District Six Museum asks visitors to send ’Love Letter to the Museum’ to help keep their doors open

File image: District Six Museum in Cape Town has called for travellers to help keep their doors open during the pandemic.

File image: District Six Museum in Cape Town has called for travellers to help keep their doors open during the pandemic.

Published Sep 7, 2020

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The pandemic has left many tourism businesses hanging by a thread- and some closed its doors due to the financial strain caused by the national lockdown.

With level 2 regulations now permitting leisure travel, many establishments are relying on domestic travellers to keep their businesses open.

One of them is the District Six Museum in Cape Town, who has called for travellers to help keep their doors open during the pandemic.

On its website, it encouraged people to send a “Love Letter to the Museum” It details the impact caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Help us keep our doors open by sending a Love Letter to the Museum,” the letter reads.

“District Six Museum prides itself on being a place that people call home; a space where people meet socially, whether during our monthly Supper Clubs, participating in workshops, meeting old friends during Seven Steps Club mornings or making new ones,” the letter details.

“Like many institutions, we are feeling the dire impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We do not foresee that visitor numbers will increase in the next six months and so are urgently seeking your support. The Museum covers its operational expenses which includes staff salaries and administrative costs through the income generated by feet through the door.

“When District Sixers were handed their eviction notices, in true District Six fashion they renamed these notices ‘Love Letters’. This was a cynical comment on the casual indifference handed down by the Apartheid state, who saw only a ‘black spot’ that had to be removed, and not the deep ties that bound a community together.

We are now asking you to send us a Love Letter, but this time, with real love and care,” the museum wrote.

Travellers can make a monthly donation of R50, which is also the value of an entrance fee, or a once-off donation of R110, which is the value of a guided visit. The tourist attraction has also called for travellers to visit during Heritage Month this September.

Many Twitter users have called for their followers to help the museum, and the tweets have been shared several times.

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