Teen’s vibrance restored with world of possibilities offered by auction fund

RECALLING the hardships of her past, a 17-year-old girl from Cloetesville, Stellenbosch, says the Cape Wine Auction fundraiser has afforded her opportunities and a better life.

The auction last week raised R22.3 million for 22 beneficiaries, including organisations which work with the education and development of children in the Cape Winelands. Over the past three years, the auction has raised R31m.

The beneficiaries include the Lunch Box Fund, which provides nutritious meals and snacks; the Anna Foundation, which manages an after-school club; Community Keepers social workers and psychologists, which offers trauma counselling and mental health support; and the Click Foun- dation, which offers access to computers and literacy software.

The teenager, who did not want to be named, received help from Community Keepers.

“I can remember my life on the streets as a tiny child. It makes me realise where I come from and how strong I am.”

She lived on the streets with her alcoholic mother until the age of three when her grand- mother took her in. When she was 11 years old, a neighbour’s husband tried to rape her, but she managed to run for help. She had to face him again in court, where he was sentenced to six years in jail. This traumatic experience caused her to become depressed.

“My marks at school dropped, and girls at school started bullying me. I was threatened by one with a knife,” she says.

But today, she is a spokesperson for Columba Youth Leadership Programme, which is also funded by the Cape Wine Auction. “I am so confident. I’m doing well at school, I just passed Grade 10. I want to be a life coach and help people change their lives.”

The generosity of wine lovers from across the globe has made a positive impact on many other young lives. Linda Christensen, spokesperson for the auction, said close to 300 children were enabled to attend Lynedoch Primary School rather than being forced to commute to faraway schools.

Another young beneficiary, Tashwell Baartman, 26, is now an award-winning firefighter. He might have become a school drop-out had he not encountered The Pebbles Project, which runs crèches and after-school care for farm communities.

From Grade 10, Baartman attended a Pebbles After School Club on the Stellenbosch farm where he grew up.

“I’d do my homework there every afternoon, the staff would help us. And we’d go on outings with them. It was lekker.”

As a firefighter, Baartman is a hero to the young children in the area.

“Most of the youth give up school, but now there are six who’ve finished matric. They see I have a job with the fire department, earning money.

“I tell them, ‘ don’t think that because you live on a farm, you can’t get a job. If you get an opportunity, grab it’.”

asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za