--- title: "Community rallies behind NPO as fire halts vital child-focused programmes" description: "A husband-and-wife duo are picking up the pieces of a Cape Town community centre after a fire caused extensive damage to the property. While vital after-school and holiday programmes have been suspended, the couple hope to build back better." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "HOPE FROM ASHES" author: "Lerato Mutsila" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/lerato-mutsila/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-21-community-rallies-behind-npo-as-fire-halts-vital-child-focused-programmes/" published: "2026-08-21T14:29:49" updated: "2026-08-21T14:29:53" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 909 --- # Community rallies behind NPO as fire halts vital child-focused programmes > A husband-and-wife duo are picking up the pieces of a Cape Town community centre after a fire caused extensive damage to the property. While vital after-school and holiday programmes have been suspended, the couple hope to build back better. By Lerato Mutsila · Published 21 August 2026, 16:29 SAST · Updated 21 August 2026, 16:29 SAST ## Key points - A fire on 21 August gutted the main house of the GLO Project farm in Redhill – the Cape Town NPO’s outreach hub is smouldering and uninhabitable but no people or animals were hurt; face‑to‑face after‑school and holiday programmes are suspended, with reopening not expected until January. - Husband‑and‑wife founders Lindsey and Darron Nicholson built the centre from a small farm into a dual model: GLO Outreach (tutoring, life skills and meals for about 40 children) and GLO Farm (a social‑enterprise that trains parents and supplies produce) – both now severely disrupted. - Ubuntu kicked in as Redhill residents were first on scene helping clear rubble; the farm side remains operational, but the property was uninsured and the NPO urgently needs cash, building materials and appliances to rebuild. - GLO Project says it will “build back better” and is inviting support – subscribe to GLO Farm produce or donate via BackaBuddy ## Content Lindsey and Darron Nicholson have spent years turning their small farm in Redhill into a place where local children and their families can learn, grow and create sustainable futures for themselves. ![Darron and Lindsey Nicholson, the husband-and-wife duo who run the GLO House nonprofit community outreach centre in Redhill, Cape Town. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/A509zwVCL-IIw8tr4IyOnqD7CaM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/JK07449.jpg) *Darron and Lindsey Nicholson, the husband-and-wife duo who run The GLO House nonprofit community outreach centre in Redhill, Cape Town. (Photo: Joyrene Kramer)* But early on Tuesday, 21 August 2026, a fire broke out at the main house on the farm, which is the home base for the GLO Project, between Scarborough and Simon’s Town, causing widespread damage to the property. The fire, which has been ruled as electrical, started in the pantry and quickly spread to the kitchen, bathroom and living room. ![Lerato-GloHouse-Fire](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/ci4kWrFQ_SRZWKjA8gCYX2Q49mM=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/IMG_8846a_588149.jpeg) *Community members from the Redhill settlement help clean the main house on the GLO Project Farm after a devastating fire. (Photo: Lindsey Nicholson)* The pantry, kitchen, bathroom and living room suffered extensive destruction, while the rest of the house sustained significant smoke damage. Fortunately, there were no injuries to people or animals What has served as the heartbeat of the organisation since 2018, offering after-school and holiday programmes to underprivileged children from surrounding areas, is now smouldering and uninhabitable. The blaze has dealt a heavy blow to GLO Project and surrounding communities, including Redhill informal settlement. With the main house rendered entirely unsafe, GLO Project has been forced to suspend all its face-to-face community outreach programmes until further notice. “We’ve had to cancel programmes at least for the next couple of months. As of right now, our long-term goal is to reopen in January. That’s how gnarly the fire was,” Lindsey Nicholson told Daily Maverick. ### **A mission born from purpose** GLO Project (formerly known as The GLO House) was founded by Nicholson and her husband after she moved to SA, driven by a deep conviction to advocate for vulnerable youth who had been written off by society. What began as a children’s home evolved into a holistic community model when the NGO relocated to the farm in 2021. Recognising the critical lack of educational resources and employment opportunities in Red Hill, GLO Project established two distinct pillars: GLO Outreach and GLO Farm. GLO Outreach provides youth tutoring and life skills. Meanwhile, GLO Farm acts as a self-sustaining social enterprise – growing produce, delivering veggie boxes to local restaurants, and training parents in agricultural skills to foster local employment. ![Lerato-GloHouse-Fire](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/UO-yE0ZmwBak8YlndzchsREjqy0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/IMG_5144_620226.jpeg) *The GLO Project offers after-school programmes to about 40 children from underserved communities. The programmes two pillars have been suspended in the aftermath of the fire. (Photo: Lindsey Nicholson)* This temporary closure leaves a massive void. The underserved areas, such as Redhill informal settlement, are often overlooked and lack public transport, parks for children to play in or formal support structures. Through GLO Outreach, about 40 local children rely on the NPO’s after-school tutoring, educational support and safe recreational spaces every week. For many of these children, the centre was also where they received one or two meals a day. [Read more GLO with the flow: A place where children can ‘just be kids’ October 16, 2023 ![Image](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/L4rMm5XXaf3LyavkVcW-EZImhlA=/450x0/smart/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/JK07552.jpg)](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-10-16-glo-with-the-flow-a-place-where-children-can-just-be-kids/) ### **Ubuntu in action** While the fire crippled the outreach facility, it also sparked a remarkable wave of solidarity. In the immediate aftermath, when the building was still warm from the blaze, members of the Redhill community were the very first on the scene to lend a helping hand. ![Lerato-GloHouse-Fire](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/b46XlXUNLhOPsTILPKU1xkxPUNU=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/9cfda4b3-b17e-47e5-8907-e2383eb8c1c8_651631.jpeg) *Community members from the Redhill settlement help clean the main house on the GLO Project Farm after the devastating fire. (Photo: Lindsey Nicholson)* “We had people from Redhill that were the first on scene that were helping with the rubble by shovelling it out and just showing up. It was a strange feeling because we feel like we are called to serve them, but they took the opportunity to help rebuild this place for their kids and for their kids’ futures... That’s been a beautiful piece of it,” Nicholson said. ### **Road to recovery and a new vision** “We are taking some time and using this as an opportunity to regroup and sit at a table with people who care about the mission and the community to figure out how we can better serve the community. This is an opportunity to make it exactly what our community needs,” Nicholson said. As GLO Project awaits a full structural engineering assessment to determine the extent of the damage, the road to recovery is clear but challenging. Because the property was uninsured, the organisation urgently requires financial contributions, building materials like lumber and paint, and replacement essentials ranging from kitchen appliances to cleaning supplies. Fortunately, the farm side of the organisation remains fully functional. Members of the public can directly support the rebuilding efforts by subscribing to GLO Farm’s regular organic produce deliveries, or sponsoring produce variety boxes for local vulnerable families. ![Lerato-GloHouse-Fire](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/MFI9Vwk-6yBVr2IVV3yDzEwGaug=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/dd4ada93-1b3d-4021-a517-202f9cbdb0ec_269625.jpeg) *GLO Farm, the agricultural side of the project that focuses on skills development for parents, vegetable deliveries to restaurants and families, and egg production, remains fully functional and is continuing its operations. (Photo: Lindsey Nicholson)* “I think that we’re standing in the ashes of a dream that came true. But we’re excited to see what can rise from that. It gives us the opportunity to really look at this space and our programme and how we can make it better and build it bigger and stronger. We’re excited just to see how we can use this tragedy as an opportunity,” Nicholson said. **DM** *Those looking to help GLO Project rebuild can donate*[*here*](https://www.backabuddy.co.za/campaign/hope-from-ashes-the-glo-project-fire-fund)*.*