40 Trees Planted at the Heartbeat After-School Centre for Orphaned Children

We were very happy yesterday to plant 40 trees at the Heartbeat Centre for Community Development, an after-school haven for orphaned children. We are 100% sure that the trees will go a long way in creating a pleasant environment for the children!

The Heartbeat after-school haven is a CSI initiative that Jacaranda FM has adopted following their initial Mandela Day visit in 2012. This haven helps to empower orphans and vulnerable children between the ages of 6 and 18 and those who support them, to be responsible leaders for the future. The school currently has 190 kids and 30 volunteers. The haven caters for those children whose parents have died and are left to their own devices or are in the care of a grandparent. They attend Jan-Kotlolo Primary and the after-school haven cares for them, supervises their homework and feeds them. They leave at 16.30.

Jacaranda FM’s general manager, Kevin Fine explains it this way: “As a station, we like to get to know our communities and where possible, assist in making a difference in their lives. The relationship that we have built with the kids at Heartbeat has been a tremendous privilege and we look forward to developing this in the years to come. Planting trees is a great opportunity to get closer to the kids while at the same time, doing something that is meaningful in terms of their environment.”

Charl du Toit, CEO of The Success Academy, who donated the 40 trees, is passionate about educating children in what they can do to help save the planet. He works very closely with Willow Feather Farm and is the driving force behind the Save Our Planet – Plant a Tree project.

To date Charl has visited ten schools and given away 18 000 trees! “But it’s more than just handing over a tree. We go to great lengths to explain why trees are important and the many advantages to living among them. Because kids are naturally curious, they soon realise that by reducing our carbon footprint, future generations will have a healthier environment in which to live,” he says.

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