Sarah Eccles, Hettie de Wet, Michelle McLean and Mcel-Jean de Wet
Ilse Mazzone, Sarah Eccles and Michelle McLean
StreetSmart SA, a non-profit organisation dedicated to the social integration and upliftment of street children has launched in Pretoria and is rallying restaurants to become involved in helping to rebuild the lives of children at risk in the city.
“Education, skills training and family reunification of street children are the major objectives of StreetSmart and our committee in Pretoria believe that our local community can benefit immensely from this project. We as volunteers and restaurateurs can join hands and make a difference ,” said Hettie de Wet, chairman of the Pretoria Committee of StreetSmartSA at the launch at Ritrovo Ristorante in Waterkloof Heights.
Funds are raised by adding a voluntary R5 donation to each table's bill at participating restaurants. Since its inception in Cape Town in 2005 under the patronage of Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, StreetSmart has raised a total of over R6,3 million.
The beneficiary selected for StreetSmart Pretoria is PEN-Streetwise, a project that reaches out to Orphaned and Vulnerable Children and Street children, and reconciles them where possible with their families. Alternatively, children who do not have access to family, parents or caring adults, are offered care and support at the Leratong Child- and Youth care Center.
“When I first joined StreetSmartSA founder Margi Biggs on the board way back in 2005 we kept talking about going national with this great concept. Thanks to her determination and dedication, and the money given to her for the Shoprite Checkers Woman of the Year Award, this is now becoming a reality. I am very excited that this is happening and am grateful to the teams in Johannesburg and now also Pretoria for their passion to create a sustainable set up that will see many children benefit in the Gauteng province,” says Nils Heckscher, chairman of the StreetSmart SA Board.
At the time of the launch, eight Pretoria restaurants had already joined the StreetSmart initiative: Chapters Restaurant, Copperleaf Café, Hemingway’s Restaurant, Karoo Café, Karoo Cattle & Land-Irene, Liribisi Lodge, Mosaic at The Orient, Prosopa and Ritrovo.
There are currently 79 StreetSmart restaurants running this worthy initiative in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Franschhoek, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Somerset West and Swellendam.
All the money raised is distributed to various organisations working with street children within the communities of participating restaurants. During 2012 alone, the StreetSmart initiative funded four social workers, one family reconstruction worker, one panel beating instructor and two aftercare teachers directly benefiting over 1 108 children through various beneficiary organisations in the greater Cape Town and Winelands area.
StreetSmart SA is a registered Public Benefit as well as a Non Profit Organisation and ensures that every cent donated by diners goes towards social and educational upliftment projects for street children. StreetSmart's goal is to be part of the process of social normalisation and to encourage the public not to give money into the hands of a child as this keeps them on the streets. In essence, eating and donating at a StreetSmart restaurant is the responsible way to help a street child.
Restaurants wanting to participate can contact StreetSmart at Tel: 021 418 0621, email streetsmart@eqweb.co.za, visit www.streetsmartsa.org.za or follow them on Twitter @StreetSmartSA.
