With a heart of gold and a natural drive to do good, an exemplary 12-year-old from Strand initiated a business venture to raise funds for two worthy causes aiding child welfare.
Divan de Villiers, a Grade 6 learner at Lochnerhof Primary School, started selling biltong and droëwors with the intention of using the money earned to assist children in need at the school and the establishment of a learner development facility at a Breede Valley orphanage, the Herberg Children’s Home.
As the driving force behind Divan’s Geelvet Biltong & Droëwors, Divan is striving towards the target to sell about 1 000 kg of biltong and droëwors in the next six months and donate R20 per kilogram (amounting to R20 000) equally between the respective institutions. To reach his goal successfully the budding young entrepreneur, who wears his heart in his pocket, is calling on much-needed support from the community, known for rallying for needed cause.
Furthermore, Divan’s father Bert has committed his company, Safecorp Facilities Management, to assist the orphanage with any renovations needed to realise the proposed learner development facility.
“We are honoured to be able to help Divan achieve his goals and to practise our personal values, which include caring for those in need,” said the parent.
According to Bert, the inspiration behind Divan’s initiative is the family’s keen support of welfare campaigns and his occasional involvement in the school’s feeding project. He has also been part of his parents’ children’s ministry for more than eight years, and exposure to those in dire need kick-started his welfare initiative under the umbrella of “Project Sunflower – shining the light on others” two months ago. The meat products for Divan’s Geelvet Biltong & Droëwors are sourced from a biltong retailer in Gauteng, which the family has partnered with to realise their goal of opening up a store in the Basin. “Our family has traded in meat for many years,” Bert shared. “I have been in business since 2009. With our financial support Divan’s initiative is managed by his older sister who works permanently for Divan’s Geelvet Biltong and Droëwors. All products are shipped from Johannesburg until the opening of our mobile store in November.”
Divan is the youngest of three, only boy among two girls (28 and 23), and from a tender age has harboured an intense desire to help others, and his growth and goals lie in his caring personality which, when nurtured, simply bolsters his positive outlook on life.
Rolling out the initiative at the end of June, his hope is to raise R20 000 or more by Monday 5 December for distribution before the year’s end.
Annana Bothma, manager of the children’s home located in Robertson, expressed her elation and gratitude for the initiative. “It is absolutely wonderful to see how children take initiative and reach out to those in need,” she said. “We wish there are more like Divan, whose efforts are truly appreciated. May he be blessed beyond measure.”
Lochnerhof teacher Koos Eksteen commended Divan for championing an initiative that will definitely make a difference, especially after a crippling pandemic has left everyone, including schools, feeling the pinch.
