Food Security South Africa Project #17691

Lifeskills 2,743 vulnerable children South Africa

by Keep The Dream196

Project Report | Nov 3, 2023
#GivingTuesday 2023 is coming, are you READY?

By Louise and the Dream Team | Director

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:

Permalink

Oct 30, 2023
Why I love my job!

By Louise and the Dream Team | Director

Finally, one borehole is repaired in Myakayaka!

I love the work I do, I get to witness real transformation! I wish you could see it yourself and not just through my eyes.

As I have shared previously, the Self Help Group Approach has kicked up a notch. We now have 53 groups in operation with over 800 families benefitting from your support. But what really excites me about this project is that we are now reaching critical mass.

Ok Louise, what does that mean?

Ok, so what I mean is, as part of the overall SHGA the women are empowered to take responsibility for the process and to address issues they are confronted with in the villages.

I want to just give you a quick rundown on activities so far!

Since creating a Cluster Level Association (that is a group 10 SHGs known as a CLA) they have:

1. Formed 2 new SHG groups themselves - this takes the burden off KTD196 and enables the continuation of the process. They train the new ladies to level 3 and then we step in withe rest of the 7 modules.

2. The CLA is now going to the weaker groups and assisting them with the book keeping and problem solving that is required.

3. As part of the CLA's operation, they identified a local crèche which was struggling to provide a quality service to the village because they are not funded by Department of Basic Education or Social Development and so the ladies raised food supplies for a start so that the crèche could feed the little ones.

4. Water in Myakayaka is basically non-existent, they receive water by paying a water tanker to deliver water. Although this is a basic human right, the people are marginalised, local so many other smaller, poorer villages. The ladies went to the local municipality and received no support. Then they went to the district municipality. A water audit has been done, there were 5 non function boreholes all requiring intervention and different repairs. To date, one has now been fixed and the village receive water twice a week. The Municipal Manager and MEC has been put on notice that the remaining boreholes need to be repaired before the end of the year or they will go to the Provincial Premier. The ladies are starting to realise their power and use it effectively to demand change.

5, Drugs have been cited as the reason for so much crime. The CLA is now working with the Community Policing Forum (CPF) and the South African Police Service (SAPs) plus local Induna's. They are wanting to be trained in crime prevention and make the environment less conducive to drug users and safer for the communities.

6. Every CLA member is active at different levels within the village structures such as School Governing Boards, Community Leadership Structures, Board members of different community services such as crèches, drop in centres etc.

The women are using their new skills and abilities to transform their lives and their communities.

None of this would be possible without your generous support. I know I have focussed on the ladies this week but most of the children exist within families we support through SHG so the synergy is there. This we way also prevent kids from falling through the cracks.

Gosh I am so excited by this work we do. And it is all possible through your support. You help us achieve our goals. That is so exciting. Thank you for being a part of the solution for 100s of families and thousands of children. You are such a blessing to me, my staff and the people we serve.

Thank you

Louise

This is just the start! SHG's on the move!

Links:

Permalink

Oct 27, 2023
The Ladies are taking a STAND! SHG at work!

By Louise and the Dream Team | Director

SHGroup

I find it very humbling to watch the impact of our programs on the people we work with! I can’t explain the overwhelming joy I feel when I look at the way our programs are changing people’s lives tangibly. You have made this happen through your donations to KTD196, you have enabled the Dream Team and I to help people that felt helpless and hopeless.

I came to South Africa from Australia in 1999. I had always travelled and loved travelling but I played it safe, I stayed in 1^st world nations predominantly because I knew if I went to a 3^rd world nation (do people even use those terms anymore?) I would never be able to leave. I would want to stay and help. That is exactly what happened in 1996, I came and saw, had my heart broken and then it took 3yrs for me to sell everything and return.

My heart was broken by the poverty I saw, the way children were dirty and unkempt in the rural areas, running in the street, not in school. I saw girl children, carrying their babies on their backs having been kicked out of school because they were teenage mums. I saw kids and adults on drugs lying in the streets or propped up against trees because they were too drunk to walk home.

I saw women in particular under a heavy burden that seemed to weigh them down, basically grinding them into the ground as they shared about how difficult life was, for example: not being able to provide at least one meal on a daily basis for their children; not being able to provide money for electricity or candles for the children to study; not being able to buy school uniforms for their kids or shoes. The fear they had about the futures for their children, what would happen to them tomorrow if they couldn’t eat; what would happen in the future if they didn’t succeed at school, or if they did, how would they ever be able to go to further their studies.

Because of your support, KTD196 has come with answers to these questions.

As of today we have:

52 Self Help Groups representing 893 women who are heads of their families.
So that is 893 families are involved and reaping the rewards of being involved in this project alone.
2,365 children are being supported through the SHG project in these 893 families.

Saving just R10 (50c USD or 80cAUD) a week the 52 SHG groups now have in excess of R726k in savings and loan interest. This money has gone out and come back in through savings, loans and interest to the value of R3.5million. What an astounding amount of money. Talking to the ladies, they are so happy that now their kids have decent food at least twice a day (the schools provide a meal as well), the children now have school uniforms and shoes, and the ladies are able to pay for electricity or paraffin for lamps.

I am so excited on their behalf, that is the power of your support you have brought which is immeasurable, hope is a commodity that doesn’t have a price but that is what you have given to these ladies and their kids. The kids are benefitting through joining the children’s program we run which is wonderful synergy.

Thank you for making my dreams come true, that of so many others

Blessings

Louise

Grace is a member of the Hlanganani Self Help Group. She is married and has 4 children, 2 boys and 2 girls. Her husband is self-employed, he is a welder, and they mostly rely on the Child Support Grant to survive. Grace explained that most of the time they would live hand to mouth because the child support grant wasn’t enough to feed and take care of a family of 6 for the whole month. She further explained that her husband would sometimes go for a month without getting a single job and she would need to plan to make sure that the family has food on the table.

After joining SHG Grace decided to take a loan for R1000-00 ($50USD or $80AUD), went to town and bought clothes from a secondhand shop and started selling them around the community and the profit she made was unbelievable. Now she wants to go to Johannesburg and add more items to the things that she’s currently selling.

“SHG has really helped me a lot, my family is not at a level where we are financially stable but compared to last year and at the beginning of this year, we are doing so much better. So, I would like to thank this programme so much. I am so happy”

Grace said. In future I would like to make a poster for my husband to advertise his work so people can know that he is good at welding. I want my family to grow and be financially independent.

Such is the power of your support, now this family is not just surviving but thriving, because of you. In 2024 we will start another 25 groups and sustain the 52 we currently have. The future is so exciting, 893families have hope and are the solutions to their own problems even if KTD196 ceased to exist.

Thank you so much

Nkulu

The power of community action!

Links:

Permalink

‹ 1 ... 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 ... 108 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.