Lay-By Initiative Gets South African Kids Ready for New School Year!

Lay-By Initiative - Generous South Africans Settle Thousands of Lay-Bys To Help Strangers!

Photo Cred: Pexels

The beginning of the year is a financially difficult time for many and for parents who need to buy new uniforms and stationery for their children, it can be even more stressful.

Johannesburg, South Africa (28 January 2023) – Paying for someone’s lay-by leading up to the opening of schools was a concept that started going viral in January 2021 and the concept assisted so many families, that year alone over R330,000 was paid off by kind South Africans who wanted to help parents in need.

The idea is to visit a local store (Pep, one of the very few retailers still providing lay-by options) and ask for a lay-by that contains school uniforms and supplies. You then pay for all or a portion of the lay-by. The customer is then notified their lay-by amount has been updated or paid in full. If it is paid in full, they are asked to come and collect their items.

A tragic reality si that many parents in South Africa have had to put school uniforms on lay-by – this has been done because money is incredibly tight at the moment.

Lay-by allows a person to purchase items they need and pay them off over a period. This method is a safer way to pay something off than to put it on credit. Not many stores allow lay-by these days, but Pep Stores still offer the service.

So if you want to help a mother clothe her child, that is the concept. You just pop into your local Pep (or other stores) and pay towards someone’s lay-by.

One mom from Paarl shared that someone had paid her lay-by in full. She had rushed to the store to get the uniforms she needed before everything sold out and not even a few hours later, she was called to be notified that her lay-by was ready for collection.

“I couldn’t believe it.. my year starts right with a big Blessing… to the person who did this, thank you very much, I know right that God will see you even more… there are still good people in the world” – *Audelle

You can also support your local charity by purchasing schooling items such as stationary, shoes, clothing, school bags, books or any school-related items.

It is that time of year where parents start to panic about how they will cover the costs of getting their children to school. If you have a donation drive, reach out via email to let us know.