Woodworkers guild helps Child Welfare
Members design toy vehicles to keep kids busy
The Lower Albany Woodworkers Guild have used their extraordinary talents to donate handmade wooden toys to the Child Welfare organisation in Kenton-on-Sea.
At the guild’s meeting at the Masonic Hall on Tuesday November 7, the woodworking specialists gathered around a table laden with an assortment of toys handed over to social workers Gladys Hani and Nomaxabiso Sojola, who manage a home for vulnerable youth in Kentonon-Sea’s Ekuphumleni township.
“We are so happy now that the children will have something to do because they don’t have toys.
“They get bored in the afternoon but we know now that they have something they own and they will look after these toys,” Hani said. Among the items were miniature chairs, a variety of wooden cars and a miniature steam roller all neatly laid out on a table.
Hani said they provide shelter and food for children who are abused, orphaned and neglected and arrange counselling for them when needed.
“There are many children who don’t have parents and, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the parents and, in some cases, even the foster parents have passed away.
“It is difficult for the social workers to find another person to help us do assessments of the children.
“The grants stop when the foster parents pass away. And we have to start the process all over again.”
Hani said though they were very thankful to the Woodworker’s Guild’s for their gesture.
“These wooden toys can keep children off the streets and it can motivate them when they are busy doing something practical.
“Our budgets are tight and we’ve been running out of money since the time of Covid-19. We provide food and shelter for the children but we need equipment to keep them busy so that we keep them off the streets” she said.
The Ekuphumleni home houses 70 children, while the foster care section houses 50 youth.
Rob Moss, chair of the Lower Albany Woodworkers Guild, said their initiative to produce toys for Child Welfare tied in with their last meeting of the year.
“So our aim is to hand over the toys to Child Welfare who pass them on to the children. The reason why Kenton was the recipient this year is because the Port Alfred Child Welfare’s offices closed down.”
The town’s branch of Child Welfare closed its branch on March 31 this year due to unreliable funding.
The Lower Albany Woodworkers Guild formed in 2006 and has been organising the toy handover ever since, Moss said.
“We are prepared to help and we are very proud of what we have managed to do here today.
“This is a hobby for most of us here, but there are also others that do woodwork full-time. Most of us are retired and these projects at least keep us busy,” Moss said.