Nederburg Auction charity proceeds helping to fund path out of poverty

BRAND ACTIVITY

Dec 6th, 08:12

Charities in the Western Cape supported by the annual Nederburg Auction are increasingly seeing the effects of critical skills development amongst poor and disadvantaged youth in the region.

This was revealed at the recent handover in Stellenbosch of proceeds from the Nederburg Charity Auction to the three NGOs annually benefiting from South Africa’s premier rare wine auction: The Anna Foundation, The Pebbles Project Trust and the Goedgedacht Trust.

The Anna Foundation is providing academic, social and environmental support and equipping children with skills for life long learning, and will be using its funding for its “Reading, Running and Right-ing” programme in the Paarl, Franschhoek and Stellenbosch areas. The Goedgedacht Trust has established a community development centre to counter the effects of unemployment, alcohol abuse and illiteracy among rural children and youth through a long-term “path-out-of-poverty” programme.

At the event, Pebbles Project founder and director Sophia Warner said the funds received over the past three years have enabled the fund to develop a critical skills development programme for its 250 after-school club learners. Funds were used to train 21 staff members in helping the development of language, communication, mathematical, physical, social, emotional and health skills among the children. “We are really seeing the benefits of this programme in supporting the children’s learning abilities in school,” she says. “During the past year, the children’s school reports have been analysed, and there has been an overall improvement in the learners’ mathematical and life skills marks. Learners have also completed a standardised spelling and reading test and these scores will be compared to the results of the same test in 2014 to evaluate the effectiveness of the programme.”

Anna Brom, director of the Anna Foundation, said drama activities offer particularly valuable opportunities for experiential learning, and hence, the donation will be utilised to support the Foundation’s drama-based life skills programme. Through this, children are guided to not only learn to respect and accept the ‘rules of the game’ but to gradually gain understanding about the bases for rules and boundaries. “Over time such learning become transferable to other life situations, and helps build their self confidence and self esteem. With a strong sense of self-worth, a child will be better equipped to make positive life choices,” she says.

Distell social investment controller Sonja Morkel commented: “ We want to see ourselves as part of this positive change amongst our children and youth. We are excited to be part of projects that aim to lead children on a path out of circumstances that might have otherwise seemed impossible. We want to see them become confident young women and men who can take their rightful place wherever they are. We do this by going back to basics, empowering them with life skills and through this enable them to make healthy choices in life.”

The Nederburg Charity Auction, held in the auction hall at the close of the main auction on the Saturday, is committed to supporting the pivotal role that all three organisations play in uplifting young individuals who come from impoverished communities.Click here for more information on Nederburg