03/07/2026
🌞 What an incredible Youth Day celebration in Montagu! 🌞
With the warmth of the sun still glowing after a truly special day of celevbrating and investing in the youth of Montagu, I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to every individual, organisation, business, and volunteer who helped make this event such a remarkable success.
How do we measure success? By the joyful laughter of the children, the enthusiasm they showed at every activity, the attentive listening during the presentations, the smiles on their faces as they left with full tummies, and the happy crunch of chips all the way home. Those are the moments that remind us why we do this.
A sincere thank you to our generous supporters:
👏 Jannie Moses for providing the sound.
👏 Celestine Moses for the delicious vetkoek and soup.
👏 Avalon Springs for the generous donation of soup and bread.
👏 BluVines for the delicious soup and freshly baked bread.
👏 RAM for the wonderful donation of chips.
👏 SPAR for the beautiful platters that also kept our dedicated stakeholders well fed throughout the day.
👏 Norman James Evertson, our favourite photographer, for capturing the memories.
👏 Ashbury School and the ever-helpful caretakers for hosting us so warmly.
👏 Every volunteer who rolled up their sleeves and lent a helping hand.
👏 Montagu Community Police Forum for their valued financial support.
A special thank you to everyone who contributed to the morning programme:
• Opening and Welcome – Mareletta Mundey (Montagu-Ashton Tourism)
• Prayer – Pastor Jannie Hoffman
• National Anthem – Boland Chamber Choir
• Keynote Address – Colonel Wewers
• Youth Crime Prevention – Astrid Kiewietz
• Correctional Services – James Filander, together with Ricardo Straus, for the important message on the threat of gangsterism
• Boland Chamber Choir for their wonderful musical performances
To our amazing stakeholders who hosted the interactive immersion stations—thank you for investing your time, knowledge, and passion into our youth:
🎨 Montagu Arts Association (MAA) – keeping the children inspired, engaged, and creative.
🌿 Sanbona and Sustain Wild NPC – bringing nature to life through exciting activities.
🚒 Montagu Volunteer Fire & Rescue – thank you, Patti, for teaching basic fire safety.
🧘 Bright Haven NPC from Barrydale – your yoga sessions added a truly special element to the day.
👮 Youth Crime Prevention
🚔 SAPS
🤝 ACVV
📚 Nal'ibali
🙏 Spiritual Crime Prevention
🏥 Health Services
💙 Dr Shaun Pekeur for your support as a MATA committee member.
And last, but certainly not least...
🌟 Esmeralda—thank you for coordinating this entire event with such grace, dedication, and professionalism. Your hard work behind the scenes made this day possible, and we are deeply grateful.
The day was a wonderful experience for everyone involved and, most importantly, a memorable one for the children. Seeds of hope, knowledge, responsibility, and opportunity were planted, and we know they will continue to grow.
To everyone who played a part—whether big or small—thank you for making this Youth Day celebration such a meaningful success.
We look forward to working together again next Youth Month as we continue investing in the future of our community.
💙 Together, we are building a stronger, safer, and brighter future for the youth of Montagu.
