The family are new to the community, having moved from an area of Xhosa and Afrikaans speakers to one of mainly Zulu and English speakers, which has obviously presented challenges.
They live in a backyard shack of 3 x 3 metres and it’s been an incredible struggle for them, financially. Following the move, Velesca fell pregnant with her second child and it’s just been difficult for her to support the family, as a single mother.
“On many occasions, there is no food in the house, Velesca is unemployed, and receives no financial support,” said Melinda, who has tried to assist with some basics, such as food, clothes and psychosocial advice.
“It’s been extremely tough for this small family, but Vealick is proving to be a little leader with lots of potential,” said Melinda. “He is the captain of the local under-11 soccer team and on top of that is just a beautiful, approachable little boy with the most striking sunshine smile. He is inquisitive and asks such bright questions.”
Unfortunately for Velesca, one of the many challenges she faces is access to a nearby school for Vealick and, incredibly, he currently walks 14 kilometres to school and back every day! Not only does that mean a poor 10-year-old walking an enormous distance just to get an education every day, but he also gets home late and has little time or energy for homework.
So, Melinda believes transport money for Vealick would be a big help for Velesca and Hot Cares is happy to oblige! We’ll be covering the R450 for transport every month in 2023 to ensure Vealick gets to the right school and back, safely.
“Without this huge burden in her life, Velesca might be able to concentrate on getting herself ready to apply for jobs outside of Orange Farm or be more creative to start her own little business,” said Melinda.
Hot Cares couldn’t agree more and that’s why we’re giving Velesca a complete gas cooker kit for her to not only cook her own food, but also possibly generate an additional small income for herself by making vetkoek etc.
On top of that, Hot Cares will be giving her R5000 in ingredients and food stuffs that she might need for that, as well as a R2000 grocery voucher to ensure the family has food over the Christmas period.
But, that’s not all! Vealick is apparently the biggest Orlando Pirates fan, so we reached out to Pirates and they were happy to oblige with the nicest goodie bag – including caps, shirts, beanie, backpack etc. That’s what Dyl got to give him and that’s what precipitated the biggest smile on Vealick’s face, who proceeded to invite Dyl for a bit of a kick-a-bout in the street with his friends.
That got us thinking and Hot Cares decided to treat Vealick’s team as well, ensuring the captain provided for his team-mates! So, those boys will be kitted out with a full new kit, including shirts, tracksuits, bibs, fitness training equipment, water bottles – the whole lot!
We hope that goes a little way to ensuring that this is a memorable Christmas for Vealick and Velesca!
