Celebrating lives with cupcakes

TWO St Henry's Marist College alumi, Patrice Madurai and Jason Grieve, are spreading joy to underprivileged children through an initiative called the Cupcake ReSolution.

After finishing school, the two maintained their relationship with the Marist Network by helping plan and facilitate a summer sports and craft camp that the Marist Brothers and Sisters of Mercy run in Addo, just outside Port Elizabeth. They got to know a family who lived on the property at the Sisters of Mercy, and in December 2012, they were told that the six-year-old girl from that family, Joanne, who they were incredibly close to, had died of viral meningitis.

“Joanne was by far one of the most incredible people I've had the privilege of meeting. Although she was just six, she was graceful and truly a light to everyone she encountered. I promised Joanne that I would one day take her to Cape Town but unfortunately that will never happen. The Eastern Cape is the poorest province in South Africa, it is plagued with an array of social problems and injustices. Working in the area I had become acutely aware of the fact that many people, especially children, are not registered. What this means is that they do not have any form of identification and thus do not qualify for social grants, they can't register to write their matriculation exams and eventually they can't qualify for permanent and formal employment. This essentially traps them in a cycle of poverty and gross social injustice,” said Patrice.

The Cupcake ReSolution was founded by Patrice, and driven by a responsibility to ensure that Joanne's light keeps shining.

“Essentially it is a three pronged solution to facilitate a mind set change by celebrating lives and claiming identities,” she said.

Patrice spoke about her Cupcake Resolution at a function at St Joseph's School and the word spread. In the audience on the day was Mike Greef of St David's in Johannesburg. He offered to donate R10 000 to her cause and with theproceeds of a bake sale at St Joseph's and St Henry's, R30 000 was raised which was used to help the people from Port Elizabeth apply for their identity documents.

“The next step was to celebrate lives. Working with the biggest bakery in PE we placed an order for 1500 cupcakes. We decided that because so many children did not have birth certificates, they also missed out on the childhood joy of celebrating their birthdays, making a wish and blowing out a candle on their own birthday cake. We took the cupcakes to six primary schools and gave one to every child who then got an opportunity to celebrate their lives.

“We told these children that they were destined for great things. It is a simple gesture to give someone a cupcake, but it's an amazing thing when all the candles are lit and the children are silent as they have no idea what is going on. It is so special! We tell them they have to realise how valuable they are,” said Jason.

Patrice also arranged for the Department of Home Affairs to send a mobile office to two of the townships. “All the processing and running costs were covered by the money that the Marist schools had so generously donated,” she said.

The pair thought it would be a once-off project, but in the last year they have hosted various Cupcake ReSolution events, both in Port Elizabeth and in Cape Town. In addition to this, awareness campaigns have been run in PE, Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Bulgaria, Barcelona and in Brussels.

“We have been able to give out in excess of 4000 cupcakes and we've helped almost 500 people successfully acquire their documentation,” said Patrice.

This past weekend, in collaboration with the Durban Youth Council, they formally launched The Cupcake ReSolution in Durban. DYC is a student-run organisation comprising of 120 Grade 11 learners, all of whom represent 40 of Durban's high schools. Their schools have hosted bake sales and civvies days.

“I promised Joanne that I would take her to Cape Town but in the last year her memory has made an impact on the lives and hearts of people globally. Her legacy will live on in all who benefit from this project,” said Patrice.