Durban — The Daily News recently visited two homes and provided them with donations ranging from nutritional items to hygiene, in celebration of World Milk Day on Saturday.
World Milk Day is celebrated on June 1 and focuses on the importance of milk.
In celebration of the day, two children’s homes benefited from a recent donation by the Daily News. The donation was made on Thursday.
Acting manager of St Thomas Home for Children, Alicia Rose, said: “Every donation – whether it’s in kind or time or any form of benevolence – is a good gesture of being human. We make sure it benefits the children.”
Rose added that toiletries are extremely necessary as they house 55 children, ranging from 2 to 10. She said the centre has been operating since 1959 and was initially a home for vulnerable coloured children.
Sparks Estate Cheshire Home manager Roger Gangadoo thanked the Daily News for their contributions.
“I just want to say thank you to the Daily News and the various role-players for the groceries they have given us. We appreciate it and we aim to make good use of it. It also helps us with our budget too.”
He added: “Looking at all the nutritional products, the milk powder will help us sustain the children and the porridge will help provide them with energy. I am grateful for the various toiletries as we need to keep our children clean. The chemicals will also help us keep viruses away.”
He said that the home was more than 40 years old and caters for 48 physically and mentally disabled residents.
“We have 48 children from 3 years old to 76 and we call them children because of their brain. They still have the brain of a child even though their body grows. So if we had to move them to an adult home, they would die and suffer from loneliness.”
Independent Media CSI manager and project co-ordinator Sameera Kareem said: “Today’s (Thursday) visit to Sparks Cheshire Home and St Thomas Children's Home was truly heart-warming. As the CSI manager and project co-ordinator of all Indy Charity Funds, witnessing the joy on the faces of both the staff and the children reaffirmed the profound impact even the smallest gestures can have.
“The generosity displayed by our donors to the Daily News Milk Fund not only provided essential items like milk, porridge, and toiletries, but also brought moments of celebration with pizza, KFC, and a grand cake in honour of World Milk Day. These visits underscore the vital role that collective action plays in meeting the urgent needs of orphanages. It’s a reminder that together, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need, one donation at a time."
Independent Media’s national marketing manager Shabnum Moosa shared what World Milk Day meant for her.
“World Milk Day is celebrated around the world and brought by the World Food Organisation to highlight milk’s importance to children.”
Moosa continued; “We have a number of beneficiaries on the Daily News Milk Fund. Every month, we supply over 20 000 children with milk and porridge. So we have decided to commemorate World Milk Day as it falls in line with what we’re about.” Moosa added that the two chosen homes are beneficiaries.
The Daily News concluded by thanking their sponsors, the Sweet Slice, Roman’s Pizza, Sir Juice for the probiotics and Tiger Brands for the Ace Instant Porridge.
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