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The price of being a good Samaritan

PREPARING … Anastacia Dee and pupils prepare for science fairs.

Balancing sleepless nights, early mornings and the demands of family and community, Anastacia Dee (37) pours her heart into transforming lives through charity.

Dee was raised in a family that believes in giving back – a tradition that was started by her grandmother.

She founded the Janet Martin Charity Foundation along with her mother, Penelopé, in memory of her grandmother.

The foundation sources and provides the homeless and the elderly with food and clothing.

Dee’s efforts were supported when she was selected to participate in a six-week leadership course in the United States (US) as a Mandela Washington Fellowship candidate in 2017.

“In 2019 I started my own organisation, the Namib Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (NamStem) Foundation. I started my own competition for pupils, especially girls, who are discriminated against at times when it comes to pursuing careers in Stem subjects.

“The competition also exposes our children to international competitions, where they can experience more and be afforded extra opportunities.”

Dee says the foundation has participated in the South African Youth Engineering and Science Symposium in 2018, 2019 and 2023, and returned with several medals.

“We have been invited to compete in science fairs in Zimbabwe, China and South Africa next year. Hopefully we will get enough funding to be able to attend.

“Gaining many national accolades is also a great motivation, but it gets really hard and my heart breaks when some really good children cannot make it because of finances,” she says.

The unemployed mother of two says she has often returned proudly from international competitions with a group of children wearing the medals they have won.

Dee says she started an awareness project to support diabetic children in 2016.

This was made possible through fundraisers to buy the children equipment.

She also established a feeding programme for children and the elderly during the Covid-19 pandemic, she says.

‘LOTS OF REJECTION’

Although it is rewarding to help people in need, Dee says the life of a good Samaritan is not easy.

It involves a lot of rejection by both community members and companies, she says.

“Most of the projects are funded by myself through fundraising events. The first Stem Fair in 2018 was funded by Debmarine Namibia, while a handful of people from the public and a few businesses delivered food for the feeding programme.

“I had to stop in 2020 as I could not sustain the project. The best you can get from the community is a pat on the back or messages that you are doing well, but it ends there,” she says.

Dee says she has received numerous rejection letters from companies saying their budget has been depleted, or that they are supporting other initiatives.

“In most cases, the donation assistance letters are either never replied to or apparently never received. My biggest obstacle sometimes is also getting cooperation from some schools, although I am trying to empower their children.

“Helping to feed one more mouth gives you peaceful sleep. It feels good when someone approaches me to just say thank you, or when a child runs up to me to talk about an activity we have done together. I am not doing it to be rewarded, but it motivates me,” she says.

Dee says she has often considered giving up, but then thinks about the children’s future.

‘PAP MANSION’

In another part of Walvis Bay, Barbra Kavita (45) faces the same struggle.

The single mother started taking care of 10 vulnerable children from the community in 2004, as she was also raised by a single mother who struggled to make ends meet.

“I felt bad seeing these children on the streets, hungry and neglected. I used my salary to buy them food, and some people gradually started to assist,” she says.

More children started to show up at her home, as well as a few adults asking for clothes or stationery for their children.

Her house, which is now known as the ‘Pap Mansion’, quickly became a haven for children ranging from toddlers to young adults, with some eventually making it to university or finding employment.

COMPETITION … Anatacia Dee with pupils from the stem group at a sci- ence fair in Cape Town.

Most of the children who were raised in her home return to support the home, Kavita says.

Her greatest challenge is her Saturday soup kitchen and trying to feed over 200 children.

There are times when she does not know what to tell them, as she runs out of food, she says.

Kavita says it is heartbreaking to see children at her gate with their soup bowls and not being able to provide anything.

“I sometimes have to make last-minute calls to friends, hoping someone will show up with even a loaf of bread. People see good Samaritans smiling, but they do not realise the challenges we face.

“Nobody witnesses the worry that keeps us up at night, or that your own house is without food, water or electricity, but we are motivated by the children’s happy faces and knowing we are making a difference.

“Not everyone is supportive of the Pap Mansion’s work. Some people have misconceptions about the effectiveness of the project, while others assume I have more than enough resources to sustain the programme,” she says.

Despite the challenges of running the Pap Mansion and raising her own son, Kavita says she always looks forward to seeing a smile on a child’s face.

Anastacia and Kavita have met each other on social media, and a bond was formed.

The women are now keeping each other motivated through sharing advice and sometimes donations.

“We are taking it one day at a time. As long as there are children in need, we will continue to do what we can to help,” Kavita says.

“Although it is hard. Giving up is not an option,” Anastacia says.

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