We’re turning 5!
In 2011 my doctor recommended that I take some time off to recover from an illness. I had always wanted to stay at the Montagu Country hotel. I needed a place to go and recover and the Montagu hotel was having a special discount that suited my budget, and they really went out of their way for us. Not being one to be idle I looked around and that is where RAM was born, as during our stay there I came across a project that used to supply the poor of Montagu with seedlings to start their own vegetable gardens and I decided to visit the site. We met a lady who was chopping up butternuts for resale packets – The concept was that they helped you set up a home garden and any extra produce you could sell back to the project, and use the money to buy your meat. The project would in turn make pre-cut packets for local businesses and Saturday market stalls, and proceeds were used to buy seeds for future planting.
The lady cutting up the butternut looked cold. She was wearing layers of mismatched socks and clothing, as well as jersey that was full of holes. My husband immediately rushed to the car to fetch one of my jackets for the woman to wear (he took my most favourite jacket!) and that’s when I started asking, “What else can we do?”. My husband, Stephen, named the project RAM which stands for Rescue Among Many.
Five years later, RAM has played a part in so many people’s lives, trying it’s best that people don’t go to bed hungry, have clothes on their back and for those who are in the final stages of their life, that they are living their final days in a dignified manner. Our primary concern is children, the elderly and animal shelters. This month we will be going back to the Montagu Country hotel, back to our roots and visiting the institutions that we support in that area.
The cherry on the cake will be the outing organised and sponsored by Imagine Cruising SA & UK for the learners from Talana farm school in Montagu on the 28th of May. Imagine Cruising has arranged bus collections to and from Montagu which is 2 hours from Cape Town. We hope to open the children’s eyes to the possibilities that lie beyond the areas they grew up in.
Carol Bruton
Chairperson & Founder of RAM Charity projects