NOKWANDA NCWANE
Pretoria - A Canadian couple has donated all the money they received as a wedding present to two children’s homes in Pretoria.
Anneke and Ben Lovegrove from Bradford, Ontario in Canada, donated the money to the Jakaranda as well as Louis Botha children’s homes in Pretoria to reduce the expenses faced by the facilities. The couple also bought them meat, and thus, also supporting two family butcheries.
Anneke, who emigrated to Canada as a teenager and owns a business in Ontario, said she knew how hard family businesses in general and family butcheries were affected by the pandemic.
“We are aware that state subsidies only cover 50% of expenses, and donations to children’s homes are welcomed.”
The Jakaranda Children’s Home in Derdepoort has 20 houses, with about 15 people per house, and the Queenswood Louis Botha Children’s Home has nine houses, also with about 15 people per house.
The total number of beneficiaries resulted in a total of 435 (children and house parents).
Family friend Marlene Ehmke facilitated the donation on behalf of the couple.
Chief executive of the children’s homes, Charlene Grobler, said the donation would make a huge difference in terms of covering the expenses of the homes.
Grobler said on previous occasions, people had asked their loved ones not to buy them gifts for their birthdays, or even flowers for other occasions, but to donate to the homes instead.
“We were overwhelmed by the couple’s kind gesture, and we appreciate every drop that fills the bucket,” she said.
Dawid de Bruyn, who owns Jandre’s Meat Market, is one of the beneficiaries. He said: “We are grateful to have been chosen to facilitate the donation and are thankful for the support, which makes a huge difference both to us and the children’s home.”
Pretoria News