Recently Mug and Tree Community Centre received a special visit from a few representatives of the Deon Rothman Foundation – a foundation rooted in working with abused, under-privileged and sick children.

On Sunday, 3 December, roughly 80 children from the community centre were spoiled rotten with some scrumptious treats, Christmas gifts, school bags and stationery when an early Christmas celebration was held.

Each month, a different need is identified and targeted whereafter the Foundation acts accordingly, explained Ronél Hayes, founder and chairperson of the Foundation. She subsequently came up with the initiative of hosting a Christmas party with some extravagant gifts for the underprivileged children of the Krugersdorp West area.

She explained that she posted about her initiative on certain Facebook forums where community members had the opportunity to choose a child and sponsor a Christmas gift for him or her.

On this day, each child also received brand-new stationery and a school bag for the upcoming school year from Werksmans Prokureurs in Sandton.

“The need in Krugersdorp is huge and people tend to just give to the same community over and over again. Sometimes they should rather focus on their own community because they forget that they have people in need as well,” Ronél said.

Needless to say, the day was a huge success and each child left the centre with a smile and a warm heart.

“We wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help of our sponsors and the community. It’s very important for us to involve the community in projects such as this.”