HOPE Project sponsored by Buckman Cares 24 March 2017

What an incredible afternoon with some beautiful children from Shongweni and Ntshongweni communities and volunteers, thanks to the wonderful hospitality of the staff and owners at The Pot & Kettle and our amazing sponsors, Buckman Laboratories. The aim of our HOPE project we’ve been running for the past 5 years is to inspire HOPE in the lives of the young children, aged 5 to 17, who have suffered devastating loss in their young lives, most of them having lost parents and now being cared for by an older sibling, aunt, neighbour or their aging Gogo’s, take them out of their dire circumstances for a while, let them play, feel the love from our volunteers and just be children. Our goal for these projects is to treat each child to a wonderful few hours of play, interaction and a meal and then bless them with necessities that they do not have the means to buy – uniforms, stationery, food…

Today, Buckman Labs Durban branch joined us to celebrate their annual BuckmanCares Day, which is “a global community engagement initiative, that dedicates Buckman resources – both financial and human – to improving education for youth, enhancing health and human services, and bolstering environmental stewardship. These efforts make our communities more livable. They earn the respect and goodwill of others. And they provide unique opportunities for personal growth and fulfilment for our associates”.

Thanks for their incredible support and sponsorship, the 30 orphaned and vulnerable children – as highlighted to us by The Christian Social Services – were abundantly blessed with EVERYTHING they will need for their new term of school: 2 brand new school uniforms – top to toe – , lunch box and juice bottle, a box filled with stationery requirements for their Grades, blanket, towel set, facecloths, toiletries, a HUGE bag filled with non-perishable foods and a month’s supply of FutureLife porridge thanks to The Future Life Foundation – as well as a brand new school bag sourced from Uzwelo Bags; an incredible community initiative that takes waste fabric that normally goes into landfills, employing local communities to produce and funds from purchase going towards the Bateleurs. After a delicious hot meal, milkshakes, popcorn, face painting, balloon sculpting, an Easter Egg hunt and some much-enjoyed connectivity and laughter with all the volunteers, the children were safely taken home on transport we commandeered for the afternoon, clutching their blessings with HUGE smiles on their faces! An incredible way to spend a Friday afternoon!