Giving: The best gift of all
FOURWAYS - Merry Days and Little Saints Pre-School has shown that the gift of giving keeps on giving.
The pupils at the school miss their friend Layla O’Neill, who attended the school until she was diagnosed with ependymoma, a tumor on her brain.
O’Neill returned to visit the school and received a R12 000 donation.
Principal Jerry Thomas said, “The whole school has missed Layla so much and she was greeted with an abundance of love and joy. We were all so excited to have her back for the morning.”
O’Neill’s mother Sharyn said the family needed to raise about R1.8 million in order for her daughter to receive the necessary medical treatment in Houston, Texas.
The pre-school created a CD with O’Neill’s favourite songs and her photograph on the cover. Donations were collected from pupils’ parents to raise the R12 000.
Thomas said, “Layla has been at Merry Days with us for many years. We have watched her grow into a lovely little girl. As a school we are passionate about helping Layla as it breaks our hearts to see this precious little girl in so much pain. We believe in helping people in need and have been blessed to do so through our schools. We would like to thank all our parents and children who contributed and donated towards raising money for Layla’s procedure.”
Thomas said helping O’Neill taught the children the joy of giving to others.
He extended the giving gesture to the rest of the Fourways community to help O’Neill.
The O’Neills have also created a Facebook page, Raising Hope For Layla, to generate community support and awareness.
Details: Merry Days and Little Saints school office on 011-465-5269 or Rh4layla@gmail.com
