Lifeskills for 2,587 Children in South Africa

Avuxeni, Minjani? Umfekile Minjane! (Greetings, how are you? I am well!)

WOW its November all ready, what has happened to this year? Are you feeling the same? Man, I am just sitting here shaking my head. Its amazing to think that all the children are now sitting exams, we have 9 who are sitting Matric, their last year of high school. The pressure sadly is on for them, South Africa does not do continual assessments as part of their final mark but rather everything hinges on how they feel during the 3 or 4hours on a particular day for a particular subject, so if they had a bad night or are stressed and not sleeping and bomb the exam, it makes life so difficult for the kids. For the kids sake, I cant wait for that to be over.

We are also starting with our Star Awards, an annual process were we assess every children's group to see how well they are performing, this is a national assessment so the feedback really helps the groups to improve. Its an exciting time for the younger children particularly. Moving into December we will be having another color fun run, after all of the exams and assessments. This will be used as a community awareness raising exercise regarding Child Participation and Children's Rights. This program is gaining more traction with key Duty Bearers and is exciting as we change perception regarding Children and what they are capable of. Its also a wonderful way to close off the year with fun and joy! Cant wait!

With the SHG groups, we are planning a closing celebration, IMAGINE 893 women coming together to share their experiences of SHG, the Cluster Level Association (CLA) will report back to the larger body, and also just to have fun. I am hoping they will come with all their finery, the Xitsong cultural dress is really bright and colorful as those who have been with us for a while will know. 

I am so excited about the celebrations, I love being a part of something that is taking on its life, that has a pulse rate. The SHG ladies are organizating the celebration themselves, their own transport and their own food (Probably a lunch box they bring from home but that is still wonderful, we are moving away from dependence on KTD196). 

As you are probably already aware, #GivingTuesday is coming! Before I joined GlobalGiving as an organization and as a donor, I had never heard of Giving Tuesday! It was a phenomenon that came about, from what I understand, as a philanthropic reaction to the hedonism which has come through Black Friday and Christmas periods. #GivingTuesday is a way to give back, a way to look past ourselves and look to others (which to me is the original purpose of Christmas)!

So I wanted to discuss quickly #GivingTuesday which is happening on the 28^th November 2023 through GlobalGiving. It will start at 00.01am Eastern Standard Time (EST) and travel around the world. So for South African Supporters the opening time to receive gifts is after 10.00am South African Time. For those in Australia, Adelaide time it will be after 6.30pm on the 28^th of November for us!

Don’t worry, I will send reminders!

Why is this important? Well for you who need to offset your tax burden, this is great way to ease that weight by donating and claiming back your gift. For those who don’t know what to give for Christmas presents, gift cards to that person who has everything while supporting people who often don’t have very much is a wonderful way to balance the scales. With all the pressure of the holidays and battling to find that perfect gift, this is a wonderful way to beat the multinational conglomerates and make a difference in a child’s life.

For KTD196, you will help us reach our fundraising targets! Simply put, we need you! We have a number of plans next year which we need you to contribute to for us to succeed, for example:

• We will be increasing our number of Self Help Groups (SHG) yes this program is funded however there are shortfalls.
• The children’s program – once again this program is partially funded but there are major shortfalls
• We want to increase the number of children’s groups by linking comprehensively with the SHG project. SHG currently has 52groups only a handful of which currently have a children’s program alongside.
• We want to open Meerkats groups (5-7yrs) with a target of 20 for next year, this project is not funded at all.

As you can see we have very definite plans, we need your support.

Every donation will be matched by GlobalGiving on the day! We average around 30% match, so your gift becomes a 3^rd more for the children, which is awesome. There is however a limit of matching donations to the value of $1.2million USD, this means that the sooner you give the greater the guarantee that your gift will be matched!

Don’t worry, if you miss the day there is still the rest of the year in way of giving. If you choose to start a monthly donation, GlobalGiving will match your first donation, one time only, at 100% after the first 4 donations up to the value of $200. So it is a win-win for all.

Most of all you will be supporting the children we serve. Our numbers are growing, which is so exciting, your support will help us meet the demand. More and more we are invited into different villages to share the work we do.

I AM SO EXCITED! Can you feel it?

Thank you in advance

Louise

Links:

• Check out our new look website, please give feedback!
• Facebook is a great way to keep up to date!