august/september newsletter

Village news!...Walkers Return and Assi is also back!

August has been a month of new challenges, Daz, Lisa and Johan did a sterling job to keep the Village running whilst Tim, Maz and Arron visited England for 4 weeks. This year they were supported by two longer term volunteers Barbara Wood and Emma Podmore, who have both served at the Village of Hope before and they ensured that things were kept ticking over.

We have had some major issues with our eldest boy, 10 year old Assi, who has been in the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town with a lung infection, adding to respiratory problems and concerns over his liver, so the team has also had to cover that.

The most amazing news is that Assi has not only recovered enough to be released out of hospital but straight back to us (his family) here at the Village of Hope. This is a real miracle as there was little hope for his life and we thought that the best we could hope for was for him to go to one of our Thembacare hospices in Athlone or Grabouw!

The Walkers trip to England was very productive, we had the opportunity to speak at 3 churches, an evening supper, a school and of course the long awaited Barn Dance (thanks Em and Jess and their small but dedicated team who put on that event). It’s always good to share stories of what God is doing through us in South Africa and I think that as we share with people it also encourages us to see what amazing progress we have made during 2009/10.

Children’s Unit

Our main focus has been on the health of Assi. This little boy, who is not only HIV+ but suffered TB and meningitis as a small baby also has other disabilities, including a major heart problem and other associated issues. Our main aim is to make sure that he is receiving the best treatment available and we hope that the 18 months he has spent with us at the Village of Hope has increased his overall well being....and the proof that constant prayer has made a difference is seen in his amazing recovery and return to us.

The love and the care that our House Moms provide to our children is amazing and children like Assi are receiving that love and care that we all take for granted. Since we opened in April 2009 we have successfully placed 15 children back with either their own families or into foster care and we have just welcomed our new little baby into our home, therefore taking those living with us back up to 9!

Emma has been working with Lisa on some longer term programmes for each of our children, which will provide us with some goals for each child, encouraging their day to day activities leading to future development in their little lives.

Sports Outreach and Community Work

We are seeking a new direction in our sports outreach into the community and by using the contacts we made during the 2010 World Cup we are going to launch two new after school clubs based at local schools, extending the work to 100 children at each school on Monday and Tuesday afternoons. This work is to be supported by the HAN (Dutch university students) who are also working with us.

We will still run our community based clubs at Iraq and Waterwerks squatter camps on Wednesday and Thursdays and continue to bless the children at Remhoogte farm in Elgin, also on Thursdays.

Part of our longer term plan is to build up local community leaders and with that in mind we have identified 5 local High School children (16-18 year olds) who we took on a team building ‘outward bound’ course and we will work to empower them as they seek to come alongside us to deliver this sports based life skills programme to the schools.

Daz had a busy time keeping the existing clubs running, ably supported by Emma and Lisa. With the slight change of direction we are hoping that we can now support the local students with the management skills and take more of a ‘back seat’ during the clubs. Of course, it’s always to best to lead by example so much of Tim, Daz and Arron’s time will be spent demonstrating the ways that we want the clubs to be run in the future.

Seeking Direction for the Future


We have just purchased a small shed which Johan has converted into ‘an office’ for Maz and the Unit team, but we are looking for longer term building opportunities and as always there are numerous things that we could get involved with in our community. It is important though that whatever we do needs to be sustainable and affordable.

With our monthly costs rising as each child is placed home we are constantly short of funds which makes it hard to budget and plan for the future. If you feel that you can commit to supporting us each month then please follow the links on the ThembalitshaUK web site.

We would like to convert our existing volunteer accommodation into our first ‘cluster home’ for our longer term children to live with a Mom and Dad. This doesn’t mean that we will lose the accommodation to house long and short term volunteers as we are looking to build future accommodation on the land which in turn requires funding!

Other News and Volunteers


On Thursday 23rd September the Wholehearted worship album was launched in Cape Town. All proceeds from the sales will come to Thembalitsha projects. If you purchase the full CD, not via itunes, then you will receive a bonus DVD with a music video shot in Rooidakkes squatter camp in Grabouw. There is also an interview with me about the work we do....so log on to www.wholehearted.co.za for further info.

During August we were blessed with help from Barbara and Emma and also Jenny Jiggins, who I knew from my days as a Crusader leader in Winslow/Granbrough. We have desperately missed Rob, Em, Rosie and Isaac who have been having some time out in England, raising their own funding to allow them to return to us in October for 2 years!