A group of high school hockey players from Johannesburg recently supported a local sports academy with a food and clothing drive to assist those in need following the strong winds and fire damage in Stellenbosch earlier this month. This was according to Lisa Deetlefts, head coach of the St Andrew’s School for Girls’ hockey team.
Deetlefts’ hockey team visited Stellenbosch from Johannesburg to attend a training camp earlier in April, said Deetlefts.
Stellenbosch Academy of Sports (SAS) has functioned as a drop-off point for donated clothes and food for those affected by the storm and fires in Stellenbosch. SAS, together with the St Andrew’s School for Girls served together during the outreach. PHOTO: Mandisa Maphisa
More than a hockey camp
“Our initial reasoning for coming to Stellenbosch was for a high performance hockey camp where we bring the top hockey players per age group to come and experience Stellenbosch,” said Deetlefts.
According to Deetlefts, the hockey group arrived in Stellenbosch on 8 April and heard from local friends about the winds and fire outbreaks in Kayamandi.
“That is when we decided we would like to reach out and help the affected communities,” said Deetlefts.
An outreach hub
Meanwhile, Stellenbosch Academy of Sports (SAS) has functioned as a drop-off point for donated clothes and food for those affected by the storm and fires which started on 9 April, according to Alexa Jooste, SAS administrator.
Jose Cabral, Stellenbosch Football Club (SFC) chief financial officer and outreach initiative leader, said they delivered food and clothing in Kayamandi to those who were affected by the fires and wind.
“We have people playing for our SFC Academy and working at SAS that lost everything,” he said.
All the food and clothing parcels had since been distributed, said Cabral. Kayamandi was the main point of distribution, he said.
Food parcels and clothes packed by Stellenbosch Academy of Sport and the St Andrew’s School for Girls which were supplied to those affected by the winds and fires in Kayamandi, according to Lisa Deetlefts, head coach of the St Andrew’s School for Girls hockey team. PHOTO: Supplied/Jose Cabral
Outreach duties
The St Andrew’s hockey girls got involved by packing the goodie bags, and sorting clothes and shoes that were to be distributed, said Deetlefts. They were very fortunate to have missed the strong winds and fire, but the school always aims to help where they can, said Deetlefts.
“We might not have helped with physical items, but we were able to help with sorting out everything and [with] the outreach,” said Deetlefts.
The Junior Springbok group, who were using the premises at SAS at the time, also assisted with the outreach, according to Rayaan Adriaanse, Junior Springbok media manager.
Distribution continued until 12 April, said Cabral. “We were really humbled to reach out and help others,” said Deetlefts.