St Stithians boys are Josh’s ‘saints’
De Klerk calculated that collections from the initiative were more than 200 cans of food, 300kg of mealie meal, 100 kg of rice 60 blankets and 20 bags of winter clothing.
The youngsters of St Stithians Boys’ College have done a stellar job of collecting non-perishable food and toiletries for the many people that the Johannesburg Organisation of Services to the Homeless (Josh) serves.
Marc Adam, a teacher at the school, initially came up with the idea for the project before the lockdown started. “I had done some volunteer work at the Josh soup kitchen over the past two years, so I know what incredible work they do along with the Methodist Church in Randburg,” he said.
As one of the school’s house directors, he saw this as the perfect opportunity for the boys of the school’s Wesley House to give back to those in need.
“As a house we managed to collect 80 cans of food and 30 bags of mealie meal and rice since the first term of school. When it was announced that schools would close in March, the house agreed to donate what we had collected to Josh,” he said.
Adam said that he was taken aback by the sheer number of those affected by the Covid-19 lockdown. “When I delivered the donations to Mary de Klerk, CEO of Josh, the day before the lockdown started, I saw the number of people who needed help and I realised we had to do more.”
De Klerk calculated that collections from the initiative were more than 200 cans of food, 300kg of mealie meal, 100 kg of rice 60 blankets and 20 bags of winter clothing. “When school returned after the April holidays, I approached our rector Celeste Gilardi and our head of operations Rene Swart to see whether we could expand the programme to include all students and teachers,” said Adam. He said that they were incredibly supportive of the idea and gave the go-ahead, and with the help of Gladys Ayaya and Vicky Chilvers, the school has now managed to incorporate the Josh initiative into the college’s community service offerings. “
The first week of collections has been hugely successful and I’d like to thank the Saints family for their support. Over the lockdown period, the St Stithians campus residents have been amazing. We have run a food and blanket drive for five weeks and made donations every Friday to Josh,” concluded Adam. For more information on the Johannesburg Organisation of Services to the Homeless, community members are encouraged to visit their website.
Details: www.joburghomeless.org
