It’s that time of year again. Christmas carols start playing in shopping centres and decorations make their appearance.
But not everyone is lucky to celebrate Christmas – many children don’t receive presents at all and don’t even know what Christmas feels like.
Hermanus Times decided to take the children of Nomzamo Educare Centre in Zwelihle under its wing and make their Christmas season special for them. “We are challenging businesses to come forward and donate Santa Shoe boxes to this centre,” Mariëtte Strydom, editor of Hermanus Times, said.
According to Nasiphi Tuswa, principal of Nomzamo Educare Centre, the school opened its doors in 1993. “Our mission is to offer a service to the children and families of the community, with creative activities for children and to develop early learning skills,” she said. “We also want to create a safe environment for children while the parents are at work. At the moment we have 106 children in the centre.”
Nomzamo offers the children quality education and care and ensures appropriate development for children between 2 and 5 years old. Tuswa and the rest of her teachers wish to make a difference in every child’s life.
“Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child’s life,” she says, “for attending and participating in school helps our children develop important skills and knowledge, especially learning social and emotional skills, such as good communication, resilience and teamwork.”
The content of a Santa Shoe Box is: facecloth, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste (for children), something sweet, bubbles, playdough and a colouring book with colouring crayons.
The shoeboxes will be donated to the school at a Christmas party on 17 November.. Businesses can also challenge one another and a photo of your donation will appear in Hermanus Times. The company with the most shoe boxes will get a free advertorial in the Hermanus Times.