Fund 170+ Primary School Children in South Africa

Dear Supporters,

In the last three months, the GVI hub in Cape Town has dedicated a lot of time and effort to educating the children within the community, as a result our childcare program saw a 28.05% average increase in assessment results and concluded a second year of partnership with the local library, where the holiday program takes place. These results are a great reflection of the support GVI provides to maintain strong partnerships within the community.

We continue to support our partners, with our programs having developed leaps and bounds beyond what we anticipated. At the end of 2018s academic year, we saw an overall average increase in academic achievement from creches reaching 28.05%. Education is a fundamental human right which along with our SDG’s – Quality education, we strive to provide our partners and students. As it is through these partnerships that our impact in the community spreads. To reflect this, we were asked to attend the graduation* ceremony as honorary guests. We were approached by the local pastor about the possibility of contributing a small gift to the students to commemorate their departure from nursery school and entrance into primary school. To this the trust donated funds so we could buy school shoes for each student graduating. This is significant because some parents cannot afford to buy their children a full school uniforms, let alone school shoes, so the funds enabled us to support the children and families in a way that relieves a small financial pressure. The support that we receive from the trust, allows us to further spread our impact and create a greater enthusiasm in parents to encourage their children to attend school.

The Trust also provided funds to sustain the holiday library program, where the funds were used to supply a basic meal and healthy snack to the children who attend the program. During the holidays many of the children spend their days out on the streets, either playing with other children or just walking around. The holiday program at Strand Library provides them with an opportunity to stimulate and challenge their abilities. With the funds we can by enough resources to plan and implement fun, engaging and educational activities for all the children who join the program. At the same time the children are usually provided with lunches from their schools and tend to walk around hungry during the holiday periods. As a result of the funds being sent to support this program the students were provided with a full meal. With the meal the volunteers hold a health workshop, focusing on a healthy lifestyle which including healthy food, hygiene, dental hygiene and exercise. In total the program impact Quality Education, Global Health and Wellbeing, Reduced Inequalities and Partnership for the goals. The program has been running during each school holiday and is creating a safe environment for the students improving their confidence and future. The base plan to host similar programs in the future maintaining this relationship with the community.

Global Health and Wellbeing, Quality Education, Reduced Inequalities, and Partnership for the Goals

We have managed to support and maintain strong ties with the community through the development of our educational programs. Being able to reach a wider demographic within the communities through the support of the trust, is a fundamental part of our programs. Our programs are always developing along with the needs of the community, we appreciate any support provided to us to continue delivering the highest standard of education and support to our partners.

Thank you for your support, as always, none of this would be possible without you! 

All our best, 

Gordons Bay, Community 

Dear Supporters,

Seeking to bridge the gap in basic knowledge on health and thereby equip community members with skills and tools to help build foundations of health, GVI Cape Town launched a workshop course spanning five health topics over five weeks. In total 25 workshop were hosted with several participants at each opportunity. At the end of the course some of the participants had actively changed their lifestyle and noticed improvements in their well-being doing so.

At the beginning of the third quarter the goal was to create a new health-related course reaching out to major parts of the community. We began with a need’s analysis where we surveyed over forty adults using a five-point scale on their level of satisfaction with different aspects of their and their children’s health (e.g., sickness frequency, mental health, concentration levels, weight), as well as whether they consider themselves knowledgeable. We also asked for their degree of interest in learning more about health, and on which topics they were keenest.

From this analysis, we researched, designed, and executed a five-workshop course to be held over five weeks, covering five main topics (one topic every day for one week): healthy eating, hygiene and sanitation, major diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, diabetes, etc.), mental health, and exercise. All content was selected based on relevance in South Africa, featuring conditions/health issues with the highest regional prevalence and the research was derived mostly from the World Health Organization’s online material, and when available, from the South African government’s health department.

The workshop begun with adults as they comprise both the population’s majority as well as parents. Each workshop included at least one interactive exercise. The healthy eating workshop, for example, had participants 1) “healthify” favourite recipes, and 2) make a weekly meal plan (to encourage financial and time efficiency); we guided participants through mindfulness and a meditation in the mental health workshop; and in the exercise workshop, participants got active!

Building these new workshops required not only time and effort but funds. As the research was the main foundation providing the participants with the correct information, it was emphasised. Once the workshops were put in motion material was required e.g. each participant was given pamphlets explaining the topic further. The extra material was ensuring the impact of the course and helped encouraging new participants to join. Once again, this material would not have been possible if it wasn’t for the funds being sent.

Following the healthy eating workshop, two participants, Lindiwe and Cacilda, pledged to undertake healthy diets for themselves and their families for at least three weeks. They vowed to jettison soda, sweets, and processed food and up their intake of fruits and vegetables. At the two-week mark, Cacilda emphatically reported that she “felt like a new person,” and that the whole family would be continuing this healthful journey.

From discussing personal diabetes experiences to group lunges to catching sneezes with “the dab,” engaging with the participants has undoubtedly been the highlight of the workshop course. It is our great hope that we have helped, and will continue to help, empower community members’ to—insofar as they are able—build a foundation to healthful and happy futures.

As we continue our work in the communities in and around Nomzamo and broaden our impact we hope to implement more of these workshop as they are a major step in right direction in creating a healthier population. Not only do they link to Good Health and Well-being but also work forwards Reduced Inequalities and Partnership for the Goals and these workshops would have been possible without the local partners co-operation.

GVI has been forming and delivering health workshops covering topics from nutritious food and exercise to infectious diseases (HIV, AIDS, TB, diabetes etc.). The workshop created great interest and was a major success. The hope is continuing these workshops with the objective to improve the health and lifestyles of communities like Nomzamo.

All our best, 

GVI Gordons Bay Community Team