Friday 3 April 2020

Heart of House 2 all fixed up!



The adage that the kitchen is the heart of the home, is very true and the boys living in House 2 of Bramley Children’s Home in Groenkloof, experienced a broken heart!  Due to aging buildings Bramley’s houses are all in desperate need of some love and repair – but especially the kitchen in House 2 was in urgent need of renovation.

It goes without saying that a kitchen renovation (or any other renovation, for that matter) does not form part of our annual budget. The value of volunteers can never be underestimated – Celest van Niekerk, vice Chairperson of Child Welfare Tshwane’s Board of Management, mobilised her large network.  They responded and some good Samaritans teamed-up and transformed the once sad kitchen into a happy place!

First we received a donation of kitchen cupboards from Lize van Rensburg but then we needed someone to install.  Verner Schultz and JP Hugo were on site to help us with another project and said they will install the cupboards!  As with all renovations, once you start on one end, you must replace other items as well to complete the picture.

Hans & Riana Karemaker donated some paint to Bramley for another house and fortunately we had enough to even cover the kitchen.  Charlie Martins, from Ceregran Tiles, donated some tiles and then with his friend, Ian Scott, jumped in to do the tiling as well!  The cupboards were painted by Bianca and Odette, a fresh new look! Our lovely cupboards needed new tops, and these were donated by Ceregran as well.

We were so blessed that we could get this all done by the weekend before the President announced the national lockdown.  House 2 was buzzing with activity as all the volunteers were rushing to get everything done and we finished just in time! 

An unintended, but greatly appreciated, consequence of the project was that the boys in House 2 all helped! It is the house for the older boys, and they all offered to do something -  and in doing so they learned some handy life skills like using tools properly, finishing a task and working in a team with volunteers.  

Not only do these boys now take ownership of their kitchen and want to keep it looking good – they will also enjoy the food that is prepared for them in this space even more!  The renovation helped our therapy process in that something new and neat helps build a person’s self-esteem and gives them pride!

We give a big shout out to all the volunteers who so kindly donated, participated and shared in our joy!  We have now embarked on a process of upgrading and renovating our Children’s Home. There is an enormous amount of maintenance and improvements that need to be done at Bramley.  All these improvements and renovations will have a positive impact on the children’s emotional status as well - you want to help us,  please contact Caren Malherbe on 082 836 5583.

We need your skills and your time! Donate your redundant furniture, fridges, deep freezers, bedding, mattresses and curtains to us once we can move around again!  If you are a keen gardener, plumber or electrician with some spare capacity and a caring heart we ask that you please sign up for this project. 

Let us make Bramley beautiful!  Help us to make a difference and change lives! 

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