Footprints 4 Sam Super Sam Hero Vehicle Project

Dear Donor

I want to start this report by wishing you and your family a very blessed New Year.  I cannot believe that we are already well into 2022.  It is the 22nd of January as I write this and the year has already started with  great gusto!  We trust that you and your loved one's have had a restful festive season and that all your hopes and dreams are wrapped into the days ahead.

At Footprints 4 Sam we are coming to the end of our latest financial year at the end of February 2022 and looking back it has really been a remarkable year, where despite the restrictions and threat of Covid-19, and a driver and beneficiaries having had Covid-19 the Super Sam Hero Vehicles have still continued to run on time and provide much needed transport, dignity and individualised support and care to those most vulnerable and in need through this remarkable and hope giving initiative.

On review of our latest information which takes us to end November 2021, (i.e. total figures since project inception): 

- we have transported 3103 children.

- we have transported 6068 passengers (includes children and caregivers).

- we have travelled 176 403 kilometres ensuring children and their caregivers get to the hospital and clinic appointments on time.  (Trips also include taking doctors and nurses to the patient's homes and taking parents and siblings to visit their loved one's in hospital or taking them home with dignity and care if a child passes away.)

- we have also supplied much needed food buckets and toiletry buckets over the festive season and this continues into 2022. (We are proud to say that Footprints 4 Sam has supplied over 105 000 meals, since the inception of the Trust and our bucket initiative.)

We would like to thank you for your ongoing and generous support that makes this initiative sustainable and incredibly successful.

Please take a moment to read our latest annual report for more information on the work we do and the milestones we are so proud to have achieved.

Annual Report: 

https://footprints4sam.org/pdf/annual-reports/annual-report-2020-2021.pdf 

Take care.

Warmest wishes,

Melissa

(Co-Founder, Trustee and Sam's Mum)

Links:

• Latest Annual Report

As I write this report I continue to marvel at the dedication and commitment of our Super Sam Hero Vehicle team through the worst 18+ months that many in the world have ever experienced.

Since our last report our one driver was ill with Covid-19 and many of the teams of health professionals we work with have been forced to stay home to recuperate.  As South Africa's Covid-19 positivity rate now starts to fall following a devastating third wave of Covid-19, where so many have lost their loved ones, we are still very proud to report that we have continued to supply transportation to hospitals and clinics with our dedicated two minibuses for the children and families that so desperately need us.  Both Covid-19 and increased taxi violence in the areas we operate have restricted services but not halted them, because our beneficiary families rely heavily on Footprints 4 Sam to ensure their children’s adherence to treatment and continuity of care in terms of being able to attend their follow up appointments and to arrive timeously.  During the last 18 months and more, safety protocols have been paramount in terms of this all important service and both vehicles have been fitted with safety screens between the drivers and the families and strict hygiene safety protocols are followed daily.

We have also continued to transport health professionals to our beneficiaries homes when they have not been able to travel at this challenging time and we have also continued to deliver chronic medication where needed.  

Many of our beneficiary families have had the added stress of increased poverty levels due to increased unemployment as a result of the pandemic and during this past period we were also able to supply 140 Super Sam Hero Food Buckets and 40 Super Sam Hero Toiletry Buckets for our beneficiaries nationally.  140 Food Buckets equates to approximately 23 000 meals.   Literally making an impact one meal at a time.  The two minibuses make these buckets easier to deliver together with the transport company Triton Express that supports us with national bucket deliveries.

The true impact of the two “Sam busses” is immeasurable.  The “Sam busses” as they are known by the children, who have been heard to say: "Call Sam we are ready to go home," continue to ensure that children and families have one less worry in these extraordinary times.  The “Sam Busses” continue to restore hope and dignity, ensuring that these incredible families know that they are cared for, that they are important and that they are not alone and not forgotten.  

Our team has braved Covid.  They have braved increased violence in the areas in which they operate and they are heroes in my eyes.

We thank you for supporting this incredible service and our hero drivers that continue to impact lives one kilometre at a time.

As I sign off the Sam busses collectively have transported: 5681 passengers, done 3541 trips and travelled over 164 000 kms.

Please take care,

Melissa 

(Sam’s Mum).

Links:

• Footprints 4 Sam Website