Feeling grateful
The other day relaxing in the late autumn sun and watching the children play, made us feel so grateful for being part of Baby Moses. Two boys were sword fighting like in Star Wars with their lightsabres, another was tending to their vegetable garden, although it was more of an excuse to playing in the mud, and 2 girls were chatting and rolling on the trampoline. At that moment it felt so serene knowing that we are blessed, having these special children in our care, being able to provide a safe environment for them to grow and flourish.
This does not mean that we are special in any way, but being there for these children is a reward in itself. We have our own fair share of good and bad days, and try to remind ourselves, the staff and children to extend grace, be kind and be there for each other.
Towards our supporters, donors and sponsors we are extremely grateful for helping us to make a difference in the lives of these children. Because of your compassion and generosity, our children can enjoy being a child like any other, whilst continuing on a path of healing from trauma and growing in confidence
Updates
Our ‘babies’ who started with high school this year are having the time of their lives. They have blossomed into typical young adolescents, with loads of spunk and personality, leaving us a little anxious and having to adapt to these strange beings we with whom we are sharing house.
The exams are for now a thing of the past, and we hope for an improvement from the 1st term. We are particularly proud of our team of volunteers that help us with tutoring and their support, and hope they have a good rest now with the winter holiday.
Our annual financial review has just been complete, our BEE review for 2020 done at level 1 (135% B-BBEE procurement recognition level), and we are currently busy with updating our website and branding.
The tax certificates for 2019 have been issued, and should you not have received same, we may have an incorrect e mail address, or cannot tie up your e mail address to the description of your donation. Please advise, and we will update and rectify.
Happenings
Youth Day was a day of huge excitement on 17 June at Baby Moses. Monument Toyota West Rand spent a day of braaing, sporting challenges like soccer, tug of war, throwing hoop, netball and dodge-ball. After some great fun we had a lovely burger barbeque and party packs. Asking the children what they enjoyed best and getting different responses, it was best summed up by on girl; “I enjoyed everything!”
Mandela Day, July 18, will be spent at our Dion Home, where we will again host visitors and accept donations for Baby Moses. This event is used to stock up on food, groceries, cleaning products, toiletries and gently used clothing and linen. For this purpose, we prepare storage facilities, be it freezers, fridges and store rooms and is always a huge relief as it helps us to stock up for the next 6 months. Winter is otherwise usually a period of lower support than usual.
Mother and daughter morning, 3 August 2019, is an event and fundraiser to be held at AGS Wilropark. Speakers are Marlie Coetzee (Exec Director Viva Afrikaans and formerly Miss SA Campus and Melony Cronje, Marketing Manager of Cofesa). Theme; “My Identiteit in Christus”. A Light finger lunch, exhibitors, music, photos and prizes will be available. Contact Lanie for information. Cost R150 p.p.
Charity brunch, 24 August 2019, is an event and fundraiser for Baby Moses, to be held at Mount Usambara in Muldersdrift. Guest will be treated to a starter, main meal and desert. Guest speaker is Allan Heyl, surviving member of the notorious Stander Gang responsible for a host of bank robberies. This event will be open to men and ladies. (Contact Lanie if you would like to attend, or donate towards or to provide items for auction, prizes)
Current Needs
The challenges for welfare organisations are becoming more demanding and we note a considerable drop in support over the past 6 months and especially in March 2019 (The election?) It appears that emigrating is one of the issues and another the reduced levels of support from businesses, indicative of a difficult economic environment.
Specific Needs:
- Breakfast cereals
- 2 minute noodles
- Toilet paper
- Staple foods, milk, sugar and soya for our Mafikeng children and day care centre.
- Gift cards for groceries/ clothing
Wish list
A challenge any person almost always has to face is trade-offs between needs and resources. In our case the past month we had a 50% drop in support which is a major concern.
This has resulted in a carry-over of a number of payments, like our municipal bill on one of our homes, our annual audit fee, school transport for children, some staff expenses and medical lab tests. In addition, we have a business vehicle with its service due and it needs 2 tyres. Lastly we have been trying to save up funds for an alarm system at the girl’s home and a 7 seater car to cart them around, but every time a bit is saved, then something urgent comes up, like today, when a water pipe burst and drains overflowing.
We mention these things in the hope that if there is someone who wants to help, these are the matters that are outstanding and an opportunity to assist.
Thanks
Our thanks to every supporter and donor during 2018. We hear of so many organisations that need to close their doors due to lack of support, but thanks to you we are still around, caring for 128 beneficiaries.