WHO ARE WE???
The Darcey Sunshine Foundation was registered as a not for profit in November 2020, however our mission started on 20th April 2020, when a close family friend started "The Sunshine Sandwich Project" in memory of our daughter, Darcey Elizabeth Sunshine Doig.
Since our inception, with the support of our community (both local and international), we have managed to "spread the sunshine" into the lives of local vulnerable children through nutrition, Christmas gifts, early education and swim safety classes.
It is our goal to remove the financial barriers to water safety education for children from our most vulnerable communities with the goal of impacting the devastating statistics of child drowning in South Africa.
Whilst most child drownings between the ages of 0-4 occur in swimming pools, older children have been found far more likely to get into trouble in open bodies of water. Each of our communities here in the Western Cape are within easy walking distance of natural or man made dams, rivers or a beach. It is here that unsupervised children will wander and play, perhaps hoping to cool off in the hot summer months.
Here at the The Darcey Sunshine Foundation, we strongly believe that being able to swim is an essential life skill, too often only afforded to those of privilege. We aim to teach children from vulnerable communities not only how to swim, but how to be safe and keep their friends safe around water. We also aim to ensure our kids know what to do in case of emergency. Through partnering with local swim schools and creating a link with local preschools, we hope to implement water safety education as part of the grade R curriculum. This year we will be introducing our parent education evening, in a bid to raise awareness in our children's parents in time for the summer season. It is our hope that through this project, we can reduce the number of tragic drowning incidents occurring each year in the Western Cape.
Why not help us SPREAD THE SUNSHINE today, and perhaps together we could save a life or two.
