Help us to build this creche in 2018

Since 2016, we have been doing small community projects on a regular basis as part of our #WeChallengeYou initiative. Our projects have been small, as our approach is that many small changes can have a large impact. This year we help The Celemandla Creche.

So in 2018, we are looking to take it a little further. A lot further, actually. That is where you come in.

In November 2017, there was a catastrophic storm that resulted in large amounts of property damage around Durban, specifically the Upper Highway area. Through Nick’s church, we heard of a small creche in the rural Molweni community that was levelled in the storm. Not just damaged, but completely destroyed. This meant that 48 children under the age of 6 now had nowhere to go during the day. The name of the creche is Celemandla.

As we learned more about this story, we became more and more certain that this was a community in crises that desperately needed aid. These 48 children are deeply loved by the Gogos (grannies) that look after them at school. These women get paid nothing at all, but come every day to feed and look after this next generation of South African leaders. Their dedication to the community is heartwarming and humbling.

After the storm, the community banded together to try and raise a structure that the children could use during the day. They tried their best but the Department of Education has deemed that the shelter is not safe. So currently the children are not going to school during the day. You can see the structure in the images below. Would you like to spend your daytime hours learning and playing in a structure like this?

We know that we can help. In the 9 years we have been in business in Durban, our network has grown immensely and now is the time to bring that network into play to make a big change in a small community. Celemandla is going to be our community project of 2018, and we would like you to help us make their dream a reality.

We are approaching the project in 3 phases, with a view to having the entire project completed by 16th December, 2018. A huge thank you to The Robin Hood Foundation for coming on board and partnering with us to help make this a reality!

Building The Main Creche

Originally we had approached a fantastic company to help us make a structure for these kids, but unfortunately the temporary nature of this building would not have been suitable for smaller children, so we were concerned about their safety. In a huge hurry we therefore had to find a suitable replacement that would still fit in with our new budget.

In came Viky and his fantastic team from Golden Rewards. See their site here. They are building us a Fibre-cement building that will be 9.6m x 6m in size with a wooden structure, and corrugated roof. There will be 4 windows installed. The lifespan of this building (as long as we re-paint it every 2 years) will be beyond 12 years. So that's at least 3 generations of 4 month olds - 5 years olds that we can help!

Instead of paying a minimum of R140 000 for a better structure from elsewhere, Viky came in at a great price of only R97 500 for the building below. He then gave us a discount of R7 500 and donated 30m of fence wire too! We cannot say thank you enough to him and his team. They are almost finished and you can see the pics below. We have estimated we will need R10 000 to furnish the interior with tables, chairs, books, blankets etc for the children. So the total amount we are aiming for is now R150 000! This will be for Phase 1 and Phase 2 to be completed.

Check out our Facebook page for daily videos so you can really see what is happening.

Pledged So Far:

Golden Rewards - R7 500

Da Costa Inc - R15 000

Mj Chartered Accountants - R5 000

Jebex - R1 000

WSI Digital Marketing Durban branch - R15 000

Success Point Consulting - R1 000

Personal donations - R500

Kaytech Engineered Fabrics- R60 000

There have been many other donations of items to use, we are keeping a record of all of these and will update this page and our social pages once we have everything. The support really has been amazing and we thank everyone for getting involved, but as always we have to ask for more, so that we can really finish this project off in the best way for these children. So if you'd like to give money and be able to take it off your tax bill, or you'd like to increase your BBBEE score this year, please see below and get involved.

The Robin Hood Foundation has very kindly agreed to partner with us on this project. All donations can be made into their account, which means that you will receive a Section 18a Donations Certificate. For banking details please scroll to the top of this page.

The school is a registered creche, and the school governors hold the title deed to the land on which we are building. All of the necessary background has been done to ensure that the improvements done to the property benefit the children of the community. This project is completely transparent - if you require any documentation for proof, please email nick@wsicyberdesign.com.

Ablution Block & Kitchen

This part of the project will involve building toilets and a kitchen on site - currently the toilet is across the road. Well, this isn't really much of a toilet, more like a rural long drop. So we're looking to put either a non-water system or a compostable toilet system into here. Looking for 3 separate toilets, for boys and girls, and then a third for the teachers to have their own space too.

Surely we can do better than the above?

Quotations for this section of the project will be obtained in August 2018 but we are budgeting for a waterless system we will need at least R25 000 to complete these.

Total budget for the Kitchen (2.4m x 3m size with 1 door and 1 window) and the Toilets = R40 000

Jungle Gym & Garden

This part of the project will involve creating appropriate play equipment in the back of the property, away from the road. We would also like to plant a vegetable garden to help with the nutritional requirements of the kids, and also an indigenous flower garden to bring brightness and beauty to the already stunning landscape.

So if you're able to help at this time of the year with any of the above please let us know.

Quotations for this section of the project will be obtained in September 2018