Feb/March Newsletter

Update from the Village:

Firstly we have to apologise for the late arrival of the second newsletter of 2010, this one will serve as the Feb and March update which we hope you will find interesting.

Things are going well very for us on the Village of Hope, however since we last provided an update we have had a few issues which have caused us a little concern. Towards the end of January we found that over 170 metres of the new fencing which we had installed to serve as a 'boundary marker' between us and the local squatter camp had been stolen....this was no mean feat as those who stole it had to endure a steep bank either side of the river to make off with this heavy duty wire fence. Since that has been stolen we have replaced it with seven rows of simple barbed wire and trust that they won't find an outlet to sell that in a hurry.

As part of our security system we have now installed 'panic' buttons in the four accommodation blocks, linked to an armed response unit. This may sound a little extreme and to some extent it is, as we are seeking to reach out and serve our community. However, there are some very strange characters around and we don't want to put our staff or volunteers into a position where they are having to confront an intruder. We have also installed a motor and intercom onto the front gates which is also proving to be helpful in containing those coming to 'visit' the village.

Children’s Work on the Village:

We are working well with a new foster mother who is looking to take two of our longer term children into her care in the very near future. Unfortunately for her, their biological mother and father are still on the scene which can make things a little tricky. We have also taken in another little girl who has been placed with us via Thembacare, Grabouw, we are looking forward to making a difference in her little life.

As part of our outreach into the community we have been able to provide some land for around thirty cows who are owned by the local Xhosa men and before we took them into our care they have been wandering around the townships causing hassle to people, their property and also cars as they stray onto the roads.

We have also started work with the Elgin Learning Foundation, who have started work on one hectare of our land. They will be installing a much needed irrigation system and working the land to provide crops for the Village of Hope and for themselves as they learn the skills needed to cultivate these plants.

Six of the children who live with us at the VOH are now at school every morning. The school run is a bit of a mission, however it is great to see these little guys trip off to school with their school bags and happy smiles.

We are currently in the process of installing a jungle gym, complete with slide, see-saw, climbing ropes, etc. This has been funded by friends from Everynation Church in London. This will make a real difference to the children, giving them a focus for their play and help the house moms engage with the children in a positive way.

Children’s Community Outreach:

Our sports outreach has expanded, Emily House is now helping Tim with the work in the Iraq squatter camp where she has set up a netball club for the girls. This is such a needy area and it is great for these young girls to have an outlet other than the day to day chores of living in a home with no electricity or water.

We have also had the opportunity to start a new club at one of the apple farms which surround Grabouw. Tim, Daz, Harry (our new volunteer from England) and Trondor (our longer term volunteer from Norway) ran two soccer saturdays for the adult farm workers who are employed to pick the 81 million apples that the farm produces each year...yes it is harvest time in the southern hemisphere. This was a great success where over eighty men from different towns and cultures came together for an afternoon of sport. We have now set up a weekly programme for the children of the longer term workers on this farm which is really taking off.

A wonderful Dutch volunteer donated some funds to enable us to take the 180 children that we work with at our sports clubs to the beach. This was to be no mean mission. We split the groups down into the five areas and took around thirty children on five different days to Gordon’s Bay where they all enjoyed a couple of hours running around, playing in the water and generally having a great time.

We were also able to take fifteen children to the 'international body boarding championship' which was held over the weekend of 20th-22nd March, we thank Craig for the opportunity he provided to make this happen.

Volunteers:

We continue to be blessed by some amazing volunteers, Trondor and Gretta from Norway are over halfway through their year long stay. Rob and Emily are so helpful and have taken on the task of 'volunteer coordinators' from Daz and Lisa, who have moved into their own rented accommodation on the next door farm. Rob and Em had some sad news when Rosie, their daughter, was the first to fall from the new jungle gym and break her arm....poor Rosie.

We have welcomed Harry onto the Village of Hope. He is with us for three months and has taken over some of Arron’s work. We have also had Claire join us for a few weeks from Aylesbury, along with Leo and Margette from Holland who are with us until the end of March.

Maz had a great time with Jemima, a German volunteer who she met at Thembacare in Athlone in 2005, we have kept in touch ever since and it was nice to be able to show Jemima around the new Village of Hope project, talk about old times and take some time out at the beach.

If you would like to come and join us as a volunteer on the project please get in touch with us at office@thembalitshauk.org.uk

And finally:

Tim has been back in England for a couple of weeks, where he not only paid tribute to his wonderful 97 year old grandfather who's funeral he attended, but also got the opportunity to meet his new grandson who was born two days after Grandad passed away. As you can imagine it was a bittersweet trip but one where he was also able to catch up with the YWAM team in Harpenden who are coming out to Grabouw in May-July to serve the community during the World Cup. Arron is with that team so it was good to see him.

Tim spoke at the Aylesbury Vale Vineyard Church, met up with Wolfi from Everynation Church in Hammersmith and spent time with a few friends and his boys enjoying a proper pint of English ale and an Indian curry!