Nathaniel Madgwick handed over 31 buckets of toiletries to Living Hope for poor communities. Nathaniel is seen here with Living Hope’s Jo-Anne Meyer, left, and Siphokazi Doko.
A Fish Hoek teen who set out to collect 20 buckets of toiletries for the needy has instead managed to hand over 31 after getting more public donations than he had expected.
Nathaniel Madgwick, 16, who is part of the Junior City Council, worked with Living Hope to collect the toiletries (“Teen councillor collecting toiletries for needy,” Echo March 2).
Living Hope executive director Victor Thomas said they were incredibly grateful to Nathaniel for the 31 buckets received and for raising awareness about the critical need for basic hygiene items.
Mr Thomas said the buckets would be used across all the areas they served as the need arose.
The toiletries were placed in buckets because people from poor communities may have access to water, but they often have no way to carry it and they seldom have products to wash themselves, according to Mr Thomas.
Nathaniel now hopes to keep the project going and expand it to other areas.
“This has been an amazing experience. I've learned that if anyone wants to make a change, they can. Often society leaves it to politicians and activists to change the world for the better, but, if you want to do something, you can actually get it done yourself,” he said.