Amidst the frustrations and difficulties felt due to the understandable tearing up of the rugby calendar as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic there are still some truly heart-warming stories coming through.
Not least the effort from Warwick School, whose rugby club raised an outstanding £22,995.92 for South African charity HOKISA (Homes for Kids in South Africa) after their summer tour of the country was lost to the virus.
Warwick were due to head to South Africa in July, touring Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth of 17-nights, in what would have felt like a real mirroring of the forthcoming British and Irish Lions tour of the country.
Much like Sedbergh School, whose efforts we wrote about last month, Warwick decided that while the tour might be cancelled, they could still do something. It might not include being able to play against some of the top school sides in the world all to experience all that South Africa has to offer, but they could raise money for the HOKISA charity.
The charity was founded in Cape Town in 2001 as an NGO to contribute in the fight against AIDS by creating examples of care, particularly for those most vulnerable, the children.
They empower members of poorer communities, where HIV/AIDS is most devastating, and donations go directly to the HOKISA Children’s home and the care of the children, no money is wasted on office buildings or admin.
Through Warwick’s annal 7s competition and a Burns Night charity event, Warwick have raised this extraordinary amount of money through their pupils, their parents, and the staff. The near £23,000 is roughly equivalent to 500,000R. Just 24,000R sponsors travel for all the children the charity works for in a year, 72,000R sponsors a child’s books, stationery, shoes, etc for the year, so the money raised will clearly go a long way.
COVID-19 might have decimated the last 9 months, and a good few more to come, but through the good work of schools such as Warwick, the rugby spirit is certainly alive and well and helping those in need around the world.
To learn more about HOKISA, please head to their website here: HOKISA – Homes for Kids in South Africa.
