Anyone who knows me knows that one of the best days of my first trip to SA in 2015 was visiting a township. Everyone I met was so friendly and the experience has stayed with me ever since. I promised to return, and had plans to do so in March this year. Sadly, the weekend I arrived, there was a huge forest fire which tore through Imizamo Yethu destroying thousands of homes - making 10-15,000 people homeless.

Many of them are still living in make do shelters with no electricity, almost 4 months later. There have been fires since, each one destroying more homes - and with the current drought, this looks likely to continue. One of the organisations who have been providing help and support throughout, Thula Thula Hout Bay, have organised a day for teams to help paint the remaining structures with fire retardant paint - allowing the families within at least enough time to gather important belongings, ID, money etc. Delaying the spread of fire also allows the fire and rescue teams more time to get into hard to reach areas and reduce the spread further.

Seeing as I am not at home to share my birthday with you all this year, I am asking that whatever you would have spent on a birthday gin for me, you donate to the fund for our team to go and paint. The cost per team covers the materials needed to complete 1 house.