Pensioner Lorraine Shepard could not replace her grandson’s broken cricket bat, so she asked for help; now, children from Alexandra will also get new bats.
Fourways, Johannesburg (26 October 2021) – Lorraine Shepard is a very proud grandmother. Her grandson plays for the Northern Suburbs Saturday Schools Cricket League (NSSSC) U9 team, and recently he cracked his bat. He was devastated, and Lorraine found herself unable to replace the bat on her pension.
Lorraine took to I Love Fourways, her local community group, to ask if anyone could assist with a second-hand bat in good condition. She never dreamed that so many people would step forward to help.
In the end, a very generous man, a total stranger to the family, offered to buy her grandson a brand new bat.
“Thank you Saajid Hoosen for your wonderful gift of kindness and ILF… for your wonderful, immediate response to my post to buy a second-hand cricket bat for my grandson, who was selected to play for NSSSC U9. His bat broke and the tears were non-stop. Within minutes, the posts started… so many wonderfully kind people. The response was overwhelming and brought me to tears. Saajid, a complete stranger, offered to buy him a BRAND NEW cricket bat! True to his word, we met at Fourways and David got his new bat and a ball.”
The best news is that Lorraine had so many offers for bats that she has encouraged everyone to donate them to an outreach programme located in the Alexandra Township.
“My father always told me: “when you get a blessing, you need to open your hands and share it with others, if you don’t your hands will stay closed and you won’t be able to catch new blessings”! I would like to pay this forward, if I may….. if any of today’s kind donors would like to offer any cricket gear, I would like to arrange my Charity Itlhokomeleng Home for the Aged and Disabled in Alex, to collect. They have an Outreach Programme. There are so many children roaming the streets in Alex, maybe they can become Proteas one day? Thank you for the blessings and happiness you sent our way today. We are truly blessed, happy and grateful.”
If you would like to join the Fourways community in their generosity, you can find out more about the Itlhokomeleng Home for the Aged and Disabled and their youth outreach programme here.
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