Cape Town - The 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day Peace, Love, Tolerance Road Trip stopped over in Cape Town to bring warmth and smiles to 20 children at Morningstar Childcare Centre, in Durbanville.
The initiative is a national and global movement spearheaded by founder Carolyn Steyn. Elizabeth Leukes plays the role of the Cape Townbased ambassador for the project.
Founded 11 years ago in support of Nelson Mandela Day, the organisation has evolved into a beacon of hope, rallying volunteers worldwide to knit blankets for the less fortunate.
In previous years, 67 Blankets for Mandela Day held large-scale events to collect and distribute blankets.
However, this year the organisation has returned to its roots by embarking on a road trip to deliver blankets to places throughout the country. The road trip began in George in April and rounds off visits this weekend.
Leukes explained why the Morningstar Childcare Centre was selected as a beneficiary.
“I chose this charity because it’s an organisation that looks after mothers and children, and most of the parents cannot afford to send their children to preschool or Grade R, or they didn’t get a spot at school.
“(Morningstar Childcare Centre’s) Felicia Cleophas does the most amazing work in the community, looking after children that go there in the mornings, and then there’s an aftercare centre in the afternoon as well,” said Leukes.
“They’re in desperate need of funding – it’s all self-funded – and a lot of the children have got single mothers, so they are single-parent families and really do need the help.”
In December 2013, the late Nelson Mandela’s former assistant, Zelda la Grange, challenged Steyn to knit, sew or crochet 67 blankets for Mandela Day. This led to the establishment of 67 Blankets for Nelson Mandela Day, a global movement to provide blankets for those in need.
Steyn handed over the blankets for Morningstar Childcare Centre to Cleophas, who said she was grateful for the donation.
“Wow, this is a huge blessing to be getting these blankets. Most of the time we do not have enough blankets for the children
“It’s an amazing blessing; we will keep the blankets at the house so that the children can use them. I have four people that assist me, we give kids two meals a day and they have to come with their own snacks.”
Steyn emphasised the importance of making personal connections with those in need.
“We visited all regions of our beautiful country to distribute blankets to people less fortunate than ourselves. This year, we wanted to make those personal connections that are so important to us and spend time with the organisations and people we support,” she said.
“I have been so moved by the many blanket handovers we have done over the past three months, and this has been another very special day.
“Seeing the work that Felicia does in her community, looking after these children, is incredible.”
venecia.valentine@inl.co.za