Every month here continues to be an adventure, especially because this month the B team have been in charge of the project! Tim and Maz are currently touring their socks off speaking at various fundraising events around the UK, Germany and Holland. They have been away since the end of October and are not due to return until mid-December so we (Rob, Em and Mel) have been trying to keep things running smoothly (well, as smoothly as they ever do here in South Africa!) So far, nothing horrendous has happened so we are patting ourselves on the back with one hand, whilst desperately praying that it remains that way with the other!
Children’s Unit
Mel has been spinning all the plates for the baby unit whilst Maz is away with the medical support of Sister Portia. Our 11-year-old boy continues to be a worry for us and his health seriously dipped a couple of weeks ago as he battled with another infection. We are in a constant tension with him, trying to maintain his comfort and trying to keep him out of hospital unless absolutely necessary. It’s hard to try and maintain the right balance, but at this stage there is very little the hospital can do and he is much happier in himself if he can remain in familiar surroundings. Thankfully, since he has been put on yet another course of antibiotics, he has bounced back somewhat and we are able to get smiles out of him again. We are praying that he remain stable from now on and still trusting God for a miracle for this precious boy.
Sadly we have to say goodbye to one of our lovely House Moms, Nothini. She is leaving because her mother-in-law can no longer look after her children and she can’t find anyone she can trust to look after them. Whilst we are pleased that she is putting the care of her children as high priority, we are sad to see her go. However, we remain thankful that God has swiftly provided us with a great replacement and we are confident it won’t take her long to learn the ropes.
Our Dutch interns continue to do a great job in developing the programme we deliver. Weike has recently commenced a Mentor Training Programme. This is a six-week course for the four mentors who are young people from the community who help us with the clubs. At the end of the course they will receive a certificate to prove they’ve attended the course. Although the mentors are only half-way through the course they are already showing significant development which is fantastic. We did originally have five mentors but one of them, Reggie, has had to leave because he’s got a job. This is understandable and great news for him, but sad for us as he was great with the kids. Nevertheless we wish him all the best.
Other News
A New Rainbow
This month we have started a new venture in partnership with Abba (A Christian Counseling service here in Grabouw) and the Day Hospital. This is a support group for 9-15 year olds who are HIV positive and who have the added challenge of dealing with their status on top of the usual teenage issues. Although in it’s infancy, it is already proving to be very successful. Currently 16 kids meet every Friday afternoon at a church in the community and have a couple of hours to hang out together, listen to talks, play games and encourage each other. We believe that it is imperative that a group like this is available for HIV positive children to access. It has been noticed that this age group are the most likely to default on their medication because, as they enter adolescence and become more conscious of the impact HIV can have in their lives, they are choosing not to take it, perhaps because of the stigma that’s still attached to HIV and peer pressure. This is the kind of group that we hope the children who are currently staying at the Village of Hope will be able to join when they get older so that they will have somewhere to go to for support.
The children have chosen a name for their club (Rainbows Smiles) and it’s all thanks to the efforts of our wonderful volunteer, Molly Tokaz, that the group has taken off. Molly has since returned to the United States but has left it in the capable hands of our volunteers, Heather and Simon as well as Johan and Rejoice (who works for Abba).
A New Green-Fingered Friend!
We are also very excited to welcome Heinrich to our team. He has been recruited as our new groundskeeper and will be helping Johan to get our land here at the Village of Hope under control. He has already made good headway in the tidying up of the garden but he does have his work cut out as a lot of what we have here is currently ‘natural landscaping’ (or in other words, lots of overgrown grass and weeds!) Now that we have someone who is able to tend the land we are looking to revisit our vegetable garden and tame the plot into something more respectable! Perhaps one day we will have our very own version of the Garden of Eden – but hopefully with fewer snakes and more clothing!
Well, we would be in a very tight spot without our volunteers. It’s all hands to the deck with the bosses away. Currently we have three volunteers with us. Katrin, the diplomatic Swiss, who has been volunteering since June; Simon, who arrived from England in mid October and Heather who joined us from Austrailia, via the USA a couple of weeks ago. These guys are such a blessing and help to fill the gaps with competency and enthusiasm. Heather is being ‘trained’ by Katrin to take over her responsibilities because Katrin is leaving in less than a week. We will be very sorry to see her go. Thankfully, she isn’t going far. She and her fiancé are moving to Cape Town and will be starting a family – so we can go and visit whenever we like! Simon leaves just before Christmas but he’s been keeping a blog whilst he’s been here (http://simonthursz-gapyear.blogspot.com/) and Heather is with us until January so will spend Christmas with us.
This month we also had other short-term volunteers: We had a two-week visit from the lovely Liz Dillon. Another Aussie! She was great fun and took everything in her stride. It was also special for us as she was a member of Every Nation in Hammersmith, London and had helped to fundraise for the jungle gym a couple of years ago. Along with Liz we had a mission team from America, the Infocus Church from Augusta, Georgia. They bless us every year with a fantastic group of people and achieved so much in a short space of time working both here and at ThembaCare Grabouw. Thanks guys!
Events
Tim and Maz on Tour
Tim and Maz are now in the UK (and Germany and Holland!) and will be there till mid-December. They are touring the country speaking at churches, small groups and schools. If you want to try and see them along the way then check out their tour dates under this blog post: http://thembavillageofhope.blogspot.com/2011/10/tim-and-maz-on-tour.html to find out when they are going to be near you.
Wholehearted
The South African worship band, Wholehearted, will be accompanying Tim and Maz for a week in December. They have an amazing ministry and if you have the opportunity to get to one of the gigs. Check out their facebook page for all the gigs to find one near you. (http://www.facebook.com/WholeheartedMusic?sk=events) . We were lucky enough to see their warm up gig earlier this month and can safely say that you won’t want to miss out! They will be in Bath, Aylesbury and in various areas of London.
Christmas
Well, it’s just around the corner!.. and we have the perfect solution to those hard-to-buy-for friends and relatives. You can purchase physical Christmas cards for different values that contribute towards things like food, clothing and fuel for Village of Hope. Please email jess@thembalitshauk.org.uk if you are interested. We also have e-gifts available to purchase through eBay. Follow this link for a full list (http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/monte_at_home/m.html?item=290630186720&viewitem&_trksid=p4340.l2562) or check out the event on the Thembalitsha facebook page for more details (www.facebook.com/thembalitshafoundation)
How You Can Help
We are never short of ideas on how you can help us out!!!!
• Give - Become a regular monthly giver - Regular givers are like gold dust to us!!! You can download a standing order form from our website – don’t forget to sign a gift aid form if you are a UK tax payer. Or nominate us as your charity of choice within your church or business.
• Fundraise – Commit to shave your head, host a quiz night, do a sporting event!!!!! – The possibilities are endless and can raise £1000s with enough enthusiasm! We also have annual walks, runs and bike rides. For more information contact us office@thembalitshauk.org.uk
• Pray – Sign up to the prayer newsletter. Prayer is just as vital to us (if not more so) than money! We can’t have enough people committing to pray persistently for us. Sign up at prayer@thembalitshauk.org.uk
Volunteering
We rely heavily on committed volunteers to do the stuff out 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 the Village of Hope please download the INFORMATION FOR VOLUNTEERS documents under the ‘Support Us’ page on our website (http://www.thembalitsha.org.za). Also, please do NOT book ANY flights before your application form has been accepted. Thank you!
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