Dear Friends of Golden Sunbeams
We trust you all arrived relaxed and healthy in the New Year and you are now starting full of confidence and elation with the implementation of your plans and ideas.
This is what is currently happening to Naomi Malebo, the principal of the Great Beginning kindergarten in Asanda Village township, which we have been supporting since 2020. With your and our goal in mind, to obtain official registration for the kindergarten in order to be able to take advantage of government funding, we have worked continuously on expanding and optimising the kindergarten over the past two years.
First, we built a wall and installed a gate to protect the kindergarten, which had been hit by burglaries, from further theft.
As early as October 2020, we planned extensive renovations together with Naomi Malebo – starting with the new roof, the expansion of the sanitary facilities, the construction of emergency exits and the implementation of measures to comply with fire protection requirements, a new internal ceiling with energy-saving LED lights and a merger of classrooms, creating more usable space.
In addition, we laid artificial lawn for the approximately 55 boys and girls and built a sandpit, creating a play and child-friendly outside area.
One last major construction site was left until the end of last year: the new kitchen. Even though we already had our initial ideas in October 2020 and were planning a new layout and furnishing in the kitchen, which was not yet functionally equipped at the time, we were still waiting to implement it. This was due to Naomi Malebo getting into financial difficulties as a result of the Covid pandemic: In order to save, she gave up her apartment and moved to the kindergarten with her two sons and all her household goods. Only when she could afford a new apartment and moved out, did we begin the kitchen project.
When we met up with Naomi in kindergarten at the end of the year, we were quite impressed: on her own initiative, she tore down a wall that separated the former kitchen from a classroom. Her idea was to create more space for the children. And so we changed the arrangement and layout, the furnishings and equipment of the kitchen together and rejected our first ideas. Although the space for the kitchen was smaller, it was more efficient and the new, enhanced space now benefits the children with more play area. Since the wall was torn down, the ceiling construction also had to be renewed. First of all the new interior ceiling was installed and painted.
Done!!! At the start of the new kindergarten school year in mid-January 2023, all the work was complete and Naomi Malebo proudly presented her new kitchen to Bernd Holtkamp.
Naomi and her kindergarten teachers and 55 girls and boys from Great Beginning were happy with the new, bigger space and the beautiful kitchen. Everyone began the new school year together with motivation and fun.
Even if some of us didn’t spend the Christmas holidays quite so quietly, in mid-January 2023 we were all happy and grateful that we had successfully completed another major project.
And the effort was worth it, because now we can gaze into the bright eyes of all the children.
We would like to thank you for the many large and small donations, especially in November and December 2022, which allow us to contemplate projects that we had to postpone. Many, many thanks!
For today we say goodbye from hot summery Cape Town.
Best regards
Britta and Bernd
PS: We already sent out all the donation receipts for 2022, in mid-January 2023. Please contact us by email at if you have not received a donation receipt yet.