On Wednesday, 15 December, our marketing team treated 20 children from the House of Grace to a Christmas party at the Aquarium. The children were greeted by mascots Silver the Shark and Terminator the Seal, and were then taken to meet all the weird and wonderful creatures the Aquarium is home to – from the dazzling tropical fish in the Oceans of Contrast: Indian Ocean Gallery to the mesmerising jellies, mystical seahorses and alien-like giant spider crabs in the Atlantic Ocean Gallery.
They also spent some time in the AfriSam Children’s Centre, where they had fun with arts and crafts and were entertained by the antics of Peter the Penguin and his friends in the puppet show.
At the I&J Predator Exhibit, a special visitor was waiting for them: Father Christmas swimming among the ragged-tooth sharks and the other predatory fish!
After the guided tour the children sat down in Tranquility, with its spectacular underwater views into the Kelp Forest Exhibit, to a hearty lunch provided by Shoreline Café. The children tucked into ice cream from IceZit and Christmas cupcakes sponsored by Frostings Cupcake Boutique. Each child also received an I&J party pack which included a range of treats like fruit juice, Smarties and crisps.
And then the moment they had been waiting for arrived. Father Christmas, dried out after his underwater adventures, came to meet the children and handed each one a gift. Additional gifts donated by some Solemate members were given to House of Grace, and the Aquarium also donated several baby high chairs.
House of Grace was opened by Aletta Herbst, a woman who lived on the streets of Cape Town for two years from the time that she was only 11 years old. Since that time, she set her heart on helping other children avoid the same ordeal, and so opened a house for deserted children. House of Grace takes in children until they can be placed in other homes, but these kids often stay on for many years. At the moment Aletta has 20 children, ranging from two to 13 years old, in her care. Many of these children have been abused or have suffered some kind of trauma in their short lives.
The House of Grace gets very little financial support from the government and is almost entirely reliant on charity. In January 2009 a group of friends decided to join forces to support Aletta’s work, and created an informal group called the MAD Ladies who have been helping the House of Grace ever since, finding out about the great generosity of people, companies and the communities along the way.
Val Theron, one of the MAD Ladies, said: “The children had a wonderful time at the Aquarium and I can safely say that they have never ever had a better outing. The attention to detail and generosity bowled us all over and we cannot thank [the Aquarium] enough for everything.
“Once [the children] got home they bombarded Aletta with tales from their day out and then all scattered to quietly play with their new toys! Please extend our thanks to the whole team and everyone involved for making this such a memorable occasion!”
Click here to find out more about the the Aquarium’s Adopt-a-School programme.
You can also sponsor a child’s visit or support the Aquarium in other ways.
