CHRISTEL DEHAAN

from Christel House South Africa - 2020 Annual Report

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

One of the greatest tragedies of the year under review was the loss of founder, stalwart supporter and friend to each child at Christel House, Christel DeHaan. Christel passed away after a long illness on 6 June 2020, surrounded by her close family and friends. She was 77.

Born in Nördlingen, Germany, in 1942, Christel emigrated to the United States at the age of 20. In 1974, at age 32, she co-founded the timeshare business, Resort Condominium International (RCI). Under her leadership, RCI grew into a global enterprise, with offices in 38 countries.

In 1996, she sold RCI and in 1998 established Christel House International with the goal of transforming the lives of impoverished children around the world. Christel House SA’s roots date back to the early 2000s, when Christel visited the country to establish the first Christel House school in Cape Town.

Carol Kriel, our Junior School Principal, recalls how she and many of the other staff went door-todoor to recruit the school’s first students. To their amazement, many parents were very sceptical about this new private school for underprivileged students that ‘did not cost a cent.’ As Carol explains, “No one could believe that there was this person who was going to do all these amazing things for their children.”

Today, there are eight Christel House institutions worldwide, collectively serving over 5 000 students and graduates every day. Thanks to Christel’s careful planning, the work of Christel House will continue to be supported through funding from the Endless Success Foundation, created by her estate. It was her wish that all Christel House general and administrative expenses be covered in perpetuity. This allows all donor investments to continue to directly serve the programmes and services needed by Christel House students.

On 25 June 2020, our staff, students, alumni, board members and partners paid tribute to Christel in a special video on Facebook Live, sharing memories, messages and music.

CLICK TO WATCH THE TRIBUTE VIDEO

Three Christel House SA alumni, Megan Maphike, Samuel Davids and AbduDaiyaan Floris, recorded a special rendition of the song, ‘Go the distance’ by Michael Bolton, in Christel’s memory. The trio originally sang the same song for her when she visited the school in 2016, which brought her and many of the school’s students to tears.

Our school commemorated Christel’s birthday on 20 October 2020, by commissioning a special painting by one of our talented alumni, Toy-Yiebah Cupido, who is currently in her third year at The Michaelis School of Fine Art at the University of Cape Town. Toy-Yiebah shares Christel’s love for art as well as her passion for introducing children from underprivileged communities to this discipline. She is extremely grateful for the opportunities that Christel DeHaan and Christel House provided her. The painting is proudly hanging in our main office building, where students, staff, donors, friends and guests can view and admire it.

We mourn the passing of our founder, but we also celebrate her life, as we know that her legacy lives on in the hearts of thousands of children and young people across the world. Staff around the world take comfort in being enabled to continue her legacy through their work.