|
HouMoed Shelter at KwasaKwasa, Zwelihle HERMANUS is home to the Swop Shop. Theo De Meyer and the Board of HouMoed has welcomed us to make use of their facilities free of charge. They have made us feel most welcome.
Thank you HouMoed
The Swop Shop vision is to empower children, encouraging them to use what they have around them, to improve their conditions. It underlines the belief that by the better we use what we have, more will be added to it. Idleness may be turned into hope, and hope into dreams.
The future of this country lays in the hands of today’s children. Without hope or dreams, there is no future.
It is said: “Hands turned up to receive handouts create beggars. Hands turned down to work create responsible citizens.”
In many cases, the basic needs of children in the townships are not being met. Children live in squalor and many suffer and die from simple disease easily prevented by improved hygiene and nutrition. Children are hostages to the unemployment of their parents, addictions that keep parents in bondage and the horror of absent parents due to Aids or other issues. Below, some estimates concerning preventable childhood disease.
The Swop Shop is where children can “swop” bags of recyclables (which litter the streets everywhere) for useful items they need. Any child from 2-12 may join. Any child strong enough to carry a bag of tins, bottles or glass can shop at the Swop Shop.
Every Wednesday afternoon from 2:30 pm the shop opens. Children receive their own card to record their collections (“earnings”). When they have finished sorting their collectables they then can shop at the “swop shop”. Using their card to record their collections, children learn how to save to buy larger items the following week. When children have collected more than 10 bags per month, they become eligible to join outings.
Personal hygiene items
Shoes & Clothing
School supplies
Toys (when available)
Anything donors wish to give…(see incentives)
In order of popularity:
soap, face cloths, toilet paper, trousers/shorts, torches, coloured pens, shoes, swimwear, t-shirts, pens & pencils, warm jerseys, underwear, bath towels, tooth brushes, tooth paste, notebooks, storybooks, stuffed toys.
The Swop Shop operates solely through donation & volunteer activity.
At this stage, people from our community & international visitors
learning of the program have provided items – new or used.
Guesthouses provide soap and discarded towels to be made into face
cloths. Walker Bay Recycling donates things they believe we can use.
Used clothing has been kindly donated both internationally and
locally. If you have time to share or have something to give to the
program which might assist us, we thank you.
These are educational experiences meant to expose children to their
surroundings in a way which helps them to understand the importance
of protecting and ensuring responsible and sustainable development
of this country’s most valuable assets: the environment and it’s
people. Children who show initiative and demonstrate their hard work
to collect are invited on outings such as: swimming trips, outings
to the mountain, beach & petting farm. A local ice cream shop has
offered a 50% discount on all ice cream served to our participants.
We are delighted with the community support we have received.
|
