As we all know, during the festive season this country just about closes down until January.  This also includes all social services.  To the staff of PEN this is always a cause of concern for our vulnerable families. Especially those who have been severely affected by the closing down of Schubart Park. 

In 2008 The PEN Ultimate Christmas project was started to ensure at least some contact and support to our community during Christmas time.  This event saw people giving gifts and food to our families during this special time.  The event has become very popular with children starting to dream and talking about it months ahead.  This year we are hoping to include 350 families from the Pre-school Forum with over 700 children to this amazing Christmas party!

To give our community a Christmas experience they will long remember we need your help.
Wee need:

• 700 Shoe boxes filled with age appropriate goodies like toiletries, clothing, sweeties and a small toy – relevant information about children is available, please contact us.
  
• 350 Food parcels including items like coffee or tea, sugar, pasta, tinned food, mealie meal, instant pudding, jelly. etc.
  
• The cost of the actual Christmas party is R 5,000.
  
•  Volunteers willing to come and share in the joy of our children and their families on 22 and 23 December.

Let’s make Christmas a time of giving, family and spreading the good news of Jesus…. The greatest gift!  To get involved, contact Rieneke at 012 3233344 or 083 2815711.

I often think a lot about this.  How can we measure emotional freedom? How can we measure the smile of a child when there’s so much pain in their eyes?  We cannot measure how they deal with the challenges they face, but we CAN measure how we go about giving them opportunities to tackle these challenges.  For 19 years running, the PEN Sea Camp has been making magic in the lives of our children.  The magic doesn’t lie in the project itself, but rather in the hands of ‘tannies’ baking rusks and cookies for our children.  Magic appears when a bakkie load of juice, sweeties and toiletries are dropped off at PEN for our children to take on the sea camp.  It lies in everyone that gives something, dreaming with PEN that our children have the potential to be valuable contributors to our communities and our country.  They get to see that they too are worthy in GOD’S eyes and that God loves them dearly in spite of their sometimes dire circumstances. 

The truth is that taking 120 children and 60 staff on a camp doesn’t come cheap.  Just think about it:  Accommodation costs about R 100,000.00 for 9 days, throw in transport to the cost of R70,000.00 and don’t forget that we need to fill our tummies at a cost of R 65,000.00.  These expenses already add up to R 235,000.00.  Then we haven’t touched the things that are needed to help our children make sense of their lives through clay, stationary, art and a bible to name only a few.  Let’s not forget an ice cream or maybe a beach ball or two.  The fact is, no cent raised is in vein.  Every rand someone gives, will make a lasting impression.  

The outcome?  This December 120 children will learn of Jesus through the hugs of caring PEN ‘ooms’ and ‘tannies’.  They will reach out and share to make the ‘hurt’ grow less and slowly get to taste emotional freedom.  They will hear of God’s dream that they will wake up to a new day filled with promise.  We invite you to come and make this experience a reality to our children.  R 1,800.00 will ignite a dream!  

Contact us at info@pen.org.za or call +27 (0)12 323 6688.  

PEN, ABSA Acc 020263385, Ref Sea Camp Fax proof of payment to 0865829014.