GMA Coronavirus Support: Helping SASSA dependents stand together during lockdown

BACKGROUND: President Cyril Ramaphosa announced various government economic interventions to assist South African families through lockdown for the next six months. An increase of R300 to R500 a month in government grants until October may not sound like much, however, for hundreds of thousands of poverty-stricken South Africans, it means a few more days without hunger. One of these South Africans is Brett Pochop from a small village, next to the Lichtenburg road outside Tzaneen. Brett lost the use of his right arm in a motorcycle accident four years ago. The medical bills bankrupted him and he lost his job because he couldn’t perform his duties anymore. Thanks to his government grant, Brett rents a small room in a 20 room building in the Dan Village township. He teaches English grammar classes at a nearby school on Saturdays to supplement his SASSA grant. During lockdown and school closure, he continues tutoring between 10 and 15 children under a tree in the village. He does this as a service to the community who took him in. As Brett is not able to earn his extra income, his landlord has assisted him and the other residents with pap and chicken feet. A nearby church has also assisted with basic food donations for the community. Brett is worried that the children are not eating nutritious meals and they’ve also run out of stationery. He asked Good Morning Angels to assist him and these children, to keep going through the lockdown.

REQUEST FOR: Brett Pochop and his pupils of the Dan Village near Nkowankowa outside Tzaneen 

ANGEL: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC 

SPONSORING: The GMA Fund will assist Brett and his community with R15,000 in #AngelRands to assist with food, educational material, and other essentials. #AngelRands is Jacaranda FM Good Morning Angel’s own electronic voucher, managed and distributed on our behalf by eVoucher.mobi (powered by Celbux).

ORIGINAL REQUEST: 

Dearest Good Morning Angeles team.

Many, many thanks for the awesome breakfast show every day, I can only imagine how difficult it must be doing your shows from home with all the logistical nightmares that come with audio equipment as well as the setup issues. It's been an absolute pleasure listening to your show as well as all the laughs and fun that come along with the 'Secret Sound' competition the radio show has been running... words can't explain how much I love & enjoy listening to your morning show. It's been an absolute pleasure and I wouldn't miss a show even if load shedding cut the power... that's when the old battery operated Wireless comes out the "Appliances Graveyard" and AA batteries replace my Clock/Radio.

My reason for writing to you & the Jacaranda FM team is to request your kind assistance from your radio station and the good morning angels team as I am currently really struggling & in a difficult financial situation due to the Covert 19 lock down, leaving my community and I in a desperate situation that's almost unbearable.

Having to purchase grocery essentials from our local spaza shop at exhausted prices, my budget is at it's end.

I would like to give you a brief description of my current situation due to the Covert 19 lockdown issue.

I am a SASSA beneficiary as I had a motorcycle accident 4 years ago.  My neck injury has left me paralysed in the right arm. I am unable to use my right arm which was my predominantly stronger arm. Fortunately I have still got the use of my left arm and after allot of therapy & practice, I've learned to write etc. with my left hand. Unfortunately the medical bills have left me financially crippled and bankrupt due to no medical aid. In this time, I also lost my permanent job because I couldn’t perform my duties with only one working arm.

But thank the Lord I am still alive, it could have been allot worse. So I am eternally grateful to still be alive and able to face another day by the grace of God.

My reason for writing to you, is to ask if yourself the good morning angels team would be able to assist with any food or other donations as I currently reside in the nearby rural township called Nkownkowa that's close to my hometown Tzaneen and live in a 3 metre x 3 metre room as I can not afford to live in town due to the exuberant rental fees as well as the fact that I just cannot afford to pay these high accommodation rates in town as well as survive with the high prices of groceries etc.

I also teach English Grammar Lessons to the local children for free as a means of helping our future generation whenever possible to help and strengthen their chances of better grades/marks when returning to school as soon as the lock down comes to an end. I am a qualified PC engineer, but can not get a job locally because of my disability and the fact that this ailment slows me down substantially and I cannot keep up with regularly paced teacher's, regarding the yearly school curriculum. 

Your assistance & help of any kind,  would be of utmost importance and substantially beneficial to a large number of locals as well as myself.

These children are absolutely thrilled when receiving help of any form/kind. Words cannot describe their reaction of appreciation as well as grateful smiles when they get any form of educational assistance and food. Something as small and simple as a HB pencil, makes a huge motivational difference in their lives. But unfortunately I have run out of pens/pencils to give to my local students. I currently teach between 11 and 15 pupils ranging from Grade R to Grade 12.   

Any form or kind of assistant would be greatly appreciated and help me no end in my quest to assist our future generation in speaking English better, as well as feeding them at the same time, with healthy, nutritious food...something many of them (including myself) don't have the luxury of getting on a daily basis. I am sure we all feel the crunch but unfortunately it's the poorest of the poor that get hit the hardest with our limited budgets. We're unable to make ends meet and hence the above mentioned leaves us financially & economically crippled.

Please could you kindly help or refer me to anyone willing to help/assist with this sad BUT rectifiable situated I'm currently sitting with. It would be life saving to say the least.

Many grateful thanks in advance & God bless.

Brett Pochop