March 2021: As already described in the annual review 2020, numerous fundraising events had to be cancelled due to Corona, both in Germany and in South Africa - including the great events under the motto "by children for children" such as the charity run of the Moritz School or benefit concerts of the Edith Stein School Erfurt. In South Africa, many businesses are struggling to survive, so donations in kind such as hygiene products, plant seeds, clothing and food for the projects are no longer needed.
We are all the more grateful to all donors who supported Siyabonga in this difficult time and thus made it possible to transfer a proud 24,000 euros to our aid projects in 2020. The complete financial report for 2020 can be viewed here (German only).
We were overwhelmed by the success of our very first fundraising campaign on Facebook. Our treasurer Annemarie Krummrich had started an appeal for donations on Facebook during the Christmas season 2020, hoping to collect 500 Euros by Christmas. In only 6 days this goal was reached - simply incredible! If you also want to start a fundraising campaign for Siyabonga (e.g. instead of birthday presents) you can find instructions here.
Now you can also support Siyabonga with your shopping at Amazon, if you buy online via AmazonSmile. You will have the same shopping experience as you are used to from Amazon, benefit from the same low prices, the same selection and the convenient shopping options. The difference between amazon.de and AmazonSmile is that when a customer makes a purchase on smile.amazon.de, Amazon passes on 0.5% of the purchase price to a social organization chosen by the customer. Without any costs for you or us. Simply select Siyabonga - Laughing Hearts for South Africa as your organization here.
This year we will use the donations not only for hygiene articles and food, but also for renovation work in the children's home (e.g. replacement of hot water pumps, doors, etc.) and for repairs to the playgrounds of the village project as well as the replacement of the sewage pipes there.
Current situation in our projects
South Africa remains the most affected country on the African continent in terms of numbers, with more than 1.5 million registered infections since the start of the pandemic. More than 52,000 people have died so far as a result, and the situation is particularly dramatic due to the more contagious South African variant of the virus. In addition, studies have shown poorer efficacy of the Astra Zeneca vaccine against the South African virus mutation, so South Africa sold its stockpile to neighboring countries and plans to push the vaccination campaign with other vaccines. Fortunately, despite all this, the numbers of new infections are currently falling significantly, so that since March 1 the lowest of the five levels of the Corona alert system has been in force, in which a largely normal and unrestricted life is possible.
In the Greytown Children's Home, there is great joy that schools are gradually reopening, currently alternating a few days in school and a few days homeschooling.
The long phase of pure homeschooling was a real test for everyone, especially for the housemothers. During the big summer vacations in December/January, more volunteers - including former children of the children's home like Onamandla - helped so that the staff could recover a bit. We were shocked by the news that the donation officer of the children's home became seriously ill with Covid-19 and had to be hospitalized. Fortunately, he has recovered in the meantime.
We have good news from our township project, which unfortunately had to be suspended since spring 2020 after the insolvency of the associated farm and the departure of the former project manager Bruce. Together with the social worker Phindile, who has been doing a wonderful job with the families in the township since the beginning of the project, we have been feverishly looking for a way to continue the project.
Despite many bureaucratic hurdles we succeeded and Phindile could already distribute the first survival kits in the township. We will tell you more about this with current photos in our next newsletter.
Now we wish you a happy, sunny Easter time and a lot of fun at the Easter egg hunt despite all limitations!
Stay healthy!