Social Responsibility
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Making a Difference These children, like so many others in South Africa, do not even have the most basic of necessities available to them and go to school in a building without windows or heating for the cold African winters. 5 Years ago The JCS Group started a reach-out programme to make a difference in these children’s everyday lives. Since starting with this programme they each received a bicycle to cycle to school across the vast African plains where they previously had to walk the long distances every day. Every year they receive full school attire with a set of summer and winter clothes including school shoes and sneakers. For their parents, providing one set of school clothes to their children is the equivalent of more than 2 months’ wages. Every year the staff in the organization holds a Christmas party for the children of the school, complete with presents for every child, more food and sweets than they can eat, a huge Christmas tree and a Father Christmas that is the envy of any child. With The JCS Group visit in September they received all they may possibly need in terms of classroom necessities – from colouring pencils and crayons to pencil sharpeners, colouring books, large wall mounted world maps, exercise books, rulers and erasers. They also received a pile of fun games to help the child in them forget the fight for survival that is part of their everyday lives – Chinese Checkers, playing cards, puzzles, soccer balls for the boys, tennis balls for the girls. They also received 2 blankets each and the customary bag of sweets and chips. However, the most precious message is this: They have each been asked to compile a profile of themselves – what they like, what their hobbies are, etc. All round they wrote that their role models are their “Mothers and Fathers from The JCS Group”. With the beautiful African sunset on that day, the light shone in each of their little faces and it is then that one realizes how little it takes to make a big difference in this world. |
