Cents for Simon1st Victory View Cubs and the 2005 National Cub Challenge
Almost 3 and half years ago a set of twins were abandoned. Soon afterwards it was established that the twins should not be at Acre of Love as they were HIV negative. They were put up for adoption. The one brother was adopted within a few weeks. Simon Bophela however, had a bit of a problem. He was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Bophela is the surname meaning hope - how appropriate. Then one day Vena Kleinschmid walked into Acres of Love. Simon stole her heart immediately. Pretty soon Simon was spending more and more of his time in Verna's arms. Verna and her fiancé decided to adopt Simon. Verna desperately needed a special bed and wheel chair for Simon to support Simon's back. With all the expenses of getting married, the adoption and Simons other expenses, R14 000 for this was totally out of Verna's reach. I was deeply touched by Simon's needs. We decided that R14 000 was a tall order but every tiny bit helps. We would see how far we could assist Simon. As parents heard this story they gathered behind us. Pretty soon fundraising ideas were streaming in. We nicknamed our challenge "Cents for Simon'. Assistant Scouter Rosemary approached Steve's Spar in Black heath. We had a brilliant response. Not only could we use the premises but they also donated wors and rolls that we could sell. On 6 August 2005, Chris and I went to the first birthday celebration for the Chaeli Campaign. At this event we finally put faces to names. We met Zelda and Chaeli. We also met Verna and Simon. The tiny boy, weighing only 4.5kg, stole the hearts of everyone. Zelda announced the challenge that 1st Victory View were about to tackle. The air was charged with goodwill. For the first time I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Are we going to be able to meet the high expectations? Only the future would tell. On Wednesday 10 August 2005 I received a phone call. A business associate of my father heard about our challenge and was so moved by our goal that he and a friend together donated ten second hand wheel chairs to our challenge. This was just the kickstart that we needed to encourage everyone to do our best for our challenge.
At 2:30 we left Spar and at home we counted R4270. The venues for the next drive become a challenge within the challenge. We planned to have a car wash. I battled to find a venue. The JHB Botanical Gardens gave permission to have it there, but with plenty of conditions. Then I received an invoice for R1000 for the venue. To add to my misery we received the wheel chairs. They were in a shocking condition. Nothing seemed to be working out. In desperation I contacted Cresta shopping centre. Ten minutes later we had permission to do the coin run.
Early on Sunday we arrived at Cresta entrance 5 and 12. We had our cardboard wheel chairs and stock to sell. It consisted of greetings cards, chocolate, magic beans and CDs. The chocolates flew out of stock but the coin run really had a slow start. As the day progressed, the money started coming in. The security guards really kept a close eye on the cubs.
At home we counted R2800.65. I was quite disappointed. Chris was adamant that there should be more money. He was dressed as a clown to give some colour and attraction to our drive. When he took his colour full socks off to check for money in the car, we discovered more money in his one sock. When Chris realized he was alone at the entrance, he decided that it would be safer to work from only one entrance. Whilst packing up he realized that the clown suit had no pockets. He hid the notes in his one sock to safely move to our entrance and completely forgot about it. We counted again.
Dezlin Viviers Congratulations to 1st Victory View on completing a highly successful project - an example to all of what Cubs can achieve. If you would like to support the Chaeli Campaign, visit www.chaelicampaign.co.za. |
"Kids
caring for kids" really was the most extraordinary challenge
for us, the leaders, cubs and families of 1st Victory View
Sea Cubs. I started by phoning around to find an appropriate
cause for our challenge, and one morning everything just fell
into place. I tuned in to Radio Sonder Grense (RSG) to hear
an interview with Chaeli Mycroft of the 
On
Saturday 13 August we gathered early at Steve's Spar. This
day would be make or break. I was charged with energy and
enthusiasm. The cubs started off very unsure, but quickly
got into the swing. They were the ambassadors of our challenge.
They handed our flyers telling the shoppers who we were and
informing them about Simon, challenging them to buy a wors
roll or donate change towards our challenge. The public were
amazing. Their interaction with the cubs was awesome. Generosity
poured in. The parents were assisting in making the wors rolls.
Things went better than I could ever have hoped or expected.
Then
the most amazing story unfolds. A shopper told one of the
cubs he was on his way home and would be back in a few moments
to give a donation. The cubs thought this to be a colourful
way to dodge them. About 15 minutes later the same man was
back and donated R1000 to us. He had stopped smoking at the
beginning of the year. Each time he felt like smoking he would
place money into a bottle. He also added the monthly amount
he would have spent on cigarettes into the bottle. On that
particular morning, he was looking for a charity to whom he
would donate the money in the bottle. He was so moved by our
challenge and the dedication of the cubs that he decided to
donate his money to our cause. 
A
car wash was still out of the question, but as I was busy
breaking my head on what to do to fill in on the coin run,
my phone rang. It was Zelda from CT. She had speed mailed
some merchandise for us to sell on our next drive. She had
more good news. CC does not pay VAT as they are a non-profit
organization. They also negotiated 20% discount on our behalf.
They would stand surety on any short fall. They also ordered
the bed and wheel chair. From despair to hope in less than
60 minutes! It was full steam ahead for our drive. 
Once
again I was amazed at just how willing the public was to carefully
listen to the young cubs and support them. All this despite
the fact that shoppers are mostly in a hurry. The flyers once
again worked brilliantly. We had 3 phone calls from people
looking for banking details to support us (they made their
contributions to the Chaeli Campaign account as this was the
only way to accommodate them and stay above board). One woman
had upgraded her husband's wheelchair about a year ago and
donated the old one to us. We left Cresta at 2:30, exhausted.
As we left, one of the parents donated R1000.
The
next step was to clean the wheel chairs. While Chris was cleaning
wheel chairs at home, I was organizing our celebration evening.
The florist donated flowers to 10 women. Cadbury donated chocolates
for the men. Northcliff Pick 'n Pay donated groceries as snack
and drinks for the evening. Parents also donated snacks and
drinks. The core of the Chaeli Campaign, Verna and Simon,
were our guest of honour. Special guests were cubs and other
kids who worked extremely hard and special members of the
Cub and Scout movement.
The
night of the 14 September will always remain extremely special
to me. During the day Chris helped me to decorate the hall.
I even managed a wheel chair ramp, chairs, and red carpets
just to give spunk to the evening. The cubs prepared 2 songs,
a skit and a special song to hand over the chairs. Each child
received a certificate to acknowledge their hard work. Although
there were a few hiccups, the evening still left everyone
with admiration as to how much such a small group of very
young kids can achieve. Zelda, Verna and I were at various
stages in tears. The cubs and everyone else were totally amazed
on just how small Simon really is. Simon after about 5 min
after receiving his chair was sound asleep. 1st Victory View
received a framed certificate from the Chaeli Campaign on
our achievement. This is a proud possession to each cub. 
On
Friday 16 September a few cubs joined the Chaeli Campaign
at a golf day in Woodmead. Once again they managed to raise
R2000 for Simon. We left Woodmead at 6 pm. No one could believe
that this challenge was finally complete.