“It’s just such a sad story,” said Joy. “But, fortunately, my daughter’s amazing helper, Mandy (also not her real name), is truly a veritable Mother Theresa.”
Mandy is the mother of Faith’s friend and has taken the young girl in, despite having limited financial means, as a domestic worker.
“This has left Faith with absolutely nothing in the world, and extremely traumatised,” said Joy. “Faith is very quiet and withdrawn and feels like she is now a burden. She is in matric but has missed too many exams as a result of her depression and current circumstances and will have to repeat matric next year while watching her friend go off to university.”
Mandy babysits to bring in extra money as finances are already tight, with two kids of her own, and Joy and her daughter have helped with some clothes, but that doesn’t begin to cover what Faith has lost.
“They are obviously in desperate need of food, personal items, cellphones, clothing etc,” said Joy. “Any bit of help would be appreciated. We feel so bad for Faith and Mandy. Please could you find it in your hearts to help these two families in great need?”
Absolutely!
For starters, Hot Cares will be taking care of Faith’s schooling for the whole of next year, with everything from transport to school fees, textbooks, uniforms etc. On top of that, transport to visit her mother in hospital and to see a social worker.
Further to that, we’re adding a monthly Dis-Chem store account worth R2500 a month for 12 months, to take care of Faith’s personal toiletry needs, as well as some cleaning materials for Mandy’s home.
There’s also a shopping voucher to replace bedding, clothing, shoes and other items she needs that were lost in the fire and a cellphone for Faith.
Mandy, in turn, we believe, is a talented seamstress, so we’re throwing in a sewing machine, fabric and haberdashery items to help her generate extra income on her own time and independently.
Lastly, the icing on the cake – because Faith is a big fan of nature, we’re going to be sending her, her friend and Mandy away for the weekend to a game lodge in the Pilanesberg in the new year, so that they can breathe in some fresh air and take time out from this trauma.
Total approximate value of this Christmas gift – R70 000!
We know it’s been a terrible time for Faith and a challenging few months for Mandy, but we salute them both for their strength and hope this is just a small way to have some joy this festive season.
