Crowdfunding to give kids of Coffee Bay a chance
SHE went to Rhini village in Coffee Bay, Eastern Cape, and lost her heart. Now she wants to return the love by starting a crowdfunding initiative to build a school in the area she made her home.
Sarah Beth McAdam, 27, from Lakeside in Muizenberg, said she visited the area as a tourist and fell in love with one of the residents‚ Nhaza Ndevu‚ and they got married. They have a daughter together, Capri-Sazah Ndevu.
Sarah is the first white woman in the village to embrace and live the Xhosa culture as umfazi (wife). She is now known as Aka meaning “gift” and mamma gaSazah meaning “mother of Capri”. She has been embraced by the Bomvana tribe and into the Ndevu family.
“The Bomvana tribe is a unique group of amazing genuine humans, who still honour tradition and respect the word ‘family’,” said Sarah.
As a qualified Montessori teacher‚ Sarah wants to teach English to the children in her village. She homeschools her daughter but they would need a building for the rest.
“I feel it is my responsibility to give back to my community. I am a teacher and would love to start my own school and teach English to the children, but I need funders to sponsor the building. That’s why I started a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy. I am targeting pupils between grades 1 and 5 who struggle with English.”
Added Zane Groenewald, BackaBuddy spokesperson: “This community showcases how far South African people have come in embracing our unity and celebrating our differences.”
Chief Pali Ngwenyana of the Bomvana said: “Any development that will make the community a better place and advance children is always welcome.” To support Sarah’s campaign visit BackaBuddy: www.backabuddy. co.za/champion/project/sarah-bethscampaign-for-coffee-bay-child