StreetSmart SA, an organisation dedicated to helping vulnerable children rebuild their lives, welcomes Zaid Adams, a seasoned professional with over 30 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, as its new chairman.
Adams who has served as a StreetSmart director since January 2019 after supporting the organization for a number of years in various hospitality roles, takes over the baton from Melanie Burke, a StreetSmart founding member who served as chairman for the past six years. Burke will continue to play a vital role as vice-chairman going forward.
A dynamic self-starter who leads from the front with vast experience as a food, beverage and hospitality professional has the inside track to lead StreetSmart into the future. Adams has held senior positions with some of the country's leading hospitality brands including Sun International and Taj Hotels. He also has extensive international hospitality experience having worked in the United Kingdom, Europe and Africa. He has served on the board of FEDHASA and is a member of the Chaine de Rotisseurs since 2007.
Read more: Seasoned hospitality professional takes the helm at StreetSmart SA
StreetSmart SA, an organisation dedicated to changing children’s lives by supporting intervention programmes through donations from hospitality venues in the Western Cape, Garden Route and Gauteng, is working with Millicent Biljohn, a Mrs South Africa 2021 semi-finalist in Oudtshoorn.
Millicent says “The Mrs SA Pageant and Female Empowerment programme for married women is a platform for service and contribution across our country and I am excited to work with StreetSmart in Oudtshoorn.”
Millicent is a proud wife and mother and hopes to bring her passion for helping women and children together in this project. She is planning a series of fundraising activities and volunteering with local children's projects.
StreetSmart SA has launched their CHILDREN's BOOKS COLLECTION campaign for #WorldBookDay which takes place on 23 April 2021. We are asking for your support by donating your old children’s books.
All books collected during this time will be sorted and distributed nationally to our StreetSmart beneficiaries.
Every book read is a step towards building a road to knowledge and success. And with that sentiment, StreetSmart appeals to you to donate as many children’s books as possible so that the lives of youth can be enriched with the knowledge and joy found within the pages of these books.
You can deliver your children’s books on 23 April, between 09:00 - 16:00 at the StreetSmart office at Salesians Institute, 2 Somerset Road, Green Point, Cape Town. For more details, contact Chad at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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We started working with the “M” family during July 2019. The biological mother was dependent on alcohol and struggling to keep her job and taking care of her family. The deteriorating situation at home resulted in the three children seeking refuge outside of their home – not attending school regularly, spending time on the streets and socializing with peers involved in petty crimes and possible gang ties. The older two children showed behavioural problems at school as a way of acting out.
The children at first only reached out to the social worker at Linomtha House as another place where they could spend time rather than be at home. Later as a trust relationship was established, the true situation came to light and the family was introduced onto the programme.
Covid-19 brought life – and most businesses – to an unprecedented standstill.
Shops shuttered, airlines stalled, and the immediate halt of travel and tourism brought the broader hospitality industry to its knees.
Like veritable beachfront cottages in a tsunami, restaurants have been among the first, most cherished, and hardest hit businesses in the pandemic, and notably we have experienced the loss of many jobs; the ripple effect has affected other businesses connected to the hospitality industry and also organisations who relied heavily on the patronage of restaurant-goers.
What should have been a year of celebrating StreetSmart’s 15th anniversary of making a difference in the lives of vulnerable children, turned into a year of relentless challenges brought about by COVID-19’s devastating impact on StreetSmart’s major source of fundraising. Despite the various phases of lockdown affecting the hospitality industry, StreetSmart managed to raise a total of R615 000 to support 35 organisations working with the country’s most vulnerable children for 2021.
In the broader Cape Town area, StreetSmart fundraising partners and their patrons raised R270,000 for their 9 beneficiaries. The funds raised help these local organisations towards retaining aftercare teachers, outreach workers, training instructors, as well as social and auxiliary social workers working with vulnerable children.
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