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The Veterans Aid Fund (V.A.F.) is currently embarking on a nationwide outreach – visiting all provinces in South Africa – offering meals, music, goody bags, and shopping vouchers exclusively to National Service Veterans in need.
V.A.F. is an independent non-profit company. They are not a military organization, club, or society; have no members, ask no membership fees, and offer no membership benefits. They are not affiliated with any military organization, nor the government, and are completely reliant on public donations – voluntary donors who contribute (once off, or monthly) towards emergency relief, exclusively for National Service Veterans in need: food, clothing, housing, and medical care.
A nationwide outreach commenced on 26 June 2023 where V.A.F. invited veterans to attend complimentary functions in various towns and cities all around Gauteng, North West Province, Mpumalanga and the Free State – the most recent functions having been held in Bloemfontein and Kroonstad, on 25 and 26 September 2023. Veterans were entertained with lunches, live music, inspirational speakers, prizes, gifts; as well as a sorely needed shopping voucher, in order to supplement their insufficient pension funds. The outreach welcomes all National Service Veterans, but especially those who are financially challenged, without family, and solely dependent on SASSA, for their basic survival.
Veterans were invited to attend these various functions, via social media and community radio stations. In order to book their complimentary attendance, they simply had to SMS the name of the town (where they wished to attend) to 31429. Thanks to various churches and retirement homes, some veterans were brought to these functions in mini-busses, others by members of the public who were kind enough to volunteer their own transport to veterans who do not have any means or transportation of their own.
Pictured below : A successful Eastern Cape outreach
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The first leg of this national outreach to all provinces in South Africa was a great success. The functions were well attended and extremely valuable, in various ways: Apart from offering much-needed physical and financial aid, the value of camaraderie experienced at these functions cannot be measured. Many veterans exist in tragic isolation: their spouses having left them, or their children having immigrated. Some veterans not only experience abandonment from family and friends but disconnection with fellow veterans, as well.
These outreaches give veterans a chance to connect with like-minded people who share a similar history, encouraging them with a renewed sense that they are not alone. Veterans were invited to take the microphone and share their army jokes and stories. A video presentation from the National Service era (with all the well-known songs of that period) took them back to all the shared memories still bonding them together today; also reminding them of their own unique National Service stories which they could share with their new-found friends around the table.
Although the Veterans Aid Fund constantly utilizes mail services, to supply provisions and aid to veterans in need, this unique method of physically reaching out to veterans countrywide offers valuable benefits: Apart from the camaraderie, physical touch and emotional support that veterans can experience at such occasions, representatives of V.A.F. are able to interact with each attendee individually, establishing communication around the possibility of future assistance, regarding their unique problems and needs.
The Veterans Aid Fund is inviting all National Service Veterans to freely attend these various V.A.F. outreach functions, in towns and cities countrywide.
A short summary of VAF`s activities, over the past 3 years:
The Veterans Aid Fund was established in October 2019. Thanks to public donors they were able (within the first 10 months of their existence) to contribute towards the accommodation and meals of 69 veterans in need, on a monthly basis.
During 2020 (especially during lockdown) they have supplied groceries to 126 veterans, medical care to 7, clothing to 19, as well as 24,909 meals. Thanks to growing monthly donors they were soon able to supply 61320 meals (during 2021) almost 3 times more than the previous year. The total amount for emergency relief of veterans in need countrywide (food, clothing, housing and medical care) amounted to 1,3 Million Rand, on Feb. 2022 - the end of their 2021 financial year. The figures for 2023 already promise to exceed the emergency relief, of previous years.
The company offers its sincere thanks to every donor enabling V.A.F. to make this enormous difference in the lives of so many needy National Service Veterans - countrywide.
www.veteransaidfund.co.za. / 0647052262 / 31429 (SMS)
Please note: For needy National Service Veterans (especially SASSA-pensioners) to book their FREE attendance to the event, they simply need to sms “P.E.” to 31429. If they bring their I.D. and SASSA cards along, they will also receive a free shopping voucher to the value of R500,00.
