STORY Sessions

Since we posted about some of the different ways you can support the work being done alongside people who are particularly vulnerable during the lockdown period, we have received a number of cash donations. With these donations we have been able to ensure that over 70 people have received food in the form of cash or vouchers. Asylum seekers have an added level of vulnerability as they do not qualify for the new SASSA grant, and as many people are still not earning an income under level 4, we will continue to raise funds. If you would still like to donate towards providing food for refugees and asylum seekers, or any of the other areas we have highlighted, please see further details below.

COVID19 in Durban: How can I help?

We had the privilege of listening to stories over the last couple of days from some of the communities in our city who are particularly vulnerable at this time (see the FB Live Sessions on our feed if you missed it - we interviewed Theogene Tito Haguma (refugees/asylum seekers), Monique Michal Marks (people who use drugs/homeless people), Raymond Perrier (homeless people) and Patrick Ndlovu and Richard Dobson from Asiye Etafuleni Asiye eTafuleni (informal traders). Based on what they have shared with us - here is how you can help:

1. Food Vouchers for Refugees
Tito mentioned that there are refugees and asylum seekers who are “falling through the cracks” of assistance provided at the moment. As Story Sessions we would love to help Tito and his colleagues provide these individuals and families with food vouchers of R350 each. If you would like to donate towards these food vouchers, you can do it by doing an EFT to the following account (The account belongs to Vicky Simpson- a Story Sessions team member and colleague of Tito’s - they will be coordinating and implementing this initiative together):

Name: V.A. Simpson
Bank: First National Bank
Account number: 62062648335
Branch code: 210717
Please use the reference: SS Refugees

2. Creative and Other Goods for Shelters for Homeless People
Monique mentioned that any creative materials would be welcome for people to capture and express their experiences and stories of their time in the lockdown shelters. Other items needed as well are magazines, plastic chairs for support group meetings, as well as cellphones and airtime. If you, or someone you know has a business that can support in one of these respects, please contact us at [email protected] or Monique at [email protected].

3. You can support the Denis Hurley Centre, by following and sharing stories on their page https://web.facebook.com/DenisHurleyCentre/ Financial contributions can be made on Zapper (see the QR code on their page) or to their bank account:

Bank - FNB
Account Name - Denis Hurley Centre
Trust Account Number - 62204261002
Branch Code - 222126
Use your COVID plus your name as reference. Contact [email protected] if you need more details.

You can also support their award-winning StreetLit Durban project during Lockdown. All of the vendors are observing lockdown and are thus not able to earn currently, but Anivesh Singh from Micromega Publications has come up with the innovative idea to make a selection of their books available online: www.madeinchatsworth.co.za.

4. You can support Asiye Etafuleni (https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Non-Governmental-Organization--NGO-/Asiye-Etafuleni-194869947213098/) in their work with and alongside the informal traders in our city by donating funds towards personal protection kits for informal traders such as face masks and shields, sanitizers, hand-wash stations. Their banking details are:

Bank - Nedbank
Account number - 9015206764 (Savings)
Branch code - 720026
Please use your name and “Story Sessions” as reference for the payment.

We will go live with this interview at 4pm!

In the last week we have been so grateful to receive a few donations from members of the Story Sessions community, to put towards food vouchers for people living as asylum seekers and refugees in Durban. These have all been distributed, and consequently 20 people have been able to buy the food that they need. There are still many people in dire need of help, so if you would like to contribute to some of the efforts, see below for a number of different ways to do so.

Hi everyone, due to unforeseen circumstances, this interview will no longer take place this afternoon, but only tomorrow. We will confirm that exact time with you asap. Thanks for engagement and interest in our city.

COVID19 Stories on Facebook Live #4

Tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon, at 5pm, we will be interviewing members from the team at Asiye eTafuleni (https://www.facebook.com/Asiye-Etafuleni-194869947213098/), to learn about the impact of the COVID19 crisis on the informal traders in our city.

Please join us as for this Story Sessions Facebook Live interview (the fourth in our current Durban COVID19 series) tomorrow afternoon and find out more about the significant work they are doing amongst and alongside the informal traders in our city.

COVID19 Stories on Facebook Live #3

Tomorrow morning, at 9:30am, we will be interviewing another one of our previous STORY Sessions guests, Raymond Perrier from the Denis Hurley Centre, to learn about the impact of the COVID19 crisis on the homeless in our city.

Please join us as for this Story Sessions Facebook Live interview (the third in our current Durban COVID19 series) tomorrow morning and find out more about the significant work Raymond, alongside many others, have been doing.

COVID19 in Durban: How can I help?

We had the privilege of listening to stories last week from some of the communities in our city who are particularly vulnerable at this time (see the FB Live Sessions on our feed if you missed it). Here is how you can help:

1. Food Vouchers for Refugees

Tito mentioned that there are refugees and asylum seekers who are “falling through the cracks” of assistance provided at the moment. As Story Sessions we would love to help Tito and his colleagues provide these individuals and families with food vouchers of R350 each. If you would like to donate towards these food vouchers, you can do it by doing an EFT to the following account (The account belongs to Vicky Simpson - a Story Sessions team member and colleague of Tito’s - they will be coordinating and implementing this initiative together):

Name: V.A. Simpson
Bank: First National Bank
Account number: 62062648335
Branch code: 210717
Please use the reference: SS Refugees

2. Creative and Other Goods for Shelters for Homeless People

Monique mentioned that any creative materials would be welcome for people to capture and express their experiences and stories of their time in the lockdown shelters. Other items needed as well are magazines, plastic chairs for support group meetings, as well as cellphones and airtime. If you, or someone you know has a business that can support in one of these respects, please contact us at [email protected] or Monique at [email protected].

Please note that our interview with Professor Monique Marks has been moved to 11:30 today. We hope you will join us!

COVID19 Stories on Facebook Live!

On Friday morning, just after 9:30am, we will be interviewing another one of our previous Story Session guests, Prof Monique Marks, from the Urban Futures Centre at DUT, to learn about the work being done amongst people who are using drugs in our city at this time. Please join us for this Story Sessions Facebook Live interview tomorrow morning!