MARCH 2020
March started with promise. I attended a meeting with the Chevra Kadisha who wanted to discuss the possibility of funding for a couple of urgent projects that were required for their various charities this year. As always their needs are comprised of an unfortunately long lists of high priority needs that require large donation. After very careful consideration we identified a project where we felt our donation would be most beneficial.
Red Bagels feel exceptionally privileged to have informed the Chevra Kadisha that we will be donating one new industrial dishwashing machine to Sandringham Gardens. This will be done immediately. It replaces the old machine which has been breaking down regularly and is no longer cost effective with many of the required parts being discontinued. The new eco and water friendly machine is going to save a lot of time and money, and work very hard. It will wash thousands of dishes, pots, and utensils every month while also ensuring the hygienic conditions in the kitchen are maintained. We are happy to say that the dishwasher has already been installed and is in full use.
The world as we knew it has changed completely. Here in South Africa, we felt the impact slightly after a lot of other countries around the world, when we woke up to the fact that the first case of COVID 19 had unfortunately arrived in our country and our lives were about to change completely. We were given a few days to prepare to join many other countries in the world in total lockdown. It is hard to believe that was one month ago today. that date was 27th March 2020.
Although we have always been extremely aware of the hardships and poverty that our country faced, during this month. This was just the tip of the iceberg. We cannot sit by paralysed by what we cannot do. Therefore we are mobilized to do whatever we can do and have been able to do in small and huge ways.
Our first obligation was to our disabled children from the Ciniselani Stimulation Center in the rural area of Mpumulanga. All schooling and children’s facilities had closed down and I knew they would have very few resources and even fewer ways of receiving these resources due to the lockdown. We also knew the Government grants to these areas are often late and very meagre and these children are mostly, already only being fed one meal a day and that was at school. Most of their families were unable to subsidize even this one meal and they themselves would not have access to much food. I got in touch with my right-hand lady, Patricia, who assists me to run the Centre and she, unfortunately, confirmed my fears.
We sent our first donation of sanitizers and food parcels and a few other essentials to help with prevention of the spreading of the virus to Patricia, who is our superhero on the front lines. We are incredibly grateful that she was able to shop, pack, and distribute the first lot of emergency packs very quickly. I don’t know what I would do without her. A huge shout out and applause for Patricia Shanangu.
Every day we were bombarded with requests from many charities and desperate individuals in need of food and funds, medical equipment, and much more. I am very fortunate to be involved with some extremely energetic and dynamic people from a group called C.O.N.E.C.K.T. Naomi, their CEO and founder, formed this organization to connect many NGO’s, charities, and like-minded individuals to come together and pool our resources. The vision is to be able to create a bigger, better impact in the charities domain and amazingly this group was only formed last year. Through this initiative, Red Bagels was able to identify more efficiently who would be able to do the most effective, best work in the shortest amount of time. I chose an NGO whom I had supported previously, The Angel Network, who had the ability to take immediate action at grassroots level and sent a donation to their Coronavirus appeal.
In the meantime, back at home, Patricia was busy making masks for the Ciniselani children and their families, as masks were now being made compulsory and their value in helping to prevent the spread of the virus was positive. There was a general shortage of masks, especially in the rural areas, they had no masks. Masks would have been expensive if they were available, which is ironic considering the people in these areas are very poor and cannot afford even the cheapest of mask. Children are very vulnerable and need to be protected also and the children at Ciniselani are no different. After a short time, Patricia who had once more used her superpowers and risen to the challenge had made and delivered the masks to each of the children’s homes. This is truly an amazing accomplishment. Thank you, Patricia for going above and beyond and doing this in addition to your regular work.
During this time, it was also the Passover holidays and many charities were receiving pleas for food assistance and once more we felt blessed to donate many meals to:
I would like to take this opportunity to thank someone who doesn’t like to be thanked. However at this time I feel it would be totally amiss not to mention another exceptional superhero. Without him and his extraordinary generosity none of this would even have been possible. A humungous shout out to Alan our donor and a trustee of The Red Bagels Charitable Trust. Thank you for inspiring us to do better every day. We are able to make a difference in the lives of others thanks to you.
All in all, it was a month of challenges and triumphs! Red Bagels were extremely blessed to see and be part of the world coming together to do so much good during COVID. All the amazing and awesome gestures, none of them small or trivial, every tiny deed from a smile to the most enormous donations, from the superheros on the front lines to the essential services, and the people in between no one could have made it without each other. It has been at once a year filled with fear and beauty, the worst and the best…. The happily ever after.
Keep strong, keep safe, be blessed, and stay healthy and keep doing your great acts of kindness, even in the smallest ways.
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts”. (Winston Churchill.)
Have a beautiful day.
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