KNYSNA NEWSFLASH - Woodmill Lane in Knysna was the scene of a R1-million donation handover on Saturday 16 September, when individuals and organisations received these much-needed funds to either rebuild or continue work they have already been doing.
The money was raised during a special “Classics is Groot” benefit concert for Knysna fire victims on 24 June, by television channel KykNET.
The initiative of creative director and producer Barry Pretorius, in conjunction with the team running the Knysna Fires 7 June Facebook page, ensured that local organisations and artisans benefitted from the proceeds.
Said Pretorius, “From the outset, the decision was taken to invest in and donate to individuals and local companies, after having met with them to see how we could help them and employees dependent on them, to get back on their feet.”
Cheques of specific amounts, worked out to the last penny, were handed over.
Some of the locals who attended the ceremony.
Among the beneficiaries were:
- the Rheenendal fire management unit, whose volunteers battled the fires continuously throughout the period;
- Timber Village, which was destroyed in the fires just subsequent to its sale being finalised
- Manie Rademeyer, who restores old cars, employed locals and had moved to his daughter’s farm two weeks before the fire and lost all his tools and equipment
- Brian Handel and Pauline Terblans, whose maintenance and repair business was wiped out
- The tools and equipment of Lorenus and Simone Terblanche that were wiped out and whose eight staff members were facing retrenchment.
- Carmic Malinidi, woodwork and skills development teacher who was based in Timber Village, also received a cheque.
The proceedings were rounded off with a performance by award-winning vocalist Tarryn Lamb, the lead singer of the Blackbyrds.
Read more in Thursday's Knysna-Plett Herald as well as online.
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
