Volmoed Youth Leadership Training Program (VYLTP)

VOLMOED YOUTH LEADERSHIP TRAINING PROGRAM 
REPORT FOR AUGUST 2023

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS!

Our big news is that VYLTP began the next phase of our drumming project in May. Bevil Spence of Drumba and Mafunase Kondowe guided the young people as they learned each phase of the drum making. Their faces lit up with smiles as they mastered new skills and tasks. We set up a drum making factory in a local church hall in Zwelihle, which was abuzz with activity. Local people helped to make lunches for the crew. A couple of local restaurants are providing lunches every couple of weeks. It’s an exciting set of partnerships. The drums take a week or more to complete, depending on weather and drying time to glue on the skin drumheads. Our artistic ones paint the decorations onto the drums while some are left unadorned and beautiful.

Four new drums were finished, and then used a week later, to welcome students from West Chester University, Pennsylvania USA, at the airport. This group spent a morning with the young people making drums and then an afternoon together at Volmoed, discussing Humanity, Healing, Humour and Hope. What a wonderful day of cross cultural interaction it was. So far thirty drums have been made, with more orders for more drums awaiting production. Meanwhile the drum group also played at a local high school prom to welcome the students, and at a tourism event in our regions where the National Minister of Tourism noticed them and like their style! We aim to grow this project to the point it can become self sustaining, and help to give a small stipend to our leader trainees. This seems essential in these times of food insecurity and youth unemployment.

On 18 July, Mandela Day, the drumming group reached out and invited the Hermanus community to come and drum for 67 minutes, as part of the community service to remember late former President Mandela. Volunteers painted the outside wall of the hall, and the paint was donated. Many visitors came who would not usually visit Zwelihle. This is a way to continue breaking down barriers between people in South Africa and locally. 

Our Thursday Program continues to meet at Volmoed. Visiting trainer Ann Bown provided two four session courses, one on public speaking, one on leadership. Deon Kitching did a course on social media and video making on cellphones. These are important skills for young people in leadership. Another important focus is education about voter registration, voting, and democracy in South Africa. 

We held another Taizé Youth Day in August, and went to District Six in Cape Town, to the Moravian Church. This was one of only a few religious buildings which were not demolished by the apartheid government back in the 1960s. It was attended by about thirty five people, from Hermanus and Cape Town. There were workshops on drumming, gender based violence, and a history of District Six and forced removals from the area during apartheid, as experienced by the people in the Moravian church community. It was a wonderful day.

We were visited recently by one of our leadership team members, Mona Okello, from Kenya. She learned about GlobalGiving and how our online fundraising works. She has now been registered as a project leader and will assist with managing our online fundraising.  She also visited the drum factory and was inspired by their work.

As always, thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year.  We are hugely grateful. We plan to be in touch soon about the Little by Little Campaign in September, where donations of up to $50 are matched by GlobalGiving. We are grateful for this partnership. 

YOUR GENEROUS DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS MUCH APPRECIATED!

THANK YOU!

Links:

• https://volmoedyouth.org.za

• Full VYLTP report with pictures! (PDF)