Last week, the Eastern Cape KFC franchise surprised 33 boys at Grahamstown's Eluxolweni Child and Youth Care Centre with blankets, linen, matresses and bedsheets.
Last week, the Eastern Cape KFC franchise surprised 33 boys at Grahamstown's Eluxolweni Child and Youth Care Centre with blankets, linen, matresses and bedsheets.
The children were completely unaware of the donation and were thrilled when they arrived back from school to a room filled with brand new bedding. “It is so beautiful.
I never want to wake up again,” said 14-year-old John Henry Van Heerden. “It feels like I’m up in the sky.” The Eastern Cape KFC franchise say that they have formed a special relationship with the centre, after signing them as a beneficiary in 2015. Marketing Manager, Aimee de la Harpe says, “This is our first franchise initiative with the Centre. It is wonderful to know that we can contribute. At least a little bit.”
Eluxolweni caters for boys aged between 8-18 who predominantly come from disadvantaged backgrounds and who are in need of urgent nurture and care. “A social worker will take the child off the street and do background research regarding the circumstances at home," says Linda Mpiyane, social worker at the Centre.
"If they feel that the child should be removed from their home, the matter will be handled in court and only then are we allowed to take care of the child.”
At Eluxolweni, she says, the boys are given the home they never had. They are provided with proper meals, shelter, counselling and health care facilities as well as guidance through a process of emotional healing. Supervisors ensure rigid routines and safety for the children.
"These figures become like their father or mother. As soon as the boys adapt to the system, they realise that this is home”, says Mpiyane. “Despite the challenges we face, it is a very satisfying and rewarding profession.”
Of the donation she says, “This makes us so happy. These are children from disadvantaged areas who finally have a warm home and a nice warm blanket to call their own. It is not borrowed or handed down. It belongs to them.”
After the surprise, the boys were treated to a lunch at the recently renovated KFC in Peppergrove Mall. The Eluxoweni Child and Youth Care Centre welcomes any volunteers who might be able to assist them in their daily programmes and activities that take place at the centre.
