National lottery rescues Pasa
Freddy Trout, managing director of Pasa George: Like many other businesses, People Against Substance Abuse (Pasa) in George has been hit hard by the national lockdown. At the start of the lockdown in March we thought it would just be for the three weeks and then it would all go back to normal, but then came the extension and the rest we don't even want to talk about. We have, like most people, started to think about how we would pay our expenses, and that is not even to mention our personal expenses that needed to be covered. Well, there wasn't really much that we could do and we needed to start strategising about how we would do fundraising. The way we have been doing it since 2006 was not even an option anymore, since all businesses who would usually support us were also closed and everyone was in the same boat of uncertainty.
We started sending out e-mails to every single person and business we have on our mailing list, with very little response. We created fundraising initiatives on various online platforms and shared them all over Facebook and with people on our mailing list, with very little success.
We were able to pay another month's rent to keep our office open. Then came the realisation that Pasa might have to close its operations in George. The thought of us being out of work, not being able to pay rent and possibly end up on the streets with my wife and kids was frightening. It brought back so many memories of how I ended up on the streets so many years ago when I was still addicted to drugs, eating out of rubbish bins, begging for money on street corners to be able to get something to eat. I couldn't bear the thought of putting my family through that, to look my children in the eye and tell them that there is no money to pay rent or buy food. Telling them that we have to close the organisation that I started from scratch and invested everything into was too much to bear.
We also applied to the National Lotteries Commission for funding through their Covid-19 relief fund the minute the applications opened up, but because I had not heard from them, I had thought the application had probably been declined. I received an e-mail from them saying the application was not going to be considered. This was the first communication I had from them, which really confused me as we had submitted an application the very day that it opened. I decided to make contact with them, upon which I was informed there was a glitch in their system, and almost immediately they confirmed receipt of our application.
Soon after, we received an allocation letter to say we have been awarded a grant to cover at least one month's expenses and rent for the office for three months. On the day that we had to make a decision on whether to close our office, we were pleasantly surprised to receive the payment from them.
We were so happy that we could not contain our emotions. We really want to thank the National Lotteries Commission for the grant that made it possible for us to keep our offices open. They rescued us and made it possible to continue to serve our communities.