It was cold on Mandela Day this year, one of the very cold days during this exceptionally cold winter 🥶. The annual celebration and honour of former South Africa president Nelson Mandela’s birthday on 18 July fell on a Saturday, which, in what has become our new normal, is Safe Study Day for Timbuktu in the Valley.Of course the theme for the day was set: Nelson Mandela, who was he? What has he achieved? What is his legacy? We drew, and wrote, and our Up-Cycling expert Ayanda Ogqoyi came in to share the skill of making sea animals and creatures out of recycled plastic bottles.It was a day full of light and creativity 👩🏿‍🎨✂️🎨🐠

However, our young people at Timbuktu in the Valley are aware that, despite their disadvantaged backgrounds and many of them going home to inadequate housing and financially unstable families, we talk about those who have even less. There is a big community of homeless people in our neighbourhood, many of whom make a small living through the collection of recyclables.

We had started integrating them into our Up-cycling programs before the beginning of the pandemic and now shared a thought when Nando’s donated some 250 blankets and food parcels to our learning space. There were some extra blankets, so in a concerted #ActionAgainstPoverty, the young people set out to the streets to share some warmth with the homeless recyclers in form of blankets and soup made by the magic hands of Henry Doe. Celebrate the spirit of 1love 💫❤️🕊 Sharing is Caring