His concern for the well-being of the children in his community had always been the driving force behind the community volunteer work of Clint Daniels as far back as when he founded and chaired the Sir Lowry’s Pass Youth Empowerment movement in 2010.
Now, a resident of the informal settlement Riemvasmaak in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village (SLP), he has opened his home, Riemvasmaak 101, as a space to create a facility where children can get together afterschool to do homework, study, read, do fun and educational activities, and be provided with a daily meal.
Clint ran various youth development programmes in the community, but his work later branched out to feeding and clothing needy children in Riemvasmaak and taking action to tackle the issue of school drop-outs where he intervened to get children back into school.
The work he does is voluntary and out of the goodness of his heart he says, with him yet to register his movement as a non-profit organisation.
“I’ve always had a passion for helping young people and over the years I’ve stepped into situations where household circumstances were terrible and helped many youngsters to get back on their feet and get back into the school system.
“I’ve been doing this work for a very long time now and have tried to register the organisation as an NPO, but then thought to myself why I must wait to be registered to do something good for others or why must people see and know about what you do to help others.”
Born and raised in SLP he studied hospitality and catering in Stellenbosch then went on to work in the hospitality industry and then went on to be a full-time youth activist and baker and caterer in his community.
“I grew up in a stable home and we were raised with the expectation that you must become successful in life, so I really want to help the kids in my area to get to this place in their lives,” he says.
The plan is now to extend his informal dwelling as his current structure on the property is too small and to build three extra spaces where different activities can be presented, and the children can be accommodated.
He met community volunteer worker, Elizabeth Visagie in October last year when she was assisting flood victims of the Uitkyk-informal area. Ms Visagie says: “Of the families I assisted there was a boy celebrating his birthday and I heard Clint bakes cakes and asked him to bake a birthday cake for this boy.
“He then told me about his work in helping the young people in the community in situations where things are not easy in Riemvasmaak homes with children living in difficult circumstances, or where there really is no parental care in the homes.
“Clint took pity upon these children and the idea is to extend his living space so that there is a safe space for children or young people to come and have a meal, do their homework of as a sort of aftercare facility for children after school.
Ms Visagie and Clint has in the meantime teamed up to help the children go back to school and is now busy helping a group of boys to complete their basic education levels by teaching them to read and write.
“We want to create a place where children can just get together in a secure and safe space,” she reiterates the plans they have with the creation of the extra space.
He has already received sponsorship toward the building of the new section from Ms Visagie and her circle of family, friends, church groups, associates and others. “I told my people that if they know of building material that can be used to extend a space, they should let me know,” she says.
Their first donation was that of roof sheets and aluminium. “Another angel from the community told us she is busy reconstructing her house and knocked out walls which we then collected the concrete of with a truck, and it was used to lay the flooring in the extended section, and she gave us cupboards and boards we could use and even donate to others in the area,” adds Ms Visagie.
She says the construction of the extension area is in phase one, with the hope of also including a kitchen where daily meals can be prepared for the children.
“Phase two will consist of the enlargement of the bathroom at the back and then phase three will be the construction of a study and dining area.
Donations, says Ms Visagie, thus far received toward their afterschool programme include a microwave, gas stove, TV, refrigerator, cement, roof sheets, food, fruit and vegetables, clothing for the children, stationery and schoolbooks, and other necessities.
“Then I try my best to daily ensure that there are ingredients with which they can make something to eat for the children.
“Hunger in the community is a huge problem, it’s not uncommon for children in the area to on a Friday afternoon eat their last meal at school and starve for the rest of the weekend, there are many such situations. If we can get a meal cooked at this place of safety afterschool to give children something to eat it will help,” says Ms Visagie.
Ms Visagie, who has previously assisted as a Gift of the Givers volunteer in drought affected regions in the Karoo, says the goal with interventions in SLP village is to firstly create awareness around the extremely impoverished conditions the people live under and the suffering of the children in these circumstances, which she refers to as the forgotten children of Riemvasmaak.
Then once awareness is created, her plan is to source, facilitate, and distribute interventions and donations to assist and improve the lives of those suffering.
Contact her 079 275 7055 for more information on the work she does in the Sir Lowry’s Pass Village or to donate to it.
