Fundraising campaign and support during the South African winter

July 2025: While summer begins here, winter is just around the corner in South Africa - a challenging time for many families in our projects. Temperatures drop sharply, huts and houses are often poorly insulated and warm clothing or sturdy shoes are unaffordable for many. Our current focus is therefore on providing children with winter clothing and shoes. We also report on a special fundraising campaign from Germany.

Thanks to the Moritzschule Erfurt

On May 6, 2025, the Moritzschule in Erfurt held its annual charity run - for the twelfth time under the motto “By children for children”.With impressive stamina, motivation and a lot of heart, the children raised the impressive sum of 4’799.65 EUR!

Thanks to this great commitment, we can

• Purchase winter clothing and shoes,

• Repair storm damage to huts and a preschool in the village project,

• Provide teaching materials for our preschools in the village project and kindergartens in the villages.

We say THANK YOU to the children, the staff, the parents and all the sponsors!Your solidarity means hope and real change for many children in South Africa.

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News from the projects

Feeding project Greytown

Our feeding project is an important point of contact for many people in Greytown. Twice a week, children and adults in need receive a warm and nutritious meal - often their only meal of the day. For Nelson Mandela Day on July 18, we are planning a special campaign for street children, providing them not only with food, but also with warm clothing and school materials.

A particularly beautiful moment in recent weeks: The avocado tree that we planted in the community garden during our visit in 2018 is bearing fruit for the first time. A small but powerful symbol that good things grow from care and patience.

Children's home Greytown

A lot has also happened at the children's home: Edward, one of the older boys, was able to celebrate great success with his sporting achievements. At the regional school athletics championships, he took first place in the high jump and third place in the javelin throw - qualifying him for the South African championships and representing the province of KwaZulu-Natal. We are very proud of him!

New solar panels were installed on the roofs of the children's home in order to reduce electricity costs and become less dependent on the often unstable power grid.

Another highlight was the team-building event for Mother's Day, which was organized especially for the housemothers. They do an admirable job every day and we wanted to give something back to them with this day - with appreciation, time to chat and little treats.

A new mentoring program supports young men through male role models from the community. The aim is to give young men guidance, perspectives and support - especially in an environment where there is often a lack of positive role models.

And as always, we celebrate all the children's birthdays every month - with cake, music, games and small gifts. These celebrations give the children joy, a sense of belonging and unforgettable moments.

Village project with preschools

There was another highlight recently in our kindergartens in the village project: as a farewell gift, the preschool children received lovingly packed gym bags filled with knitted hats, teddy bears, crayons, toothbrushes, soap and other useful little things - organized by our project manager Paul. The children's shining eyes speak for themselves!

After a severe storm in spring, some preschools are in need of renovation work. In addition to a damaged roof, walls also need to be re-plastered and repainted. A youth group from Cape Town has agreed to help and would like to play an active role in the renovation work.

Township project

Our dedicated social worker Phindile supports people in particularly difficult circumstances on a daily basis. In recent weeks, she has assisted several families in applying for birth certificates and state aid - important steps towards long-term access to education, medical care and social support services.

Every month, we continue to provide 15 particularly needy families with food parcels and hygiene products. In addition, we are currently preparing a winter clothing distribution campaign for children in local kindergartens. In spring, Phindile already organized chairs, tables and mattresses for a small kindergarten.

This year, we also want to facilitate short training courses for young people - e.g. in the security, retail or craft sectors. In an environment with extremely high unemployment, such qualifications can be an important step towards independence and future prospects.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your continued support, your interest and your trust in our work. Without you, none of this would be possible.

Siyabonga – THANK YOU!