Help is just a teapot away for South Africa's Poor ... VICNEW.com

By Erin Cardone - Saanich News ... Vicnews.com

Published: December 05, 2010 1:00 PM
Updated: December 05, 2010 1:05 PM

Its handle is gone, its spout chipped.

But what Neil Douglas-Tubb has accomplished with his teapot has turned around the lives of hundreds of South African children, and won him a prestigious award in the process.

“It still brings tears to my eyes,” he said of the recent honour. “I wasn’t doing that for this.”

The privilege of receiving the Louis Volks Humanitarian award has never before gone outside South Africa, or the Lions Club.

But what truly touches this Victoria resident is when his teapot is brimming with loose change and bills.

“I think I’ve depleted every penny (jar) from here to wherever,” smiled Douglas-Tubb.

When he tops $1,000, it’s transferred to the Table View Lions Club in Cape Town. Upwards of $4,000 is sent every year to the South African service club.

The fundraising efforts have helped a rural elementary school there, and a daycare that sees the poorest of the poor come through its doors.

“There’s a saying that if you’ve been to Africa once and never been back, then you’ve never been to Africa,” he said. “I’ve been back, and I think I’ve been smitten.”

emccracken@vicnews.com