Press Release: Woodford & Wanstead Guardian, 19 October 2006
A chance return visit to South Africa left one South Woodford woman in no doubt that there were people who needed her help, and so the Rainbow Kidz charity was born. Reporter Sam Adams found out more . . .
It´s September 1968 in Eastern Cape province, South Africa and a 19-year old English girl takes off her dusty shoes and lets the icy-cold Atlantic lap gently over her tired feet. She takes a moment to drink in the physical beauty of her surroundings, but is quickly reminded of the repression and inequalities that divide the vast country.
Mary Khan, who now lives in Wordsworth Avenue, South Woodford, had left her London home to work in a nursery for black children in Grahamstown, a small isolated settlement 150 miles north east of Port Elizabeth, the nearest city. She said, "I was so naïve when I got on that boat to South Africa. I had no idea of the conditions many African children lived in and didn't have a clue about apartheid." The school was part of the Bethlehem Home, a project run by Anglican nuns to give disadvantaged children, some whom were orphans, a better start in life.
Mrs Khan loved working with the children and was inspired by their enthusiasm and happiness, despite the deprivations many had experienced. The trip to the coast that sunny September day had been planned as a fun occasion for the children and carers alike, but instead brought home to Mrs Khan the stark reality of the inequalities which divided South Africa. She said: "We had taken the children for a day by the sea but this was the apartheid era and the beaches were reserved for white people only.
"I was only young, and knew little of the apartheid system, but right away felt strongly, that it wasn't right." Mrs Khan left Grahamstown after ten months of life-changing work at the home only returning by chance 35 years later, for a fleeting visit, on the way to a friend´s wedding. She returned to the scene of her experiences as a teenager and found much had changed for the better, but saw black children facing similar disadvantages to those decades earlier. "The Bethlehem Home no longer existed but the nun who was in charge in the 1960´s, Sister Dorianne, was still living in the area. I had remained in contact with an orphan from the home, Betty Van Vught, who was now running a pre-school for more than 30 children from the living room of her house".
"We went to visit Betty´s house in the township and saw the inadequate conditions these young children were learning in. They had nothing but one small, cramped room and broken toilet, which wasn´t a healthy environment for them to learn in." Mrs Khan, a grandmother of six, decided to help build a better future for the youngsters by helping to fund the construction of a new school. She instructed Sister Dorianne to search for a suitable plot of land in the township while she returned to South Woodford to raise the £30,000 needed to turn her dream into a reality. The Rainbow Kidz charity was born. Sister Dorianne persuaded the council in Grahamstown to grant an area of land big enough to locate the new building while South Woodford architect Phil Hayden leant his expertise free of charge to design it. When completed, the new building will boast a kitchen and modern toilets, and will be large enough to double as a community centre, providing services, such as Aids education. Mrs Khan, along with husband Paul and fellow campaigner Peter Koukoulis, set about organising countless charity events to earn the cash needed to complete the project.
She said: "We have raised money through a wide range of events and have been supported by a number of sponsors in the area who contribute a set amount of money to the charity each month, which is a massive help for us." Mrs Khan reserved particular praise for Wordsworth Avenue residents who sponsored her and Paul to walk around Hollow Ponds near Whipps Cross, raising more than £300. The charity requires another £18,000 before work can begin on the nursery. Until they reach that target, the charity intends to run a temporary school from a house next to the designated land. Rainbow Kidz´ next fundraising event, a jazz and gospel evening, will be held at the Baptist Church, George Lane, South Woodford on Saturday October 28th. The evening will feature a raffle with £5,000 worth of prizes, including a Jacuzzi.
"I was only young, and knew little of the apartheid system, but right away felt strongly, that it wasn't right." Mrs Khan left Grahamstown after ten months of life-changing work at the home only returning by chance 35 years later, for a fleeting visit, on the way to a friend´s wedding. She returned to the scene of her experiences as a teenager and found much had changed for the better, but saw black children facing similar disadvantages to those decades earlier. "The Bethlehem Home no longer existed but the nun who was in charge in the 1960´s, Sister Dorianne, was still living in the area. I had remained in contact with an orphan from the home, Betty Van Vught, who was now running a pre-school for more than 30 children from the living room of her house".
"We went to visit Betty´s house in the township and saw the inadequate conditions these young children were learning in. They had nothing but one small, cramped room and broken toilet, which wasn´t a healthy environment for them to learn in." Mrs Khan, a grandmother of six, decided to help build a better future for the youngsters by helping to fund the construction of a new school. She instructed Sister Dorianne to search for a suitable plot of land in the township while she returned to South Woodford to raise the £30,000 needed to turn her dream into a reality. The Rainbow Kidz charity was born. Sister Dorianne persuaded the council in Grahamstown to grant an area of land big enough to locate the new building while South Woodford architect Phil Hayden leant his expertise free of charge to design it. When completed, the new building will boast a kitchen and modern toilets, and will be large enough to double as a community centre, providing services, such as Aids education. Mrs Khan, along with husband Paul and fellow campaigner Peter Koukoulis, set about organising countless charity events to earn the cash needed to complete the project.
She said: "We have raised money through a wide range of events and have been supported by a number of sponsors in the area who contribute a set amount of money to the charity each month, which is a massive help for us." Mrs Khan reserved particular praise for Wordsworth Avenue residents who sponsored her and Paul to walk around Hollow Ponds near Whipps Cross, raising more than £300. The charity requires another £18,000 before work can begin on the nursery. Until they reach that target, the charity intends to run a temporary school from a house next to the designated land. Rainbow Kidz´ next fundraising event, a jazz and gospel evening, will be held at the Baptist Church, George Lane, South Woodford on Saturday October 28th. The evening will feature a raffle with £5,000 worth of prizes, including a Jacuzzi.
