By Nicola Atherstone | Executive Director
Your donations have achieved so much!
Starfish provides training and mentoring to the children, as well as monitoring individual healthcare, education and child protection services. This year, your donations provided 10,372 daily meals for school children, 6,180 food parcels to vulnerable families, 2,674 school uniforms, 6,667 Afterschool care sessions, 3,789 clothes and blankets to children, Child protection services to 8,460 children. Thank you!
Providing children with the services they need to flourish
Recently Starfish was alerted by the school’s careworker to a family in a terrible situation. The family consists of a mother and 6 children who do not attend school. They have recently come from Swaziland and settled in an isolated shelter away for the local community. The social worker could not provide care as they are not South Africa nor have they any official documentation. The social worker conducted a visit to the family and they were immediately referred to Starfish and provided with school uniforms and a monthly food parcel. Our food gardener, Bongani Mngomezulu, will be assisting them in starting a food garden of their own and soon they shall be self-sufficient.
Giving a voice to those in need
A 9 year old boy in Grade R at Mayaluka Primary was noticed by our social worker at the school. The boy would hardly speak and would use very few words when he did. His family and his teachers accepted that “he was born like this, there is nothing we can do.” Thankfully Starfish could help. The boy was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a speech impediment. Immediately he was taken to see a speech therapist. The social worker found the child had been seriously neglected and recommended he be placed with foster parents. There is sadly a widespread lack of awareness of the help available to children in dire need of expert attention.
Sowing the seeds of Hope
Feeding seventeen mouths can be a daunting prospect, but this is a challenge Sbonbile faces daily as she supports and cares for her five children, many stricken by TB and twelve grand-children. Starfish sent a community health worker to visit the family and found they were on the verge of starvation. In response Sbonbile and her family received garden tools and seeds to grow a self-sustainable food source for the family. Food security is a major problem within many of the communities that we serve. Having enough to eat is vital, especially for those living with HIV. Even if they are fortunate enough to have access to antiretroviral therapy, without the right nutrition, they cannot fully adhere to treatment programmes. Through the support of Starfish, Sbonbile and her family have the means to produce their own food. This small, but fundamental assistance now means that the family are not only better fed and more financially stable; it affords the grandchildren the chance to go to school and the hope of a better future.
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