The Valentines are on a mission to warm up Sir Lowry’s Pass. The family with a heart of gold are making ponchos that they have been distributing to children in the area.
Stayci and her parents Glanda and Steven Valentine are the founders of Human Employment and Social Solution (HESS). HESS started when Stayci stumbled upon the Uyanda foundation after the Valentines moved to the Helderberg in April and experienced a winter like never before. After researching the foundation Stayci saw their social media post of the children they were helping.
“I noticed that a lot of the children didn’t have shoes, and they looked a little bit cold,” said the 36-year-old.
Stayci decided she needed to do something. She then reached out to her contacts which included a host of former international colleagues to put together funds for her to sew 100 ponchos for the children of the Uyanda foundation.
The founder of HESS was able to utilise her contact book after spending a decade working in the film industry. With the advent of Covid-19 and production shutting down, it was during this period that she first sat down and tried sewing.
“We couldn’t do anything; we couldn’t go anywhere. So, I started googling how to make clothes for my daughter,” explained Stayci.
After delivering the ponchos to the Uyanda foundation and seeing their faces light up like the colours of the fabric that they were wearing, HESS knew that they wanted to do more.
“I thought a hundred ponchos were a lot, but then I heard that the school (Sir Lowry’s Pass Village Primary) has 1 400 kids. That encouraged me to keep making more.”
HESS is now looking to invest even more into the community by giving each child at Sir Lowry’s Pass Primary School their own poncho.
As the winter months come to an end, HESS’s poncho drive will continue to run through the summer. It is only the beginning as they want to equip Sir Lowry’s Pass to be self-sustainable. They are looking to bring in people from the area to assist with making the ponchos. This will be ensuring that they are living up to their name.
