By Louise and the Dream Team | Director
In amongst the chaos of the move, we have been able to continue our services to the children and ladies of the program. We have now unpacked, sorted and are in the final process of just arranging ourselves to maximise the space we now have.
Five of the staff have gone to Durban for training in SHG and to report back to the donor and other stakeholders their successes for the year. The SHG team certainly has worked very hard this year as you can imagine. They now have 80groups of ladies that they are training and mentoring into a bright future. However, the timing wasn’t great as we only had 5staff on hand for the move, with one on study leave and 5 in Durban. Such is life in an NGO!
The Children’s Program is growing and developing nicely with parents from the SHG’s volunteering in the Children’s Program. As we develop the SHG groups and they start growing past their initial needs as a family, they start to look further at community needs and the children are always identified as a point of need. From here we tell them about our Children’s Program and the need to volunteer. Then we train those parents who are interested, support, monitor and mentor them to the job as Pack Scouters or Troop Scouters.
Currently, we are supporting over 6,000 people through the programmes KTD196 provides. That is awesome. That is only possible because of your support. We continue to need your support as issues in the communities continue to escalate such as crime and substance abuse. But through your support we are making a huge difference in the lives of the people we serve.
Blessings
Louise
Working together and simultaneously with my family, Sizanani (NGO) and teachers was Keep the Dream 196, an organization of life, and behaviour restoration. My name is Hlulani, I grew up in a dysfunctional environment where life was shaped by the behaviour of the community, 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 on the spotlight with teachers. By the 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 children but I was too cool. I realise now looking back that I was heading for jail or be dead because of my bad behaviour. KTD196 changed me into a responsible, respectful young man. I am now a qualified Social Worker with a family of my own. I cant tell you all of the impact of KTD196 on my life only to say thank you so much for supporting this amazing organization. They really do what they say! I am a product of their love and caring.
Thank you
Hlulani
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