The shortest month of the year always seems to be the busiest. February 2021 was no exception. Schools got back on track much to the delight of both parents and children. Life felt a little more normal and the huge topic of the day was vaccinations. Everyone started seeing some hope for the future.
It also turned out to be a very wet month as it rained heavily almost all through the month. We got a warning from our school in the Eastern Transvaal. The Eastern Transvaal is located almost on the border of Mozambique and extremely close to the Kruger National Park where there was a warning that a cyclone was heading towards them. The cyclone was the cause of the extreme weather we were experiencing in South Africa. Sadly this cyclone hit the area our school is located in and did a large amount of damage in and around the school. Many of the rivers flooded and broke their banks and low-lying bridges collapsed making transport and traveling to send supplies impossible. Many houses and other structures were severely damaged.
At the Ciniselani school, there were small parts of the school’s buildings that collapsed. However, we are so excited to share that due to the work we did last year with help of Patricia, Nkosana, and his outstanding building team, the majority of the school remained intact. We were so happy to hear that the roof project which was completed only a week or two before schools closed in December had weathered the storm perfectly. Red Bagels are extremely happy to report that due to having reroofed the entire classroom and office area of the school there was absolutely no damage at all to the school building where the work done. In addition not one drop of rain leaked into any part of those buildings. If it was not for the new roof, it would have been highly likely that the roof would have been ripped off and the buildings and contents extensively damaged, as unfortunately was the case in many of the structures and houses surrounding the school. Classrooms would have been flooded and the children would definitely not have been able to return to school for a long while. However the damage that was done was done to the storehouse. Due to the repairs last year, we will now only have to rebuild the old storehouse which unfortunately did collapse. There were also the things that were stored in the storeroom that have been damaged by water that need to be repaired or replaced. However, compared to what could have been, this is a minor problem. Once again, a huge Thank you to Nkosana for his excellent work.
With great pleasure we were able to donate to Hatzolah for their COVID initiative this month. Hatzolah has worked incredibly hard all of last year in response to the added services they have, and continue, to provide over and above their normal services throughout the time of the entire COVID pandemic. They are front-line, first responders in all medical situations. The exceptionally dedicated team of highly qualified volunteers, Doctors, nurses, and staff have worked tirelessly, keeping impossibly long hours for months on end and are true heroes in the war against COVID. Red Bagels sends gratitude to them all and hopes to continue to support them so that they can continue to support others. It always adds to the joy of giving when we can respond to a call for a donation from organizations that are literally saving lives every day and know that we have been part of so many happy endings.
We also gave donations to DL Link and CHOC who do the most amazing work in the field of cancer.
Due to the positive feedback and results from Chevrah Kadisha Motivation of staff prizes for the Caregiver, Nurse and Unit/Shift of the Month project that we started last year, Red Bagels have recommitted our support to this initiative with a further donation to ensure its continuation. We are so excited that this project has been extremely well received and enjoyed by the staff. Please read the special letter we received from them in connection with this project telling us about the amazing amount of happiness, smiles, and the growth in their self esteem and job satisfaction that this project is generating (please scroll down to the very end to read now).
Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle and the life of that candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by sharing it.
Enjoy bringing love and kindness into the world.
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