My owners, Justice and Anita Scott, found me in Johannesburg on the shelf of a huge shopping centre, where they enthusiastically bought me and my 10 000 identical blue friends.
After travelling to Bethlehem in the Eastern Free State, we were given to Sonskyn Dienssentrum, where a community of kind and excited elderly folk awaited us. They folded us neatly, wrapped a beautiful flyer around us and placed a rubber band around us. These cheerful folk felt productive, useful and serviceable. They thankfully received money for their joyful and dedicated service.
Neatly folded, we were first made up in bunches of 25, and then placed into clear bags, making up proud blue teams of 250 motivated members. Our coaches inspired us, and we could hardly wait to serve and unite a community of schools, churches, businesses, NPO’s and individuals by doing our job to the advantage of all.
Our first team was delivered to Jordania Primary School. The teachers handed us out to the children, with these kind words: “Please provide the blue team with housing until each one is filled with neat used clothing, linen, toys or accessories.” Wow, what an interesting visit I had, staying with a very polite and friendly family. Once filled, I was returned to the school and re-united with my workmates. We experienced the surprised and thankful look on the faces of the school staff, as the school received money for filling us. They could now utilise these funds for the medical assistance of an injured learner. We were then returned to our coaches.
What a joyful reunion we had at 28 Grey Street with the return of all the other teams. Some of the teams visited Hoeksteen Congregation, while others were sent to WMF Financial Services. Once again, all the involved parties were part of a winning team; they received very welcome money for their internal projects. WMF paid it forward to change the life of Elias, their car guard, when they provided him with his very own car wash business.
In the meantime, we were moved to the corner of Union and Naudé streets, where my content, and those of the other bags, were sorted neatly into different categories by paid interns. Our coaches invited all the local NPO’s. The NPO’s interested in being part of our winning teams, were reported about by a journalist in a local newspaper.
Sadly, something called Covid-19 arrived on the scene. We, our content and new team members had to stay in the warehouse until the joyful day when the sunshine greeted us again through the big door.
Some of us were given, in a dignifying manner, to needy people, and even to people whose houses burnt down and who were referred by Social Welfare. Some of us found our way to oom Dirk in Fouriesburg, helping him to keep his shop open.
As part of the empowering entrepreneurial projects, some of us were used to create bales of clothing. We were couriered as far as Alberton to help people like Melindi to make ends meet in these difficult post-Covid times. Some of us were bought at a minimum by magogo’s, who sold us at a profit in order to feed their families.
Some of us even appeared on the Instagram and Facebook pages of Summer, whose family members made alterations and beautified our clothing content, so that they can be sold all over South Africa. Wow, Summer did so well in caring for her family after Covid, that she even has a shop in Clarens today.
On our journey, multiple friends in different colours and shapes joined us. Some were blue, some were black, and some content even arrived in boxes. We knew that, when Hospice or others sent some bags, they would also receive money towards their projects, as an extension of our winning teams.
We became a family of caring-heart bags, making a holistic impact on people of all walks of life, from children to adults to our precious elderly. We are so happy to see so many people happy, all because our coaches found a new and better mutually beneficial way of giving and receiving, while at the same time coaching everybody to rethink their way of giving.
Watch this space for many more happy blue stories to be told.
Happy blue life…
By Justice Scott
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