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CHAPTER 7WAR VETERAN’S GRANT (WVG)

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They are wearing their uniform. They are old soldiers who fought in wars many years ago and now that they are old, the Government helps them with the War Veteran’s Grant.

The War Veteran’s Grant is money that the Government gives to war veterans who took part in World War I,World War II or the Korean War.

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Polly G, why are these men dressed like

that?

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* Remember!! The War Veteran’s Grant is money that the Government gives to war veterans who took part in World War I, World War II or the Korean War.

* The War Veteran’s Grant is for retired soldiers and people who were part of the navy, air force or medical services. These are older people who fought in the war – on ships and aeroplanes – or helped soldiers who were hurt.* To get the War Veteran’s Grant, war veterans must apply at SASSA offices.* These older persons get a War Veteran’s Grant every month to take care of themselves.

* One more special rule: Older persons who get any other social grant, like a Disability Grant or Older Person’s Grant, cannot ask for the War Veteran’s Grant.

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Yes I can!!!

Smiley G, that is interesting. Can you tell us more about this

social grant?

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* Must be 60 years or older.* Must be South African citizens or permanent residents

and live in South Africa.* Must have their identity documents and marriage certificates – if they are married.* Must have proof of their war service.

* Must have proof of income.* Must tell the Government about things they own, like cars

and houses.

Smiley G, what else should we

know about the War Veteran’s Grant?

What papers do the old soldiers need?

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Good question. There is still more to learn!!!!To get the War Veteran’s Grant the old soldiers:

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Children, now that we

have explained all the

important things you

need to know about the

War Veteran’s Grant,

let me check if you

still remember them.

The War Veteran’s Grant is given to war veterans who fought in World Wars I, II or the Korean War.

War Veterans must be 60 years or older. War Veterans must be South African citizens or permanent

residents and live in South Africa. War Veterans must have their identity documents, marriage

certificates – if they are married, proof of their war service and proof of income.

War Veterans must apply at the nearest SASSA office.

Polly G, I know that they remember them - children let us count to five:

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NOW WE ARE AT THE END OF THE WAR VETERAN’S

GRANT.

OVER TO THE GRANT-IN-

AID.

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CHAPTER 8GRANT-IN-AID (GIA)

WAR VETERANS

OLDER PERSONS

PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES

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Children, the Grant-In Aid is an extra social grant to help people who are already getting the Older Person’s Grant, Disability Grant or War Veteran’s Grant – if they cannot look after themselves and need help on a full-time basis from another person.

Polly G, earlier, we promised the children to tell them about the Grant-In-Aid. Can you please tell them

about this social grant?

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Yes children, to get the Grant-In-Aid there are some rules. Let us count to five!!!* The Grant-In-Aid is an extra grant that is given to persons who are

getting other social grants like the Older Person’s Grant, the Disability Grant or the War Veteran’s Grant.

* These persons will only receive the Grant- In-Aid if they cannot take care of themselves and need someone to look after them on a full-time basis.

* The Government needs a letter from the doctor to tell that these people cannot take care of themselves and need help from another person every day.

* These people must either be South African citizens, permanent residents or refugees and they must live in South Africa.

* To get the Grant-In-Aid these people must apply at the nearest SASSA office.

Hold on Polly G, let me answer this one!

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Polly G, what are the rules for this social

grant?

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An additional grant!!!! This is an interesting topic. Our Government really cares for all

the people.

Indeed, the Government cares for all thechildren as well as adults.

The Grant-In-Aid is an extra social grant. The Grant-In-Aid is given to people who are already getting the Older Person’s Grant, the Disability Grant or the War Veteran’s Grant. The Grant-In-Aid is given to people who cannot take care of themselves and need someone to look after them on a full-time basis. The Government needs a letter from the doctor explaining that these people cannot take care of themselves. To get the Grant-In-Aid people must apply at the nearest SASSA office.

Tell me five things that you have learned about the Grant-In-Aid!

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OVER TO SOCIAL

RELIEF OF DISTRESS.

NOW WE ARE AT THE END OF THE GRANT-IN-

AID.

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CHAPTER 9SOCIAL RELIEF OF DISTRESS (SRD)

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Oh no! Our house is on fire! Everything is gone! We are left with nothing.

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Smiley G, my neighbour’s house

burnt down - how can the

Government help them?

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* The Government helps people during very bad times – like when there are

fires or floods. The Government helps with what is called Social Relief of

Distress (SRD).* The Government may give people vouchers – which are papers that you

take to a shop (instead of money) to get food. The Government may also

give them food parcels (bags with nutritious food) – or money to buy

important things they need. * To get the Social Relief of Distress people should apply at

SASSA offices.* This is not like the other social grants that people get

every month. Social Relief of Distress helps only for

a short time, from three to six months - where and when there is

an urgent need.

Do not worry!!! Your neighbour can get help from the Government.

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* The most important rule about Social Relief of Distress is that someone must need urgent help from the Government like when there has been a disaster.

* A disaster is a terrible thing, like your house burning down or being destroyed in a flood.

* Social Relief of Distress can also help people if the breadwinner dies. A breadwinner is the only person who is earning money to look after the family.

* To get Social Relief of Distress, the person must be an adult and must either be a South African citizen, permanent resident or a refugee.

Good question!!! Let me tell youthe rules of the Social Relief of Distress.

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What are the rules of Social

Relief of Distress?

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Smiley G, Social Relief of Distress is very important

because anyone can be in a disaster and loose everything.

Yes children, Social Relief of Distress is very

important!!!.

Social Relief of Distress is help given by the Government to people who need urgent help. The Government can give the people vouchers, food parcels or money.Social Relief of Distress helps only for a short time, from three to six months.Social Relief of Distress helps people if the breadwinner dies.To get Social Relief of Distress people should apply at the nearest SASSA office.

Now that you know the importance of Social Relief of Distress, let us count five! things you should always remember!

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NOW WE ARE AT THE END OF SOCIAL RELIEF OF DISTRESS.

OVER TO THE APPLICATION, REVIEW AND

PAYMENT PROCESSES.

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CHAPTER 10APPLICATION, REVIEW AND PAYMENT PROCESSES

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Polly G, tell us about the means test.

The means test helps the Government to see if someone is really poor and needs a social grant. This test is for people who want to get the Child Support Grant, the Disability Grant, the Older Person’s Grant, the Care Dependency Grant or the War Veteran’s Grant.

There is no means test for the Foster Child Grant.

The questions in the means test for the different social grants are about:

* How much money the people earn every month?

* How much money people have saved in the bank?

* The value of the things that people own, like cars and houses?

After these questions have been answered the Government will give a social grant to people who are really poor (those who do not have enough money to buy food and clothes).

The means test is very important!

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Do you remember that we learned about SASSA previously? This is where people can go and apply for social grants.

The good news is, your friends and you do not have to go with your caregivers to the SASSA offices – it is better for you to be in school.

There is more good news: it is free to apply for a social grant! There are SASSA offices all over South Africa.

Polly G, WHERE do people go to ask for social grants?

At SASSA offices!

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Smiley G, howlong does it take for the Government to give people social grants? And which documents do they

need?

* It should not take longer than three months to find out if you can get the social grant or not.

* To make sure that the social grant is given on time, people must take all their important documents such as:Identity documents, marriage certificate, birth certificate and proof of income.

* Foster parents applying for the Foster Child Grant do not need proof of income. Remember, they must have the court order explaining that they are foster parents.

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Good question! After people have applied:

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At the SASSA offices, someone who works for the Government will help people to fill in the forms.

After people have filled in the forms and have submitted all the required documents they will wait for a period of less than 3 months to get a reply f ro m S A S S A . 76

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Children, can you remember what the important documents are? * I can think of four: the identity document, birth

certificate, marriage certificate and proof of income … * If people do not have their documents they can still

apply for social grants - but they must get a letter from the police station explaining that the documents are lost. The letter is called an Affidavit.

* Remember, for the Child Support Grant the caregivers can also get a letter from the principal at your school or a social worker or they can use a clinic card or even a birth certificate.

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Remember I said!* It should not take longer than three months to find out if you

can get a social grant or not.

* For the Child Support Grant, SASSA will take less than a month to tell caregivers if they can get the social grant or not.

* SASSA will send a letter to all the people who have applied to let them know if they can get the social grant or not.

* For all those who are allowed to get the social grants, the letter will also tell them when they can get their social grants.

Smiley G, how long does it take to get a social grant from

SASSA?

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SOCIAL GRANT PAYMENTThere are different ways that the Government can pay the social grant money.

* People can get it from inside the bank – or from the Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) that the banks use to keep money.

* People can go to places called pay points; where SASSA pays out the social grant money every month.

* People can get it from the Post Office.

* There are also mobile pay points. This is when a car from SASSA goes to a certain place and people can collect their social grant money there.

How do people get the social grant money every

month?

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What if the Government does not give or approve the social grant?

REVIEW PROCESS* If the social grant application is not approved, then SASSA will

write a letter which explains that the person will not get the social grant and it will also give the reasons why the person will not get this social grant.

* The letter will also explain that the person has a right to appeal - This means that when the person does not agree with SASSA’s decision, the person can complain to the Department of Social Development.

* The person must write a letter to SASSA or the Minister of Social Development within 90 days.

* The Minister will look at everything and decide whether the person should get the social grant or not. SASSA will inform the person about the Minister’s decision.

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Smiley G, we are at the end of the application, review

and payment process. Tell us five things to remember.

To apply, people must ...... in.............. formsat....... offices.

It should not take longer than three months to find out if you can get a social grant or not. People can collect their social grant money from the Bank, ATM, pay points and mobile pay points.

If the social grant is not approved, the person must write a letter to the Minister of Social Development, within 90 days to appeal.

To apply, people must fill in application forms at SASSA offices.

There is no means test for the Foster Child Grant.

OK! here we go five things to remember:

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�2

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LIST OF OTHER SERVICES RENDERED BY THE DEPARTMENT OFSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT SPECIFICALLY TARGETING CHILDREN

1. Prevention and Early Intervention Services for Child Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation.

2. Child Protection Register (CPR).

3. Adoption Services: including the National Programme and the Inter-Country Programme.

4. Alternative Care Services: encompasses temporary safe care; i.e. places of safety, foster care, child and youth care centres for vulnerable children.

5. International Social Services: the placement of children in distress living abroad in foster care with the next of kin living inSouth Africa.

6. Early Childhood Development (ECD).

7. Services for Children in Conflict with the Law.

8. Services for Children Affected and Infected by HIV/AIDS.

9. Services for Children Living and Working on the Streets.

To learn more about the programmes contact the National Department of Social Development.Postal Address: Private Bag X901, Pretoria, 0001Physical Address: 134 Pretorius Street, HSRC Bulding, PretoriaTelephone: 012 312 7653 Fax: 012 312 7988 or 012 312 7470Toll Free: 0800 601 011Website: www.dsd.gov.za

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To find out more about social grants, call the toll-free helpline:

0800 601 011

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Gauteng 28 Harrison Street Marshalltown Johannesburg (011) 241 8300

Mpumalanga 18 Ferreira Street Nelspruit (013) 754 9340

Western Cape Golden Acre, Adderley Street Cape Town (021) 469 0200

Free State African Life Building, 75 St. Andrews Street Bloemfontein (051) 409 0853

Limpopo 44 Landdros Mare Polokwane (015) 291 7400

NorthWest SASSA House University drive Mmabatho (Former Molopo sun) (018) 388 0060

Northern Cape 2 Cecil Sussman Kimberley (053) 802 4900

Kwa-Zulu Natal 1 Bank Street Pietermaritzburg (033) 846 3300

Eastern Cape 1st Floor, Waverly Office Park 3-33 Philip Frame Road Chiselhurt East London (043) 707 6300

LIST OF SASSA OFFICESSASSA House, 501 Prodinsa Building, Cnr Beatrix & Pretorius Street, Pretoria

(012) 400 2000

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Disability GrantR1 140

Foster Child GrantR740

War Veteran’s GrantR1 160

Grant-In-AidR260

Child Support GrantR260

Older Person’s GrantR1 140 (60 - 75 years)R1 160 (over 75 years)

Care Dependency GrantR1 140

SOCIAL GRANT AMOUNTSAS AT APRIL 2011

In October 2011 it will increase to R270

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