Page 57 - Rural Voice III - Responding to a Pandemic

BUILDING DREAMS OF A
BETTER FUTURE FOR THE CHILDREN
The poverTy and suffering seen in The eyes of children made claudia van sTaden and The Team aT The nelspoorT advice office resolved To do whaTever They could every day To make a difference
Our main focus this year was on women and children’s rights. We teach children that whether they have or they don’t have, they are no better or worse. When over a hundred children came to the advice office and sat on the stoep, we dished up whatever we had – lemons, milk, pap or other food. For the children’s programme, we call ourselves the Joshua Generation, the generation that doesn’t tolerate fights, and talks about issues.
We taught the children they could only come into the advice office with a mask, and that they needed to wash their hands and keep a social distance. I have to say they were better than the adults. We also taught them not to come to the office just for food. They needed to participate in the programme until the end, and then go home. We taught them not to be beggars, but rather to say, “I’m here to make a difference in my way, so what can I do?”
In September we had a Heritage Day event with the children. The day was eye- opening. I saw children in the community that will grow up without dreams, who don’t know their place. We had been using all our resources for adults, but we had forgotten about the children.
NELSPOORT ADVICE OFFICE
Established in 1998, the Nelspoort Advice Office provides: paralegal services to members of the community and surrounding areas; a home-based care support programme; orphaned and vulnerable children’s support programmes; a feeding scheme for destitute children; and job creation projects.
DISTRICT: Central Karoo District
COVID-19 CASES: From March to the end of October 2020, there were 1,031 cases of COVID-19 reported in the West Coast District Municipality of the Western Cape. PROJECT MANAGER: Claudia Van Staden
NUMBER OF STAFF: 2, NUMBER OF VOLUNTEERS: 6
BOARD CHAIR: Freddy Moxhegwana
BOARD MEMBERS: Juliet Jonas; Doreen Swartz; Gideon Rittels
ADDRESS: Flat 2, Old Nurses Home / P.O. Box 36, Nelspoort, 6973
PHONE: 068 087 7082, EMAIL: nado.cbr@gmail.com
Claudia van stadEn
“The biggest impact of COVID-19 was the hunger of children who stopped getting meals from schools when they closed.”
RURAL VOICE III: RESPONDING TO A PANDEMIC
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