In the heart of the Jerusalem Informal Settlement in Roodepoort, childhood looks very different to what many of us might imagine. Here, children grow up surrounded by hardship — shack homes, food insecurity, unreliable access to water, and environments where safety and structure are never guaranteed. On top of these daily battles, some of these little ones are also living with neurodiversity, requiring specialised education that their circumstances simply cannot afford.
For years, Rainbow Children’s Village has been the anchor holding these children steady. Through its Educate-a-Child bursary programme, the organisation supports 17 children with school fees, transport, aftercare, and daily nutrition, while also running a safe house in Westdene for six vulnerable children — three of whom also require special needs schooling. But 2025 has brought severe financial pressure, and for the first time in many years, the organisation faced the devastating possibility of not meeting their school fee commitments for the year ahead.
Without the projected R64 000 shortfall in fees to Sparrow Schools, these children would have lost their place in the specialised education environment they so desperately need.
On the final day of Disability Rights Awareness Month, Mary Webber and Teresa Richards arrived at the HOT 1027 studios believing they were there simply to raise awareness. Instead, they found Bunny, Shona, and Silverstar’s Events Manager, Nadia Godridge, waiting with life-changing news.
That’s where the magic of Hot Cares Christmas stepped in.
