The rains have come which is a welcome sight for the farmers in the area and those of us with solid roofs over our heads but not necessarily for the majority of people living in Grabouw. Fire is the enemy in the summer and rain the enemy in winter. Right now many people in the informal settlements have unplanned rivers running through their homes, soggy beds and cold feet which makes every day that much harder to live. Fortunately this year we have had the opportunity to help relieve some people by repairing their roofs. See our post from earlier this month.
We are also in need of volunteers this coming autumn. See the bottom of this post for more info.
Children’s Unit
This months sees a lot of change in the Children’s Unit. We have been able to give all the walls a fresh coat of paint (see our volunteers section) which is a change to the building, but we are also seeing a change in faces of children who stay with us as we send three of them home. Bittersweet as always.
After being with us for two and half years we are finally seeing our seven-year-old boy go to live with his grandparents on one of the local farms. His grandparents also care for his invalid mother and will still be needing the support from us but it is in his best interest for him to live with his family. He has been staying with them for school holidays and will be discharged into their care on Friday when the schools break for the winter holiday. He is very excited and is counting the sleeps. But we won’t be saying goodbye as he will however continue to come to us for after school care during term time to help his family with the issues they face around transport.
I don’t know if you remember us mentioning in last month’s newsletter but our three-year-old girl’s mum has stuck to the commitment dictated by the social worker and has been to coming to care for daughter her every day for two months. This is fantastic news and now we, together with the social worker, are hopeful and confident that she is ready to manage the responsibility of looking after her daughter. So, after a home visit this weekend, we just have to sort the paperwork then she will be discharged after having stayed with us for 15 months!!! She will continue to be monitored by the ThembaCare community team and I'm sure the ARV clinic will alert us if they identify any problems. She was really looking forward to going home for her visit at the weekend and gave us all a cheery wave and didn’t look back. Always the best way!
With the prospect of having three spare beds within the next few weeks we are in need of your prayers. We are still awaiting our official registration from Social Development and until then it is unlikely that the magistrate will agree to place any new children with us. With so much need in our community it would be very sad for these beds to be empty. Please pray that the registration is passed quickly so we can continue to do what we need to do to support these children.
Sports Outreach and Community Work
Our most recent Dutch students have completed their time with us but they provided us with their Thesis which included a study of our sports outreach entitled: 'Analysing Today's Positions To Score More Goals In The Future' (nice heading eh?!). They interviewed 100 children who are currently part of our sports clubs and 100 children who are not to see whether our clubs assist in social development. We were very encouraged by some of their findings:
'The village of hope sports programme has a positive influence of the affective and social development of the participating children'
'All girls from ages 9-14 years score better on self esteem than the girls of the control group'
'The experimental group (those who attend the outreach) scores significantly better on topics, school skills, sport skills and behavioural attitude'
'The Village of Hope sports programme bought together children of the different areas (culturally different i.e coloured and black children) together, thye are friends now'
'This is all because of the Village of Hope: At first all the kids were staying in different places, the programme brings them together'
'Even at home it has changed: At first they were talking bad language at home but now that has changed'
It’s always exciting to see that we are making a difference to these children’s lives and encourages us to keep on keeping on!
Volunteers:
As we mentioned briefly at the beginning of our news, we now have a newly painted children’s unit. This is because we have had a flying visit from a mission team on a mission!!! Our good friends from InFocus Church, in Augusta, Georgia flew a team of 12 very capable hard-working (as always) individuals over for a quick, five days of service at Village of Hope. The children’s unit really looks like new and we can’t believe how much they managed to achieve in the short time they were here. They worked late into the evening and they also managed to fit in helping out with sports and serving at ThembaCare too! Katia has also reinstated the murals in the children’s bathroom and it is all looking brilliant. Our biggest challenge during the painting was what to do with the children so that they didn’t mess up the paint!!!
We have also welcomed another new volunteer, Ashlyn, from the USA. She is the sister of Britton, who worked with us last year and it’s always lovely to get to know another member of the family.
Speaking of volunteers. We are, for once, running low on volunteers for the end of the year. This is a rare occurrence but means we are on the look out for helpers during this period - Particularly from September onwards. If you have some free time, and the capability to come out and serve at Village of Hope, we would love to hear from you. Please read the details and fill out one of our application forms via the website. We will treat you well!
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 £1000s 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!
Up And Coming Events
For further details check out our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/thembalitshafoundation
Can you cycle 10 miles? 100 miles? Either way we’d love you to join us on Saturday 8 September as we challenge ourselves to cycle whilst raising money for Thembalitsha.
The challenge:
8 - 16 Miles: A there and back again route from Aylesbury on picturesque lanes in the Chilterns, suitable for all kinds of cyclists and all ages and including families, you just need to be able to cycle comfortably for around an hour at an easy pace. Entry fee is £5 for adults, £2 for children.
100 Miles: A wonderful route through the Chilterns and the Thames Valley before lunch at a riverside inn, then on to the South Downs and the sea at Brighton. You’ll be rewarded with a stopover at a farm and a hearty breakfast before being driven home the next day. Suitable for regular or more experienced cyclists, you need to be able to cycle at a moderate pace for most of the day. Entry fee is £25, which includes overnight accommodation, breakfast and return transport.
Whichever personal challenge you choose, our challenge to you is to raise as much money as you can for Thembalitsha in sponsorship. Are you up for it?!
Contact us: office@thembalitshauk.org.uk to sign up!
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