Cradle needs your help to help the needy
The cold, winter nights and the closing down of another shelter are only two of the things that are contributing to the influx of women and children knocking on the Cradle's door for help.
The name says it all – The Cradle of Hope, and hope is exactly what this organisation provides every day.
They give hope not only for the women and children who sometimes travel hundreds of kilometres to ask for their help, but also for the hundreds of people who rely on them for their only meal of the day.
Every single day the Cradle of Hope supplies sandwiches to between 200 and 300 hungry children and their parents.
“For many of them this is their only meal of the day,” the organisation posted on its Facebook page.
It went on to explain that recently a woman told them that the sandwiches she receives every day give her hope. That hope is the only thing stopping her from committing suicide.
In the post they explain that they use between 50 to 80 loaves of bread every day, which they themselves buy at R6,80 each. Then they still need the peanut butter and jam to spread on the bread. The costs of this project is estimated at R1 000 a day.
But apart from the hungry mouths they feed, they have women and children in their care to whom they provide a safe and loving home.
In recent weeks the applications from broken, abused and desperate woman have been on the increase and the organisation had to clean out its storage rooms to provide for the influx of people.
“This afternoon a distressed young girl came to us pleading for a bed for tonight. After speaking to our empowerment coach and listening to her story we could not say no,” said another of the posts.
A local government shelter for women and children, Polokego, was shut down recently and now these women also need a place to stay.
The shelter has a wish list of things that they urgently need:
• They need blankets now as winter is at its coldest and they do not have enough to keep everyone warm.
• They need clothes for the people at their shelter as most of them arrive with only the clothes on their backs, having escaped from, for instance, abusive relationships or trafficking. They need clothes for women, children and babies. All sizes are welcome.
• Meat is needed, to feed not only the people in the Cradle house, but also at the Tower of Life men and women shelters. They require beef mince, venison, beef stew meat, chicken, wors, eggs, toilet paper, oil, corn meal, packets of soup, rice, coffee, long life milk, potatoes, butternut, onion, gem squash, peanut butter and mixed fruit jam.
• They have babies in their care as well and urgently need baby nappies, size three and four, Lactogen two and three, Infacare one, two and three.
• They are desperate for a sponsor to help them with the loaves of bread every day.
If you have any enquiries or want to help this organisation, please contact Melodie on WhatsApp 082 459 5747, or Sharyn at the office on 076 262 0452.
You can also drop off donations at 37 Dekker Street, Krugersdorp West.
