a littl' bit a hope this christmastide....

maz and mel putting up decorations
in the unit

during the last week we have been preparing ourselves for the festive season with our annual sleigh rides into the community, christmas gifts to friends and families in the community (including live chickens to some of our mentors) as well as helping the children who live with us understand the 'real meaning' behind all the bright lights and carols.

it's also fantastic to be able to provide the children with some of the traditional pleasures that we have grown up with, its not all about looking forward to the presents but we have lit an advent candle every evening as we count the sleeps to the big day (thanks nana!) along with decorating the unit with some of the decorations we bought from england.

start the sleigh!

however our biggest news this week is that one of our little ones received his Christmas present early as he was reunited with his family in the eastern cape. this little one came to us only a few days old and already with a very sad story. his mother passed away soon after he was born, she was HIV+ but he was blessed not to have caught this devastating disease from her but he did arrive needing some complex medical care which often ended up with us taking him to our nearest hospital (about 25 minutes down the mountain) for days on end. you won't believe it from the photo but he joined us as a really poorly scrap but with the support of his father and the wonderful work of our house moms he has really grown into a delightful little boy.

father Christmas over worked in watereworks!

his father was very proactive and has visited as often as he could, he works on a farm about two hours drive from grabouw but with public transport being such a challenge it often took him half a day to get to us which meant he only had a few minutes to spend with his child before having to walk back to the local taxi (minibus) pick up for a lift to the train station and the long journey home.

boy going home

emma has put in some amazing work to ensure that his family were kept in touch with all that was going on and earlier this week we were able to take him to his father for him to continue on the traditional christmas journey to visit relatives in the eastern cape, where the child will live with his grandmother and continue to receive the care he needs as he grows.

we really do rejoice over this news and as hard as it is to say goodbye we do it with the knowledge that we have been able to provide that medical care when he really needed it, to be a part of this little ones story is a true blessing and we thank God for calling us all here to enable this to happen!

once again thanks for the photos lisa baldry!

summer time fun...

katie and her babies

last week the local schools closed for summer so we have had a bit more time to spend with the children in the unit who are already crawling off the walls and proving to be a bit of a handful to our dedicated house moms, who are also nearing the end of the year and having to plan and prepare for their own family Christmas.

katie has been preparing some morning time activities for the older children but as we celebrated another public holiday on tuesday we decided to take all the children, house moms and volunteers to the local beach for an afternoon of fun. looking back it seems that we have done this each and every 'heritage day' and it's amazing to see the children's reactions as they get time to play in the sand and swim in the sea.

greg's castle

they are such a pleasure to be with and i think every child dipped their toes in the sea with some taking it a little bit further by actually trying to body board!.....greg made a huge and complex sand castle trying to replicate the french island setting of mont saint-michel but one of our more challenging (in a very sweet way) boys had other plans and duly knocked it down before greg managed to finish the moat.

moms it the beach!

beach soccer

on wednesday morning it was the turn of the sports outreach children to have some time at the beach, we work with over 450 children each week so it was a bit of a mission trying to plan for all of them to attend the day that they look forward to all year, however as around 250 of the children are under the age of nine there was no way that we were going to put ourselves under pressure to take them (there will be a 'next time' for those children as they grow up into our senior clubs), so that left around 200 who would have loved to have come.

happy kids

in the end we booked two 60 seater buses and with the help of our sports mentors, volunteers and willing others we end up taking over 75 children from four of our daily clubs, it's always hard to chose how to run these things but as many of our children return to the eastern cape for Christmas we are confident that most of the children who remained in grabouw were able to join us.

fun times for the girls

as you can imagine looking after 75 children on a wide open beach with an inviting sea to entice them is no mean feat but we are thankful to say that none of the children ended up as shark bait and apart from a badly cut foot (which occurred as one boy stepped on a piece of discarded glass whilst playing football) everyone returned to their homes in grabouw in one piece!

greg came up with a novel idea to split the children into ten separate groups with two leaders responsible for that team, we then placed netball bibs on the children, all an array of colours so our team leaders could keep a check on the children in their group. this worked so well and i'm sure it provided the beach with a riot of colour as the children ran in and out of the sea, having the time of their lives.

a riot of colour in gordon's bay

it's always great to see the children playing and being truly free for a few hours, leaving the cares of their complex lives behind and having fun together. this is one of the day we will miss when we leave the project in february but trust that our team will continue to offer both these wonderful opportunities to both the sports outreach children and those that we care for in our 24/7 unit.

special thanks to lisa baldry for the wonderful photos!

three siblings are reunited

yesterday we said our sad goodbyes to three of our wonderful boys, sibling brothers, who arrived with us in early september. since they arrived the youngest started walking and the older two were able to restart their morning placements at a local creche where they have really thrived.

as with many of our children these boys come from a complex family situation however it's great to see them reunited with their grandmother who is now able to provide a secure and loving home for these three boys.

we will obviously keep close ties with the family, providing help and support where required as they settle into their new surroundings, we will miss these little guys who have kept us entertained and who have really captured our hearts, however a home placement is our best out come for any child so we wish them well and a happy christmas with their family!

December News

Children’s Unit
The end of the calendar year also sees the end of the school year here in South Africa so we’ve been busy with various end of year events for the kids. Some of our children are finishing pre-primary and moving into primary school which is a real landmark.

We have also been able to discharge one little boy back to his parents and our little girl with cerebral palsy is doing fantastically – she can now walk with just one stick and her balance is improving every day.

Our relationships with the social workers are continuing to strengthen and Emma now has weekly touch points with them to keep abreast of all the situations.

We’ve been working hard at doing lots of paperwork and getting more policies and procedures in place as well as sorting budgets for next year. Although this is sometimes monotonous and mind-boggling, it is very worthwhile and necessary!

Last week we took the staff to the Caledon Spa for their end of year treat. The destination was a surprise but they all loved it and it was a really fun day. We were thankful to have competent volunteers who could take charge of the children’s unit for a few hours so that all the staff could join in.


Sports
We’re very happy to welcome Greg who has arrived from France to assist with the sports outreach for six months. He’s dived straight in and is a real hit with the mentors. We’ve been partnering with the local day clinic and have been using the sessions over the past few weeks to educate the children on the need for immunisations as well as making them aware of the dangers of diarrhoea - which can fast become a killer in the challenging environments where many of them reside.

Rainbow Smiles –HIV support group for adolescents
Rainbow Smiles is coming on leaps and bounds:

• We have developed a relationship with the Grabouw day clinic, they will be sending a Councillor to the club once a week and will hopefully be involved in planning and moving the club forward.

• We have managed to find some adult education for our 17 year old young leader and are hoping he can start this in January.

• One of our club members wanted to go to a school prom and could not afford to go, so she asked if we could help her in making things so that she can sell them to raise the money. This is really positive that our young people are not just asking for hand-outs but are looking at ways they can try and solve problems.

• The young people also wanted to give back to the community by singing at an old age home. We did this on Friday and we were extremely proud of all the children who sang, danced, played the drums and wrote and read poems out loud. They all did very well particularly as the audience was not very responsive.


Other News:
Volunteers:
As well as Greg we’ve been able to welcome Katie from the UK. She is a youth pastor so has a wonderful knack with the kids!

Last month also saw a visit from our extended family from InFocus Church in Augusta. We love hosting these guys and each time they come the do wonders for us both practically and emotionally. And Helen from the USA board popped over to visit too which is always lovely!

Emerging Leaders:
The Leadership for Hope course that took place in October seems to have had a really positive impact on the community. Those who were on the course were asked to share what they had learned and they are all very passionate about it. One of our House Moms attended and shared it with her brother which inspired him to decide to complete his education and Tim has been approached to see whether it can be rolled out to all the employees in the local municipality. It looks like the community have finally been given some training which they can apply to their lives which is very exciting so watch this space!

Skydive for Thembalitsha:
If you are slightly crazy and live in the UK, Ii is now possible to take part in a skydive to raise funds for Thembalitsha.
This is the chance of a lifetime – the only way to experience a skydive without spending thousands of pounds becoming a free-fall parachutist.

• Jump and training completed in one day

• Harnessed to an experienced parachute instructor at all times

• Jump from at least 10,000 feet

• Free fall 5,000 feet, falling at 120 mph

• Landing controlled by instructor

• Choose from 1 of 25 British Parachute Association approved centres across the UK.

Cost of challenge:
You don't pay anything; but you will need to fundraise a minimum of £395 in sponsorship money. We can provide you with lots of fundraising support. A minimum of £115 will go directly to Thembalitsha and the rest covers the cost of your jump. Anything raised over the minimum target will also go to Thembalitsha, providing healthcare, education and training to South Africa's poor.

To book your jump, click here: https://www.skylineregistrations.co.uk/parachuting/booking.aspx?&charity=73962

For more information contact Carol at carol@thembalitshauk.org.uk

How You Can Help
We are never short of ideas on how you can help us out!!!!
• Become a regular monthly giver - Regular givers are like gold dust to us!!!
• Fundraise – Commit to shave your head, host a quiz night, do a sporting event!!!!! – The possibilities are endless and can raise R10000s with enough enthusiasm!
• Pray – need we say more?!

For more information contact us fundraiser@thembalitsha.org.za


Volunteering
We rely heavily on committed volunteers to do the stuff here in South Africa. It can be a fantastic way to give (and receive!) However, we do have some criteria you have to meet in order to apply. For more information on volunteering for Thembalitsha please check out our website or email us at volunteer@thembalitsha.org.za.

Also, please do NOT book ANY flights before your application form has been accepted. Thank you!