kitchen, we have a footprint that goes beyond just feeding people. We aren’t comfortable seeing so many children not having what they need to attend school. I’m grateful to The Seed Fund and all those who donated to make this possible,” he said.