Lifeskills for 2,587 Children in South Africa

Dear Friends,

Wow, I cant believe it has only been 3months since our last report, time has flown.

Thank you for all your on going support and encouragement throughout this year it has been tremendous. We are slowly reaching our target for this project and I have started a new project where we are purchasing a farm so we can run our programs on weekends and school holidays so we are not limited to using other venues that we can only access during the winter school holidays. For the first time we will have our own office space, our own camp site and our own facilities which is exciting for us and the children. In fact, this week we will hear if the banks will loan us the money to move forward.

I am also reigniting a project from last year that of training 8 youth in artisan skills of painting, tiling, simple wood work, cabinet making etc so they can assist pensioners in their areas with donated support but also earn a small amount to support their studies.

Over the past 4 months we have held 15 Environmental Education Camps training over 1,000 scouts aged between 11-18yrs on various topics such as: alternative fuel sources, climate change, sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and water cycle. Many children had not been camping before and it was a real highlight for the year as they returned to their villages so conscious of the need to protect their fragile environments that the children have become eco-warriors in their schools and homes.

• Dzunisani S. male (15) “Food for life (sustainable agriculture) helps with food security and we wont have to buy vegetables anymore, I will have my own garden and if I make a big garden I can also sell and get money that way."

• Nhlamulo N. female (16)” I have learned how it is important to keep yourself clean and always wash your hands before you touch food especially as a future mother. Climate change I learnt how global warming destroys the ozone layer which protects us from the uv rays. So I have learned that we should limit the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.”

The children also learnt leadership skills, small group management, co-operative governance and woven throughout all of this they had fun. We were supported by our Rovers (18-26yr olds) who assisted in running the seminars, games and general management. What was also exciting was that for the first time ever our adult staff stepped up and ran the camps without relying on myself or other senior staff, making the whole organization much more sustainable and less dependent.

None of this would have been possible without your support. We are very excited about 2015 and the continued improvement we are bringing to the lives of the children we work with. Thank you for partnering with us. Thank you for supporting the work we are doing. If we raise $3,0000 through 30 unique donors we will be eligable for a bonus prize of $2,000. Please consider helping us reach this target and making your money 30% more valuable to us.

Links:

• Our website