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BRANDWAG NEWS - The Myrtle Tree, a Mossel Bay non-profit organisation which supports single mothers, gave out clothing and soup and bread in Brandwag, near Mossel Bay, on Saturday, 3 May.
The NPO thanks everyone, including the Heart-to-Heart Care Centre, who donated clothing.
The Myrtle Tree collected more than a bakkie load of clothing to hand out.
Some of the bags of clothes were transported in another vehicle.
After a substantial amount of clothing was handed out in Brandwag, more of the clothes could be handed out in Sonskynvallei after the Brandwag outreach.
People had also donated items such as duvets, blankets, cushions and curtains.
See a gallery of photos here: The Myrtle Tree NPO supports Brandwag community
In Brandwag, The Myrtle Tree board members and volunteers laid the clothing out on plastic bags on the pavement.
They then walked around the village and invited residents to come and collect clothing.
The children lined up to receive soup and bread.
There was sufficient for some to receive second helpings.
A Brandwag resident, Magriet Karelse, made her garage available for the event.
The soup and bread were handed out from the garage and the bags of clothing were placed in the garage before being sorted and laid out on the pavement.
The Myrtle Tree founder and director Berenice Kogana began proceedings with a Bible verse and Christian message.
Unmarried pregnant women were seated in the garage and given "care Linda Sparg bags" for their babies.
The Myrtle Tree thanks Kenani Service Centre for the aged for the donation of baby diapers.
Baby care
Kogana and The Myrtle Tree board members and volunteers spoke to the women on baby care.
They gave advice and prayed for the women and their babies.
Priscilla van Niekerk, who works in the healthcare sector, spoke about the need for family planning and the contraceptive options available.
The women were urged to use contraception to prevent unwanted pregnancies.
The Myrtle Tree took down the cellphone numbers of the single moms to keep contact with them and support them.
Brandwag community leader Maria McQuaia, who is chair of the Brandwag Neighbourhood Watch and a member of the Da Gamaskop community policing forum, also addressed the pregnant women.
She said parents needed to play a more active role in their children's lives and their sex education.
Cellphones and access to internet content made children prematurely sexually aware, she said. If you would like to support The Myrtle Tree in its work, call 082 559 9389.
Magriet Karelse (left), Berenice Kogana (third from right) and The Myrtle Tree board members and volunteers.
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