Lifeskills for 2,587 Children in South Africa

Avuxeni, Minjani? Umfekile Minjane!

I can’t believe we have hit the second quarter. It seems like we have done half a years work already and yet it is now the second quarter and time just seems to speed by.

This week has been very exciting. We have employed more people however the best part is that they are fully budgeted for! We have 3 new people given to us by a company in the building we rent as part of their business of enabling newly qualified degree and diploma level graduates a chance to gain work experience. They are all involved in social media, so hopefully they will improve our story telling, case studies but also assist us with data entry and our new database system comes online. (This system has been implemented to track impact of the work we do but also comes at a minimal cost due to the company’s donation in kind covering most of the costs).

We also sadly had to replaced one community facilitator in the SHG program who didn’t work out despite our best efforts, so that is a new person. Plus 2 interns, one of whom has grown up under the program and has now become an intern in the Children’s Program. I will share more about Boitike (his name means Blessing) in the future.

We now have 3staff who grew up in KTD196 working in the program. It is so exciting! Eventually I want to replace most staff and board members with past beneficiaries so that the passion remains as the organization grows and develops long term. We now have a staff compliment of 21!! Just amazing given when we started it was just Elizabeth and I. This year we have added 9staff to assists us. We have been struggling with the workload and wanting to channel as much funding as possible to the children, now with support from our institutional donors and the company who is supporting the 3 new interns, we are having space and time to breathe and plan more effectively.

We are very wise and very frugal regarding our expenditure, please if you have any questions regarding our funding, income, expenditure you are very welcome to email me and will respond. director@keepthedream19.com

Below is a story from one of our past beneficiaries, I hope you enjoy Hlulani’s story.

Thank you for all you do for the children of KTD196

Blessings

Louise

My name is Hlulani, I grew up in a dysfunctional environment where life was shaped by the behaviour of the community, and some may call it peer-pressure. I was born in 1994/11/06 in a family whereby my father was the only bread winner, this had an impact on my growth. As I grew up I had to go to school with people who had enough at their homes. I watched them tease me because I never even had pocket money. I went to school not enjoying because I was forced. When I reached grade 5 I went to initiation school and this was a turning point for me. My life became a mess, I became something I don’t even believe I was now. When I went to grade 6, both my parent had to go and work at Johannesburg to supplement the needs of the family. They left me at home with my neighbour to look after me, I then dropped out of school.

I unleashed my so called “pseudo manhood”, I thought I had it all under control and knew what I was doing. Pity I had no idea I was only fantasising which fantasies would never have had flourished, I became naughty.  I did not listen to people who tried advising or putting some sense into me because I thought I was a man. I repeated grade 6 where I was always fighting and when interrogated about the fights I had no sugar-way of talking to adults I was always rude.

When I went to grade 7 I met people who were almost thinking the same way I did, we influenced each other, wherein a class a teacher could only reach the two-front row. We enjoyed that because that’s what we wanted, we did not want to be in the spotlight with teachers. By this time I was also involved with an organisation called Sizanani which worked together with Keep the Dream 196. Keep the Dream196 focused on changing the lives of teenager to the right path using the scout laws, motto, and promise which also enshrine in them words from the bible. They enforced behaviour change but a lot of us did not take them serious because we thought we were man’s enough to be playing games.

June 2009, Sizanani selected a few learners to attend a scout camp at westfalia, I was one of them with my other two friends. When we arrived at the camp we continually thought it was just for fun and did not take it serious. We continued to play at the camp and they noticed us, they separated us and created competitions. Those competitions ensured that we brought our A-game, we all wanted to win and it came to my attention that it was not about competitions but to ensure that we conform to the group, we respect other members, learn to share and to work with others.

My eyes opened, I saw a future in the scouts, I learnt to live by the laws, motto and scout promise. It impacted my life in a positive way, because they enforced that scouts are not failures, instead they smile and whistle under all difficulties and persist to achieve. I took advantage of Keep the Dream196’s vision and mission and it worked for me, I started advancing on my English, communication, writing and academics. From that point I never failed a grade with guidance provided to me by Keep the dream 196.

Keep the Dream196 monitored my progress, they realised that education provided at schools was never enough for one’s life, it needs supplements from other skills thus, they offered me some skills like teaching or training. Keep the Dream196 restored my life, they continually empowered me in a way that I said to myself that failure will never be an option.

Through the leadership position I occupied my focus shifted from fake ideologies I had, to school and scouts only. It shaped what I wanted to be, I decided I wanted to be a teacher or a social worker which had to do with changing teenagers minds. 2016 January after receiving my matric results I attempted to enrol at Univen, Turf and TUT but I could not, Keep the Dream196 again came to my rescue offering me a job which was not necessary a job but skills and experience that enable me to mobilise resources to use when I do enrol at varsity.

I completed my social work degree at Wits University in 2021 because of Keep the Dream196. I am well motivated and I still live by the scout laws, promise and motto, distance may take away my duties as a scout but I will always be part of Keep the Dream196’s program.

Hlulani

Links:

• Visit KTD196 and meet Hlulani!
• Please drop us a line or if you have any questions!
• Facebook is a great way to keep up to date with what we are upto