Gender Equality South Africa Project #38463

Empowering Girls and Women as Mothers

by Keep The Dream196

Project Report | Apr 27, 2022
KTD196 is empowering Adults and Children!

By Louise and the KTD196 Dream Team | Jack of all trades, master of none!

Nomasi at Keep The Dream196

Thank you so much for your support each and every day. We are only as productive as the people who are involved with Keep The Dream196, and that includes you! I hope you realize how much you contribute each and every day to the children of KTD196 and the lives you are saving, from addiction to pregnancy, from violence and jail to unemployment and hopelessness. YOU are making such a huge difference in the lives of our children. I am truly grateful.

What we do is change the trajectory of so many lives, not just children.

As I have shared in the past, we work with women through our self-help groups, and currently, we have in excess of 300 women involved in that project. I will share more about this next week. We also train and equip the parents we work with, who are predominantly mothers, as well as Scouters who again are predominantly women in the villages. Finally, we train our staff who once again are majorly women.

Because of your support, we have been able to bring 2 more people on to full-time, Nomasi is one and Rosemary is the other, I have shared Rosemary's story before but you can find both these stories on our new website. I see that some people from America, South Africa, Australia, and Poland so far have taken up the offer to check it out early. Please if you have any suggestions for improving the site I would be very happy to take them on board.

Below Nomasi shares her story of coming to KTD196, Nomasi has been so engaged with the children's program that she has started Cubs and Scouts based at her home, she is not yet trained to do this but she has such a heart and passion for the children that she wanted to help

Thank you so much for your support

Blessings

Louise

Ps those who haven't yet gone to our website for a sneak peek please do so, you can leave a message there if you want something added or changed. We are working together and I need to hear your voice.

My name is Nomasi I am from Nkowankowa Township. Before joining KTD 196, I was working at Wimpy Restaurant as a waiter/cashier for 13 years. One day, while I was working, came in a woman who for the first time listened to my story, understood where I came from in my life, and did not judge me to a point where one day she offered me a job to work as Admin assistant at her office.

Never in a million years did I think of giving myself a chance to further my education, being given a chance to work and learn, grow and develop many skills.

Being in an organization like Keep The Dream196 where opportunities are available to everyone, you can succeed in life and make a difference. Working for KTD196 and learning the Children’s program has helped me as a mother to understand my children and help them regardless of the challenges they will face in life with a positive attitude no matter the circumstances.

This is a life-changing opportunity to focus on my life again, and help other people around me especially young children because they are tomorrow’s future, no matter their background.

I am happy to be part of a local NGO that runs different programs in supporting children and encourages parents to support their children’s education and empower communities to sustain themselves by providing for their families. Thank you very much because I am now a very confident person and a better parent, I get to spend time with my kids and be involved in daily life activities.

I wish to be a good example that it is never too late to start over again in life. KTD196, may your work continue to bring blessings to many people's lives.

I never thought that one day I would challenge myself; I have always wanted to make a difference and be someone in life. It is never easy to make a life-changing decision but am happy I did because it was the best one ever. I have worked in a restaurant because I have to provide for my family now am achieving my dream.

I know KTD196 helps the children but you have also helped me to grow and realize my dream

Thank you Keep The Dream 196 NGO.

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Apr 20, 2022
Why KTD196's Children's Program is so important!

By Louise and the KTD196 Dream Team | Jack of all trades, master of none!

The Future of South Africa!

I often am amazed at how impactful our program is! Don't get me wrong, the program Elizabeth and I designed is evidence-based and thoroughly planned, it just gobsmacks me that the kids are so passionate about the program and are making it sustainable for the future.

Often NGO's (Non-Governmental Organizations) are asked by Institutional Donors for their exit strategies from the work we are doing. Honestly, I don't see how we are going to exit as there are so many children that need this program.

The exit I envisage is the children as adults take over Keep The Dream196 and take it further.

The exit I see, are the groups through the adult Self Help Groups (SHGs) becoming self-sustaining and no longer requiring support from KTD196 financially. They are able to pay to take the kids to camp, to pay for activities, badges, and registration fees which KTD196 has been supporting.

The exit I see is that through the Self Help Groups they will bring financial stability to their families and to create employment through micro-enterprises which in turn raises the wealth of the family and they, in turn, raise the wealth of the community.

The exit I see is that the children themselves will progress through life very well and give back by taking up volunteer roles within the program that will enable KTD196 to focus on new areas and start building the children in new communities.

We have a long-term plan to change South Africa, one child at a time, with your help. We are seeing major differences as I have cited previously however, we have many new donors who may not know our plans.

OUR VISION: To see all children enter adulthood with holistic skills and abilities necessary to contribute effectively to the development of South Africa

OUR ORGANISATION'S MISSION:

“Our mission is to assist children to overcome difficult life circumstances by building resilience physically, emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically, using a Right’s-based framework, so they are able to realize their full potential and contribute to the building of South Africa.”

As you can see, we have vision, and a way forward that after nearly 20yrs is achieving that goal. This is what you have contributed towards. This is what you have given to. This is where we are ultimately going. Through YOUR support, we are continuing to have an impact and literally bringing children and families back from the precipice. Covid, as with most places, caused chaos, as the world is steadily recovering, those who are extremely marginal prior to covid need continued assistance to get back up again.

There is so much these children have to overcome: all forms of abuse; poverty, bullying, loss of parents through HIV/AIDs, covid, usual lifestyle diseases, crime, neglect by parents, poor education system to name a few challenges. I am proud of the work we do, there is still so much to be done but rest assured together we are making a huge difference.

You have been amazing, thank you so much for your gifts and I hope this puts in perspective the work we are doing together.

Blessings to you and your families from the Dream Team and 16,000 odd children we have supported since 2003.

Louise

ps if you would like a sneak preview of our new website, please go to https://www.keepthedream196.com/web

The future we are securing in the present!

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Apr 13, 2022
Despite the obstacles -The COLOR RUN was wonderful

By Louise and the KTD196 Dream Team | Jack of all trades, master of none!

Color Fun Run 2022

Phew! What a wonderful, albeit wet and soggy day!

We expected approximately 140children and instead, we had almost 170 children arrive to participate in the event.

It was wonderful to see the transformation on the children's faces. This area we have not really been able to work in successfully due to a lack of support by the parents and communities in general.

We watch the faces change from suspicion and reservedness to one of pure joy once the color went up.

Our biggest delay of the day was waiting for the Traffic Police to come and escort the fun run side of the event however after a 4hour delay, in the rain, and a few games to keep the children occupied while they waited, we were off.

What blessed me for the day was the Rovers who came to support the event and assist with logistics and games. They came without being asked, they took it upon themselves to travel 2hours to get to this event and provide KTD196 with the support.

What also blessed me was the Circuit Manager came and participated for 3hours before the run, sadly she was called away to attend to a school issue in another village. It was wonderful to see her there plus her team and a few teachers. Sadly, no parents but that will come with time.

We had donations in kind from businesses in Tzaneen. Sadly the business that offered us hot dogs the week before, which I spoke about, changed their minds but we were able to provide the children with sandwiches and a drink instead, such is the donation world in which we exist.

I just wanted to let you know and see what we were up to so that you can feel a part of it all. Thank you for your support! You might think "So what? A fun run, so what?" It is huge! The kids came to school on the weekend, they traveled from 4 different villages to attend, they actively participated, they had fun, the community through the village run got to see kids having fun and doing something constructive, they got a lot of positive attention which is not usual. The children's faces lit up with JOY! Again, not something they experience often. In the communities where we work, there are no sporting activities, after-school activities, or facilities for children at all. Children are left to entertain themselves, most don't have television or smartphones. In our experience, boredom is a recipe for disaster.

Thank you for being a part of the journey for the Motupa area.

Thank you for enabling us to make a difference, this is just the first step, the next step will be community service work so the communities can see that children can make a positive difference in family, school, and community life. After a couple of years of the program, we will start working on ways the children can actively participate in decision-making within the family, school and community. It is all a process of which you are apart.

THANK YOU and God Bless YOU!

Louise

ps our new website will be live this week, check it out!

This is how we started our day!

And this is how we ended the day! Pure Enjoyment!

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