How they answered the Call of Doody
First a belly in a checkered shirt appears, then his broad shoulders and as he makes his way to the Christmas tree, the loud roaring of the children gets even louder.
Around the President Hyper truck comes a man dressed in a red suit, his blue eyes and white beard glittering in the summer sunlight. And like his beard and eyes, the children awaiting his arrival are all glowing.
First a belly in a checkered shirt appears, then his broad shoulders and as he makes his way to the Christmas tree, the loud roaring of the children gets even louder.
It’s Santa! And the kids of Pango Camp know exactly what this means – presents.
“Ally and Emmy van Niekerk,” Santa called out and through the crowd came a mommy with twins in her arms.
Santa’s eyes light up as he takes one in each arm. They pull his beard out of curiosity, but he doesn’t mind because they bring him so much joy.
Their mother takes the two fully loaded gift bags with her when taking the babies out of Santa’s arms. Vian van der Wald is next. He’s been waiting his turn and leaps onto Santa’s lap. He too got a gift bag, but instead of dummies and baby bottles, he got toys and teddies, crayons and even a backpack.
What the children don’t know is that Santa had a little help making up the presents. This event was part of the News’ Call of Doody Project. The News vowed to give at least 100 children each a gift bag with presents, but because of the generosity of our readers and local businesses, we were able to give so much more.
We asked the community to donate their second-hand baby clothes and toys to the Call of Doody Christmas project and the response was overwhelming. Since September, not one week went by that the News did not have to go and pick up a load of donations.
Photo: Bianca Pindral.
Laerskool Krugersdorp-Noord was one of the first major sponsors of the project. They held a teddy bear drive and the kind learners donated more than 20 bags of soft toys. Little Citizen Academy also donated specific gifts to the children. UniCollege donated bags of clothes – twice. Maragon Avianto and the West Rand Bikers Church also donated lots of items.
Then bigger companies like Johnson and Johnson also opened their hearts. They donated wet wipes, petroleum jelly, other products, car seats, nappies, clothes and much more.
Grain Care also donated R4 000 to the project for all the extra items the News needed for the project. The News could buy extra toys and specific items from various stores. Hauli-Fante also donated money to help pay for the items. They also sent Santa and Mrs Claus to Pango Camp and for that we are truly grateful.
But the biggest group of helpers by far was President Hyper Krugersdorp. Their kindness far surpassed the News‘ expectations because they not only donated 150 food bags, hundreds of loaves of bread, toiletries, stationery and many other items, they also transported the gift bags that the News team made up to Pango Camp, helped Santa with the handouts and ensured that everything went smoothly.
Photo: Bianca Pindral
The team talked to some of the children and parents and really spent time with them. The News is so blessed to have the support of the community and local companies.
“Thank you, Krugersdorp, you helped us uphold our motto: ‘In the community, for the community, by the community’,” said the News‘ project leader, Bianca Pindral.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za or phone us on 011 955 1130.
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