Johannesburg's Produce Sale

The contribution the staff of SABC 3 chose to celebrate Nelson Mandela's 93rd birthday on 18 July 2011 was to visit our Brixton Premises to meet the boys and to plant a vegetable garden. Several of their staff members arrived at the Mbalethu Centre, chatted with the boys and then proceeded to 'muck in' with gardening tools, turning the soil and demarcating beds using surplus bricks. Others painted murals on the centre's inside walls, one of which portayed Mr. Mandela himself. (See 93 Years Young - 19 July 2011.)
Several varieties of vegetables were planted and everyone waited for the harvest. Under the care of the street children, supervised by I Care staff, the vegetables flourished to the extent that they are not only providing nutritious home-grown produce for the boys but we have an over-abundance that we can sell to help fund other operational expenses.
Our thanks again to SABC3 staff - your kindness in 2011 will continue through 2012 and beyond and we are all grateful.
Pictured are Cameron Shabangu, a student at George Whitefield College and Maydie Heath, a donor and volunteer helper at the centre.

Awareness - Umhlanga

Members of the I Care Awareness team - Darren, Nevil, Lucia and Donation ready to 'spread the word' in Umhlanga, KZN.

Christmas Boxes

This is a picture of just a few of the many Christmas boxes which were filled with goodies, wrapped, decorated and given to our boys by the scholars from Westville Boys High, Our Lady of Fatima Domincan Convent, Crawford North Coast Pre-Primary and Durban Girls College.
Each year these schools ask their young students to donate gifts and their time. Their generosity gives a lot of pleasure and we at I Care thank them and wish them all a wonderful Christmas and splendid 2012.

Shoe donation from Hirsch

In support of 'Flip Flop Friday' on October 7 Hirsch Superstore and Head Office in Durban set out to collect and donate shoes to I Care. They collected 70 pairs of shoes and gave them to the children at our Hope Centre the day before - October 6.
"This is ths biggest donation of shoes we have ever receieved since we opened our doors in 2002 and on behalf of the staff and children at I Care we would like to express our grateful thanks to the employees of Hirsch in Springfield Park for supporting our cause", stated Jenni-Lyn van Niekerk, our National Marketing Manager.
Pictured above are a few of the boys with staff members Lucia (left) and Jabu (right) with Hirsch's Johan Schroeder in the middle.

TBSA Soccer Team

On Sunday 6 November TBSA soccer team visited the I Care Rehabilitation Centre (Kwamakhutha) to hand over a computer and soccer world cup memorabilia. They gathered the boys together and shared words of encouragement which was much appreciated.

Afterwards a friendly soccer game was arranged with the soccer team and the I Care boys. Great fun!

Currently the Centre has 18 boys who will be in the programme for three months, after which they will graduate and either return to their families or move into one of the I Care houses. The gifts were received by Nelson and Mzo from the Rehabilitation Centre.

Journey's end for intrepid cyclists

Here is a photograph of the five cyclists who journeyed - by bike - from Johannesburg to Durban to raise funds for I Care's children. Their target was R10,000.00 and they doubled this amount! Pictured, from left to right, Darren Gray, Bradley Atkinson, Paul Hellberg. Jayne Broderick and Mike Howell. Particular mention must be made of Mike for putting the event in motion and to the Wesley Methodist Church in Pietermaritzburg for all their support.

I Care is extremely grateful to the team and congratulates them on their generosity and their strength. The picture shows them at the end of their trip yet they look as fresh as they did before they started their epic journey.

Permaculture for I Care

Rotarian Michel Boulle invited fellow Rotarians and I Care's Nevil Carrington to visit Durban's Botanic Gardens in August to see the permaculture food garden project and have the system explained to them.
Nevil told Michel that I Care liked the idea and were very keen to go ahead.
Pictured above are, from left, Dave Prese - President - Umhlanga Rotary, Nevil Carrington - CEO - I Care, Greg and Jacqui Daniel - Rotarians and Jabulani from Botanic Gardens. Another un-named gardener is at the rear of the picture.
We will keep you informed as to how things progress in the I Care gardens.