Lifeskills 2,743 vulnerable children South Africa

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

Today I thought I would update you concerning the Self Help Groups. I know, some of you are thinking what does this have to do with the kids. Well actually, it has a lot to do with the kids. Imagine, now the families have income to buy good food, not just stomach fillers like bread and pap (a corn maize staple in this area). Food with nourishment and micro nutrients to help with physical development, and brain development. Food that will assist with building muscles, bone strength, immune systems. Not only that but now the 70% of the ladies have small businesses which bring in income and assist the household to purchase school shoes, school uniforms, pay school fees. The lives of the children is improving on a daily basis.

Currently we have 80 groups of ladies between 15-20 ladies in each group. They support in excess of 3,675 children directly through this program. Not only that but each week the ladies are exposed to training regarding various issues they decide on. For example, how to teach your child different skills, how to discipline your child without corporal punishment, how to communicate with your child, how to manage diabetes or hypertension. Each week the ladies are being exposed to information that will help them within their families and they are taking the information into the communities and bringing change.

To date the ladies have saved R1,5million which has cycled out and back in loans repaid to the value of R7m. That is huge! You may ask, why does this program need funding if there is so much money involved. Well, the money is the ladies, KTD196 does not touch one rand. KTD196 pays for the staff to go out and interview the individual ladies prior to starting different groups to see if they qualify. Then the staff go to the group each week and work with the ladies introducing the process, assisting them with the skills required to write a constitution, start saving, keeping the minutes and agenda and savings and loan books accurate and up to date. They also assist in problem solving and empowering the ladies to work individually and as a group. There is a lot of intensive work required in the beginning which usually takes weekly visits for the first 8months and then fortnightly and then by the following year, monthly visits.

It is so exciting to watch the ladies blossom.

Please read Christina’s story below regarding the impact that this program has.

Blessings

Louise

My name is Christina and I am a member of the Khutso Self Help Group. I am married with three children, my husband is unemployed and is dependent on piece jobs. I have 3 children, two are in Johannesburg studying at a college through NSFAS (State support for students who are poor) and one is still in school. I also have 3 other children which I call grandchildren that I am currently taking care of, my brother and his wife passed away and the children had no place to stay, they sat down with her husband and decided to take the children in and take care of them. I am taking care of a family of 6, the children are not receiving foster care grant because one of the relatives from the children’s maternal side already applied for the grant and told the social workers that she is staying with the children which is a lie. I am still fighting with the relative to have the grant changed so it can be used for the children.

I have always known about the SHGA programme. I remember back in 2021, Mhloti, Dikeledi and Nkulu came to our community and introduced the programme to us. I was interested and wanted to join but the women in the community never came to the first meeting. I tried so hard to convince the other women to join but they refused and commented that this programme sounds like a scam. How can a person loan R10-00? How is it going to help them? In 2022 when I heard that there was group opening in Pharare I was the first one to sign up and join because I didn’t want this opportunity to pass me by.

I now thank God that I joined because of the positive changes that I have seen in my life. I have two big achievements that I feel like sharing with everyone. I have opened a small business; I buy and sell pots in the community and have pots that I hire out for people in the community when they have events, and the business is doing very well. I have always wanted to extend my house. I have a 2-bedroom house, with a kitchen and a small lounge. My grandchildren are all sleeping in the other bedroom and when my 2 daughters are back from school or during the festive holidays my house becomes very small to accommodate everyone. Some of the children are forced to sleep in the lounge while others sleep in the bedroom. This has been sad and stressful for me because if I have visitors early in the morning, the children are forced to wake up and go to the bedroom or play outside, sometimes we are forced to have early nights because the children want to sleep.

I have always wanted my children to have a “normal” life like other children, to have bedrooms that they can be proud off because that would be their private space. Today I am a happy woman because my dream is coming true. Through my small business and the loans that I have been taking from SHG I am almost done building a spare bedroom for my children. I am so happy and proud of this achievement. By December this year 2024, the room will be complete, and the children will have their own space. I am looking forward to this year’s Christmas and spending time with my children and grandchildren. I am very happy and content with everything that I am achieving through the help of SHG.

Thank you for supporting this project and for helping me to support my children, God bless you

Christina

Links:

• Why not leave a message for Christina to encourage her!
• Facebook is a great way to keep up to date!