I am Special: PROJECT

I am special have been involved in the lives of thousands of children over the last 3 years. With their school programme they get to spend time with each child - loving them and through the compassion and dedication of their facilitators and friends (sponsors) showing children in poor and under privilege communities just how special they are. Letting them realize it does not matter where you come from or who you are, not even what you do, you are Special just because God made you.

Their circumstances can not be changed, but they can be given  hope and guidance. (please see YOUTUBE link www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNTYVWTyFQE ). This is an ongoing project so during the month of June and July they continued with their classes. They also have a "I am Special Puppet Show", where they go to mainly under privilege communities presenting the puppet show free of charge. Again with the aim of letting children realize that they are SPECIAL. During the month of June and July three puppet shows were done for altogether +/- 150 children.

The Romans Double up challenge inspired a whole new dimension to their programme. They enlisted their charity on the Double Up challenge website to get people involved in helping them to let children feel special, asking individuals, groups or companies to get involved. The response was incredible!  We have so far been able to help 1600 children with magazines for research, new sporting equipment for gym class, toys and stuff for the girls, dress up corner, baby clothes and products for an aids orphanage, muffins for 50 hungry tummies and crayons to help I am Special ministries present their programme.  Dipped confections coffee shop in Stellenbosch hosted a High Tea for I am Special where the guests brought toys, clothes and things that they could give to children in need, Hlamba linen helped a young girl with clothes after arriving at a save house with her mom, The International Hotel school took I am Special as their CSI project for 2012 and Doxa Deo donated three boxes of baby clothes, as well as donations in kind.

"We can only thank Romans double up for inspiring us to add a new “leg” to our programme. We realized that there are a lot of people out there that want to help but do not always know where and how. And now they can contact us to help them making a child feel special."

They planned to help 10 000 kids and will be able to help far more children between the ages of 0 - 13 years of age than they have anticipated.

This project is considered a success, because they saw the faces of the children as they are told they are special, they saw their faces when a facilitator makes time in her/his day (every week) just to spend time with a child, they heard children telling a friend “i am Special”. They saw the reaction of children when they receive something as simple as a magazine and they saw the face of a little girl getting a new pair of jeans and panties... And they saw the faces and reaction of people willing to make this happen. They saw something money cannot buy.