On 27 May, Kaylee Dirmeik, a pupil at Sinai Academy, celebrated her Bat Mitzvah at Coffee Time.
The UJW were thrilled to be part of Kaylee’s special day when she chose to include Baby Bags for Beginners as the main activity for her Bat Mitzvah. By doing this, she was able to celebrate her special day and at the same time do a wonderful mitzvah.
The Dirmeik family gave a generous donation towards purchasing the contents for the new born baby bags which were packed by Kaylee, her family and her friends on the day. These 40 bags will be delivered to the Social workers at Somerset Hospital who will ensure they are given to indigent mothers who would otherwise not have been able to afford these items.
Baby Bags for Beginners is one of the newest initiatives of the Union of Jewish Woman. They have been working closely with the social workers at Somerset Hospital to support new mothers, many of whom face daunting challenges. These mothers do not have access to pre-/post-natal care and issues like poverty and single parenthood are the norm. Many are from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, are unemployed, live in rural areas and are totally reliant on their monthly government grant of just over R300.
Each new mom is presented with a bag containing many of the essentials they will need to take care of their new born baby. The Idea behind the UJW’s Baby Bags for Beginners is to give every new born baby a better start to their lives whilst supporting their mothers. The UJW hopes this will develop into a long term ongoing project.The Union of Jewish Women looks forward to participating in many more Bat/Bar Mitzvah’s in the future and would be delighted to link CJC readers with one of their many projects uplifting and assisting those in our community who desperately need help.
For more information call Shelley on 021 434 9555 or email fundraising@ujwcape.co.za
