Good Morning Angels: Support for a brave teenager and her siblings
"Amy," a 15-year-old girl, is doing all she can to provide for her three siblings whilst her mother undergoes chemotherapy for stage 4 cancer. The Angels have come together to lessen the financial burden on this lovely family.
BACKGROUND: At the age of 15, “Amy” is a diligent student, who does well at school. She loves her siblings: a younger sister aged 12, a brother aged 10, and an older sister aged 22, who is mentally handicapped. She also loves her mother dearly. Her father is not part of their lives.
At the age of just 15, Amy is also the head of her household. She steps in where her mother cannot to provide for their family, while her mother receives treatment in hospital for stage 4 cancer. With no other family to rely on, Amy has been looking after her siblings: making sure they get to school with clean clothes, helping them with homework, cooking, and getting ready for bed, all while doing her own school work and keeping up her grades. On weekends, she works to earn an income to help pay the rent and electricity, provide food, and other household needs. While their mother’s health is a major concern, she also cannot work, but the children are keeping up with school work and making the best of their situation.
A teacher of one of the children, Angelique Barnard, has been assisting the little family. She reached out to Good Morning Angels for some financial assistance, as they struggle to make ends meet. Angelique says: "They are the loveliest children I have ever seen, with such good manners and always friendly. They excel in their school work and all their homework is always up to date, despite their circumstances."
REQUEST FOR: “Amy” and her three siblings and mother.
REQUEST FROM: Angelique Barnard
ANGEL 1: Retha Ingenbleek on behalf of the Spar Virtual Women’s Challenge 2022.
SPONSORING: The theme for this year's Spar Virtual Women’s Challenge is 'I Rise' in support of and celebration of women and girls overcoming many challenges. To support "Amy" to rise to their challenge, Spar will assist her family with a monthly grocery voucher of R3,000 until the end of the year (May-December R25,000).
ANGEL 2: The Good Morning Angels Fund NPC
SPONSORING: The GMA Fund will assist “Amy” and her family with rent for the next seven months (R35,000) as well as R2,000 a month until the end of the year for electricity (R14,000)
ORIGINAL REQUEST:
Good morning,
I am a primary school teacher and I have a girl in my class who is 12 years old. Her brother is also in the school and he is 10 years old. They have an older sister in high school who is 15 years old and then a mentally handicapped sister of 22 years old (she is mentally the age of a five-year-old). There is no father and their mother has stage 4 cancer. She is currently in hospital to receive treatment.
The girl of 15 years old is looking after all three of her siblings. She is going to school every day, comes home at 16:00, makes food, and helps her other siblings to do their homework and get ready for bed. She is just a child herself and has a lot of extra burdens on her shoulders to provide for and look after her siblings. They are staying in a flat which costs them R5,000 per month which they cannot afford. The sister of 22 is working but only receives a salary of R900 per month and SASSA. The 15-year-old is working on weekends just to earn more money to survive.
They don't have enough food to feed four people. They are the loveliest children I have ever seen, with such good manners and always friendly. They excel in their school work and all their homework is always up to date, despite their circumstances. My husband and I are trying to help where we can by collecting second-hand clothes and shoes for them as well as buying them some groceries.
I thought of Good Morning Angels and that they will be able to help these wonderful learners with a grocery voucher or prepaid electricity or clothing voucher or helping to pay for their rent.
Please, I am begging for help for these beautiful learners! I cry every night at home thinking of their circumstances and how lucky and privileged we are as opposed to these four children who need to survive on their own. They cannot be taken away from each other. That is not an option because they will not survive without each other.
Please please please help these children if possible!
Kind regards
Angelique Barnard
More From Jacaranda FM
Image Credit: Jacaranda FM