The short course students managed to raise in excess of R5000.00 in cash and kind thanks to the support of partner donors, students and staff.
The charity the students chose to support was Ons Plek, an organisation that assists girl street children, situated off Adderley Street in the centre of Cape Town. Their mission statement is passionate and simple: ‘To make a substantive improvement in the lives of female street children.’
The name Ons Plek originally derived from the delighted “a place for us” response of the girls who were among Cape Town’s ‘invisible street children.’ When Ons Plek Shelter opened in 1988, it was the only intake shelter and 24 hour assessment centre for girls in Cape Town.
The ‘On top of the world’ theme was chosen to evoke both the steep rise up Table Mountain and the idea of rising above steep challenges.
At the fundraising breakfast, Guest Speaker Yumna van der Schyff, a social worker, told guests, students and sponsors that every year approximately 150 girls, between the ages of 8 and 18 are left in town, sent away, or leave home to escape physical abuse and neglect. Some say that they “eat better on the street than they do at home.”
During the event, international visitors, who happened to be seated at a nearby table, were so moved by the personal testimony of Allerease, that they made a spontaneous cash donation. Allerease is a former Ons Plek resident, a university graduate and current volunteer who is married with three children. She is living proof that the cycle of violence can be broken with the loving care and support of social workers and volunteers.
She said that the girls are “empowered to cope with life” and are “instilling a sense of responsibility for themselves.”
Lecturer Pierre le Roux said that he was proud of the students as the event was organised efficiently and had created awareness for a valuable project.
Ons Plek welcomes committed volunteers who can assist with a range of activities including supervising homework, computer, leadership and life skills training, swimming and baking. Anyone able to make a donation, in cash or kind, or willing to assist, particularly with a community project in Phillippi, is welcome to e-mail Pam Jackson or Yumna van der Schyff on onsplek@new.co.za.
By Beryl Liebetrau, Faculty of Business
Photograph: (back, left to right)Students Ntombizandile Moninjwa and Kafeka Seyuba, guest speakers Allerease and Yumna van der Schyff, students Deidre Lotterick and Faesa Fakir (front) student Titus Sivuyile.
