CHSA families during the lockdown
Donors heed call to feed Christel House families during the lockdown
Christel House South Africa, a non-profit school based in Ottery, Cape Town, serves 1000 students who come from 20 impoverished communities on the Cape Flats. At the start of April, the school started a fundraising campaign to help provide food for 166 of its most vulnerable families during the lockdown. The plan was to provide weekly stipends to these 166 households for 8 weeks so they can purchase basic food supplies and other necessities for their families. The public’s response to the campaign has been overwhelmingly positive and has allowed Christel House to increase its support to over 250 families and for an extended period.
Various individual donors and businesses from South Africa and around the world came out in support of Christel House’s campaign titled ‘Help a family in crisis during lockdown’. To date, the school has raised over R500,000 in donations for the campaign.
One of the biggest supporters has been Uthando SA, a non-profit organisation and responsible tourism initiative based in Cape Town. The local charity has donated around R1,6 million to more than 30 community projects across the Cape Town metro since 15 March. “So many people in South Africa are feeling hopeless, facing starvation and deeply fearful of the future. The silver lining to this horrendous crisis (if we can find a silver lining) has been the most remarkable sense of community, sharing and love that has unfolded. With the help of our incredibly kind, generous and thoughtful friends and benefactors, we were able to make weekly donations to various reputable, reliable and impactful community development organisations, which are working on the front line to assist the most at-risk communities during the lockdown,” says James Fernie, Director at Uthando South Africa.
All of the students who attend Christel House come from severely impoverished households. However, the 300 families have been selected due to their dire socio-economic circumstances and the severe impact that the lockdown is having on their livelihoods. “Many parents work in the informal sector, and with the lockdown in place, they have not been able to work and subsequently lost their only means of income. We also have larger families who only rely on a single social grant or pension to care for their whole family. We know that our families depend on these stipends to survive the lockdown and are so grateful to all of the donors for their support,” said Janine Welby-Solomon, Senior Social Worker and Admissions Co-Ordinator at Christel House South Africa.
The school is not only assisting the over 250 families financially but has also implemented an innovative remote learning curriculum to ensure that all of its students continue to study at home. The school’s team of social workers and counsellors continue provide psychosocial support to its students and parents through regular telephonic check-ins.
The success of the campaign has allowed Christel House to feed over 250 families until the end of July. However, its aim is to support these families up until the end of September. For more information about the campaign and to donate to their cause, visit: https://www.givengain.com/cc/help-a-family-in-crisis-during-lockdown/donate/#start
Please note that all South African donors will receive Section 18A tax certificates and businesses can also earn BEE points for their contributions.
MORE ABOUT CHRISTEL HOUSE
Christel House South Africa is a non-profit school with a single mission: to break the cycle of poverty. It offers no-fee scholarships to students from some of Cape Town’s poorest neighbourhoods and support them for 18 years (Grade R to Grade 12 and five years post matric) through character-based and career-focused education. The school’s beneficiaries include 750 students from grade R to 12, 250+ post-matric students and more than 3000 parents and other members of the communities it serves.
The main criterion for admission to Christel House is not evidence of talent – but evidence of poverty, one measure of which is a maximum average income of R1,500 per household member per month. Key aspects of Christel House’s model include poverty mitigation services in the form of daily transport to school and back, professional health care, nutritious meals, psychosocial counselling, family assistance and college and careers planning and support.
The school is justifiably proud of its 99% matric pass rate since inception and that 93% of its alumni are studying, working or both. In doing so, Christel House transforms the lives of its students and help to build self-sufficient, contributing members of society.