SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2025: May 20 and 21

May 20

We awoke to a beautiful day in Honeydew, on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa and met with the other members of our team, Sue and Warren.

Our driver picked us up and we travelled to the factory where the mattresses are manufactured. We met up with Sanette from the Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon and had a tour of the factory. We saw the completed mattresses along with some of the additional items contained in the bedkits. Sanette informed us that the supplier of the hats in the bedkits was able to purchase two more sewing machines and hire two additional employees with revenue from the order. Excellent news!

After meeting Sanette again in the evening and seeing her level of enthusiasm, we are looking forward to a successful distribution.

Team South Africa, 2025

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

May 21

We were up early today as we had 3 factory tours ahead of us.  After a bit of a drive we arrived at the factory that constructs and makes the mattresses for the children.  It truly was an interesting process from the mixing of the chemicals, to cutting the massive foam blocks to sewing the coverings. The children will certainly sleep well on their new beds!

Our next visit was to a small shop where they sewed the tracksuits that each child will recieve.  The lovely female owner showed us how they create the suit and showcased the 15 sewing machines and staff that worked diligently to produce the 2000 tracksuits . . . the children will look sharp in these  for sure. The last visit was to the supplier of the school supplies.  We were treated to a tour of this distribution center that serves all of South Africa.  All in all, it was a very informative and interesting day . . . tomorrow we get to meet the children as it's our first distribution day! We are really looking forward to meeting them!

Team South Africa, 2025

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: June 1

We went to Masakhane Tswelelopele Primary School in the community of Zandspruit, a crowded settlement of 30,000 people, on three separate days. This no-fee public school has over 1,000 students, or learners as they are called. The poverty and overcrowding was a shocking contrast to the gated middle-class communities just a few kilometres away. The school is overcrowded with many portable classrooms so there is no place for the children to play. 

The school’s cook, who lives in the community, led us on a walk to visit two homes of bedkit recipients. The first home was comprised of two small metal shipping containers, separated by a concrete walkway.  One container belonged to a 27-year-old mother of four children aged 3-10. The home consisted of a room with a double bed, a small stove and wash basin and a wardrobe. Her youngest children sleep on the floor or on her bed and the older children sleep on the floor in her mother’s house, the second shipping container. The bedkit mattress wouldn’t fit in the room, so the older children in the grandmother’s house will use it. Across the road is a community bathroom and water station that the family uses, carrying water back to the home to boil for drinking and washing. Two of our team members have 27-year-old daughters, so the contrast between our daughters’ lives and the challenging life of this young mother was stark.

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The second home housed a family of seven. It was slightly larger with a shared kitchen/sitting area and shared toilet outside.  We were shown the thin blanket that they put on the floor for the children to sleep on. The family were thrilled that the children now had a mattress of their own to share. The father repeatedly shook our hand, said thank you and expressed how happy they were with the gift of a bedkit. He said that the children had had two good nights of sleep on the mattress. 

Some of the community have jobs at the school one or two days a week.  We spoke to two security guards who had children who had received a bedkit. One father couldn’t stop smiling.  He said he got a good sleep for the first time in years as there were no kids in his bed. It was the first time I had thought of the impact of a bedkit on the quality of sleep of the entire family.

 We also spoke with the school’s principal.  She remarked, ”These children have never had anything.  I see happiness in their eyes now.  If they sleep, they can learn”. The principal commented that many of the parents told the school staff how happy they are with the bedkits. They feel that someone cares about them. 

 As we were saying our goodbye, the cook hugged each of us and physically lifted us up, which we learned is the ultimate sign of thanks. Our team thanks the donors of Sleeping Children for the gift of the bedkits that touched 1,500 children and their families so profoundly. 

Team South Africa

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: May 30

What a fantastic day!!!  We went back to two of our sites from our first two days where there had been a number of children absent and we were able to finish distributing the remainder of the bedkits at both of these school locations.  

At Zandspruit Nooitgedacht Primary the children in grade one received bedkits.

It was a struggle but this little guy managed to get his bedkit all the way to his waiting parent.

The little girl off to the left needed a little help in the end.

Then we were off to our final location - Vosloorus-Mampudi Primary School. This is a school of over 2000 learners. Bedkits were distributed to children in grades 1 to 6. Here is our final young lady receiving her bedkit. A celebration took place with high fives and a hug!!!

Success!!!!  1500 South African children have received the gift of a better night's sleep.  South Africa is a new country for us and we are very pleased with the hard work that our Overseas Partners have done to be able to reach this accomplishment.  A special pat on the back for the club president, Sanette Mostert.

Team South Africa

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: May 28

We had a successful distribution at the primary school with all kids, labels and bedkits accounted for.   We had our share of cars coming in during the distribution due to the space being shared as a voting poll station.

The parents waited outside the gates and some kids had transport waiting for them so everyone left with huge smiles on their faces.

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The parents were happy to share stories of their one room homes that have never had a mattress to sleep on and no kitchen.  Some of these homes had 4 to 6 family members in the space. 

Since the team completed the distribution at 2 pm we took the time to travel to Sandton Square to  see the sculptures of Nelson Mandela.

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Team South Africa

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: May 27

The South Africa team has been blessed to be staying in a hotel in Johannesburg with all the amenities close by. You really feel like you could be in Canada with the mountains in the background.

This morning’s distribution was only 5 km away and when we were arriving the team noticed the change in the atmosphere through the district.  Now there were clay roads, pot holes (more like sink holes) and clothes hanging all around. The ambulances were in the area but were clearly escorted by police.

The school site was crowded from the onset, but this is more due to fact that there will be an election on Thursday and this is a pre-voting site. 

We completed photos for 382 donors. This is the entire first grade class.  With the time spent in between while we waited our team is practicing yoga with the kids and singing their hearts out.

Team South Africa

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: May 27

Like Canada, South Africa is a vast country with a diverse population. We experienced this fact in Johannesburg. The sprawling city, South Africa's largest, presents promising opportunities and daunting challenges for its residents. Our distribution at the Rock of Hope Ebenezer Hannah Home for Children gave evidence of how some of these daily challenges can be effectively addressed at a community level.

Pastor Thomas and his wife Shirley founded Rock of Hope on the site of a former fruit farm in 1992. Besides caring for orphaned children, the organization houses the elderly and runs an array of businesses, providing income and work skills for residents, plus operating revenue for the organization. These include a bakery, sewing and pottery divisions, and a chicken farm. The center also relies on outside contributions: cash and in-kind donations like our bed kits. 

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Rock of Hope currently houses 120 residents of various ethnic backgrounds, including 58 children. There is a nursery, pre-school and aftercare open to resident and non-resident children, and even a fully-equipped mobile kitchen dispensing sustenance for non-residents. Private citizens and businesses hold functions at the home to feed the community and pay operating expenses for Rock of Hope. 

We were impressed by residents like Julie, an octogenarian who is blind and has provided advice and guidance to the children for more than a decade.

Rock of Hope is living evidence of how a community can come together to serve its most vulnerable residents, young and old, and offer hope for a troubled world. 

Team South Africa

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: May 26

After getting our feet wet at our first two distributions yesterday we were excited and eager to head out  for our second day at Zandspruit Nooitgedacht Public School.  Here we distributed bedkits to the grade one students.  Being that it was Sunday we were very appreciative of the teachers who donated their time to come and assist their students in getting ready for the distribution, helping them change into their new track suits and getting them lined up and ready.  Their assistance was invaluable.  Judging by the exceptional behaviour of these children you could see the amazing rapport established between the children and their teachers.   There are 6 classes of grade one students and each class consists of around 40 learners.  I truly admire these teachers for the work they do daily.  As one of them stated "it is a labour of love.”

Following a short presentation to the parents and children, explaining the process for the day, what SCAW is, why we do what we do and showing the items that they would be receiving, we were presented with a special gift.  The students had created an amazing piece of art to thank us for coming.

Look closely at this beautiful tree and you will be able to see a colourful thumbprint made by each grade one student

Then it was time to get busy.  The children gave us wonderful smiles for the photographs that will be sent to our donors, then they were on their way to receive their special gift of a bedkit.  Julie was giving out bedkits today and one child in particular really warmed her heart.  As he approached to receive his gift he was quite hesitant and uncertain but when he saw what he was receiving he lit up with the biggest smile imaginable.  

It took many hands to make today happen and to bring joy to the students of Nooitgedacht P.S.   A special thanks to the teachers for their assistance in organizing the children and to our rotary volunteers for assisting in today’s distribution.  Special recognition goes to the Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon and their President Sanette Mostert for all  the hard work over the past months in preparation.  

Team South Africa

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: May 25

Sleeping Children has returned to South Africa for our second distribution after four years away due to Covid. As the volunteers from our Overseas Volunteer Partner, the Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon, are all new to the project we started off with two smaller distributions.

South Africa OVP and SCAW

Our morning was at Mampudi Public School in Vosloorus, a school with 1000 students in a southern suburb of Johannesburg. Three children were ill with chickenpox and were unable to attend; however we made sure they received their bedkits. During a pause in the distribution, I was able to chat with some of the Grade 5 and 6 students, who spoke English well. I explained Sleeping Children’s mission to provide a good night of sleep to children around the world. We examined each item of the bedkit. When the girls in the front row realized that they would each be taking a bedkit home, one of the girls clutched her friend’s hand and remarked “She is going to cry”.  When I said I hadn’t wanted to make her sad, she corrected me: “tears of joy”.  She was not the only one with tears, although mine were from a mixture of emotions.  The children were truly grateful and looked forward to testing the bedkit out that night, especially the warm blanket.

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After a successful morning, we drove half an hour to the Ebenezer Hannah Home, a unique community operated by pastor Thomas Merime and his wife. This nonprofit provides housing, food, and social services to children who are orphaned or neglected and seniors living in poverty with no family support.  It also provides subsidized housing for community members in need of support, who then work at the centre in exchange for the lowered rent. The Home operates a preschool and a bakery and sewing centre, where residents and community women are trained in skills that can benefit the Home as well as provide outside income.  We had the privilege of joining this community for lunch, and it was a pleasure to watch the adults and children enjoying a healthy lunch together. The seniors fill the role of grandparents for the children, and one couple have helped raise almost 100 children while living in the community. They truly have built a family here.

Ebenezer Hannah Home

Before we distributed the bedkits, we were entertained by an impromptu concert by the children, led by our team member Jan. The children energetically participated in typical English action songs like “Old Macdonald” and “Twinkle Twinkle”. When it was their turn to choose the songs, our team was in awe of the beautiful harmony of the children singing gospel songs in their local language. We have no doubt that the bedkits will be put to good use in this family community.

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While the number of bedkits may have started small, the impact for these two communities was large. Congratulations to our Overseas Volunteer Partners on a successful first day.

Team South Africa

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦

SCAW Blog: South Africa, 2024: May 24

The world may be getting smaller but it still takes a day to fly from Toronto to Johannesburg, South Africa. We arrived quite late but Sanette, from Rotary Club of Johannesburg, greeted us at the hotel. On our first full day, Sanette, with Sizwe, Nobesuthu (Nobes), and our driver, Linden, welcomed us as we toured Europa Foam. The sprawling facility, which employs 100 to 150 workers, provides mattresses for the children. Nisha was our guide. 

Our next stop was Rainbow Blankets, where we met Mehmet, the owner. The company has been in operation for 30 years and produces 10,000 blankets a year.

After lunch overlooking the scenic golf course at Eagle Canyon, the SCAW team of four met to prepare, followed by a meeting with Sanette and other local partners.

We are happy to be in South Africa and looking forward to this distribution and to a fruitful ongoing partnership with Rotary Club of Johannesburg.

Rotary E-Club of Eagle Canyon 🇿🇦 and SCAW 🇨🇦