Business Breakfast

6 November 2015 saw 70 business people from the Durban area come together in the Luthuli Hall (City Hall) to challenge mindsets around business and giving to the needy of our society.  A collaboration between Nation Builder, Grace aid and ourselves resulted in this business altering breakfast. Francios van Niekerk of the Mertech group was our main speaker. Francios story of how God helped him turn a bankrupt business in to a multimillion rand group of businesses is inspiring to say the least. We also had a panel of local business people, including Nick Nzama, Brad Wills and Leigh-Anne Aitken who added so much value as their stories are based in Durban.  Abonga Nkwelo was our brilliant MC and managed to keep things flowing incredibly well.  Breakfast was yummy and plentiful, thanks to Highway Function Hire.  A BIG thank you to eThekwini Municipality for the use of the Luthuli Hall.  It was a perfect venue and was a beautiful representation of Business, Government and the Social sector working together to see Durban reach its potential.

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Strong Women of Tomorrow

Today we were fortunate enough to assist one young lady who benefits from the organisation called “Strong Women of Tomorrow” based in the Kwanuswa area.

Strong Women of Tomorrow is a registered NPO (138-661 NPO) that aids underprivileged girls to become value adding citizens of our society.  They operate in the Kwanyuswa area of eThekwini. Currently they aid 84 high school and 43 primary school students. Beauty who volunteers for the organisation approached We are Durban as 2 of their girls were unable to buy/get matric dance dresses.  Something a girl looks forward to their whole school career was going to be a huge disappointment for these 2 special ladies.  The request was put out on our Facebook page and offers poured in.  Thank you to everyone who offered!

Sposabella Bridal Boutique offered the girls a shopping experience. So Friday, 6 November 2015, we took 2 precious girls shopping.  Sadly, because one of the girls was so small she could not find a dress, but the other was in heaven!  She found the perfect dress for herself and stood in front of the mirror swishing about and admiring herself.  Thank you to Sposabella for making this girl’s dreams come true!

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Amashova 2015

This year’s Amashova saw fewer people donning the We are Durban jerseys due to the change in age limits by the organisers.  Due to safety reasons the Amashova organisers increased the age limit from 8 years old to 10 – which was really a good call!  This year we had 39 cyclists ride in the 3 different distances in the We are Durban colours.  The goal was to raise R160,000 this year in order to make 2 dreams a reality.  One was to provide a fully equipped containerised kitchen to a feeding scheme in KwaMashu, we had previously been given a quote of R60,000.00 for this.  The second was to provide a certified course in NPO Management to 30 NPO heads in the Durban area.

We sadly did not reach our dual goal, but the 39 people did an incredible job of raising R66217,7. We will be finalising the order of the kitchen shortly.  As soon as we have pictures of the kitchen we will post them for you…  Thank you cyclists for your commitment and effort!  A special mention must be made of Carmen de Lange who raised in excess of R10,000.00 on her own!  She has won a prize from Holomatrix.  Our other kind sponsors for the event which helped our team reach the end were; Future Life, Nature Zone Fitness Water and Blistex.  Thank you so much!



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Youth Beach Day 2015

This Youth Day, We are Durban hosted 160 children from the Key of Hope organisation at Suncoast Pirates Beach for an amazing morning of games and treats.  The blessing of perfect weather, ideal beach conditions and a fantastic turnout of volunteers all contributed to this event being a huge success!

The children were divided into 10 teams and led through 5 game stations across the beach, supervised by volunteers who did an amazing job of setting up fun and safe games for the kids.  Beach soccer, tug of war, lifesaving training and body boarding were some of the favourites of the day.

 

We had over 100 volunteers join us from many different walks of life, including from Olive Tree Church, Key of Hope, Volunteer YOU, ITEN TV and Buyisithemba.  Lifeguards from the Siyasindisa Lifesaving Project and Suncoast Pirates Surf Lifesaving Club also spent the day with us. Charles and his team delivered a fun and interactive water safety talk, and went onto play games with the kids and keeping a lookout for safety during the swimming and body boarding sessions.

 

We were very fortunate to have a number of sponsors come on board, such as ITEN TV who donated T-shirts for the volunteers, peak caps for the children, delicious hotdogs, ice-creams and a snack hamper for each child (including juice, chips, a lollipop, apple, orange and sweets).  ITEN TV also kindly sponsored the cost of our Beach Permit, and provided sunscreen for the children. Holomatrix supplied coloured wristbands for each child’s safety and team marking, and Aquelle donated flavoured waters for the children to drink during the games. The Venture Group kindly loaned us a gazebo and two tug of war ropes, and Busyballers loaned us their soccer goals for the day.  Illovo lent us two of their gazebos to keep the food in shade, and Sir Juice sponsored fresh fruit juices for our volunteers. Besides facilitating the use of their beach and lawn, Suncoast Pirates Surf Lifesaving Club also offered us the use of their club facilities, which was of great value on the day.

 

Key of Hope has been in existence since 2008 and strives to make a difference in the lives of the orphans and vulnerable children in more than a dozen informal settlements and township communities in Durban. Their mission of “Unlocking the Future of South Africa” is accomplished by providing the long term mentoring relationships these children need not only to survive, but to thrive as citizens and leaders. The 160 children who joined us for the day are aged 8 – 12 years, and are orphaned or vulnerable, from the following areas of Durban: Effingham, Quarry Heights, Kabazela, KwaMashu, Duffs Road, Boxwood, Johanna Rd, Siyathuthuka, Sea Cow Lake, Briardene, Jamaica, Gum Tree, Smithfield, Temple and My Hill.

 

The incredible generosity of our sponsors, hard work and fun attitude of our volunteers, and selflessness of all involved contributed to the fantastic success of our 4th Youth Beach Day. For the children it was a day to remember.  Thank you to everyone who gave of their time, resources and energy to make it happen!

 

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