Initiatives

As much as 2019 was a tough year in South Africa, we have managed to grow and reach more children than ever before, and in doing so, I am hopeful that we are genuinely making a difference in our beautiful Rainbow Nation.

We enjoyed the incredible support of our long term supporters and we were also blessed to have brought on board a few major sponsors, for which we are truly grateful! The beginning of our journey involved the support of the University of Johannesburg and its students, and our growth through the year included the purchasing of the sophisticated machinery that has made the process of screening and testing incredibly efficient. As a result, we are able to reach thousands more children every year.

There is no doubt that 2020 will be another tough year, not only in South Africa, but across the whole world. But we are well positioned to meet our goals in terms of how many children we screen and test, and the partnerships and collaborations we have established will ensure we reach even more of South Africa’s future leaders.

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It is estimated that as many as 20% of under privileged children in South Africa have eye sight issues. Often, these children battle at school not because of a learning disability, but because they can’t see. The LumoHawk Foundation has a ‘vision’ to test the eye sight of 1 000 000 children over the next 3 years and to provide glasses to all of those in need!

In our efforts to achieve Madiba’s legacy of educating our nation, by assisting the children with sight issues, we need to raise 3 million rand per annum!

As part of the fundraising program and to create awareness for Vision2020, Joel Stransky embarked on the “Big 5 Challenge”, which included participating in, and completing, the Absa Cape Epic, the full Iron Man, the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon, a 8km sea swim crossing from Robben Island to Blouberg, and the Comrades Marathon. This was completed successfully by both Joel and by long term supporter of the foundation, Greg Imbriolo, who did his version of the Big 5, substituting the Swiss Epic in for the Cape Epic.

Screening and testing was initially done In conjunction with the optometry faculty of the University of Johannesburg, headed by Professor Anthony Carlson, and is now done by optometrists and locums making use of our newly acquired equipment, courtesy of Genop Healthcare, an Adcock Ingram Company. John Weir and his company, Focus Optical, are providing glasses, at cost, to each child in need.

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The Hermanus Rainbow Trust, registered as a Non-Profit Organisation in 1999, provides comprehensive community and social development services and support to orphans, vulnerable children and disadvantaged families, in the four main impoverished communities of the Overstrand. This support includes providing 200 children with two meals a day, as well as after-school activities, clothes, books, educational toys and psycho-social support and counselling.

In addition, they sponsor 106 disadvantaged children with uniforms, enabling them to go to local schools, educare centres and after-school care, and to receive psycho-social support and counselling. They also provide support, lifestyle, parenting and child development skills to 400 disadvantaged families.

This mountain bike academy not only gives aspiring young cyclists an opportunity to ride in the safe Northern Farms environment, but also encourages them from an educational perspective by offering extra maths and English tuition after all rides. The children enjoy a healthy, balanced experience and this approach is delivering positive results. The children are achieving better results in their school subjects and one or two very talented young riders have come to the fore.

There are plans to build a BMX track which will cater for a larger group of promising cyclists and learners. The LumoHawk Foundation is in the process of donating a number of bicycles and will also provide bursaries for two young schoolgirls who have shown incredible courage and ability.

An educational outreach programme is being planned at one of the Diepsloot schools, which we hope will increase the awareness of our efforts and encourage support from the greater Diepsloot community.

The LumoHawk Foundation pays all costs for a young cancer survivor from Alexandra Township to attend Boston Advertising College.

Past projects have included:
– Paying school fees for a number of children from orphanages.
– Buying necessities for these orphanages.
– Buying a wheelchair for an injured rugby player.
– Moving a school classroom that housed handicapped children to a more appropriate position.