September News

It’s less than a week to go until our fearless leaders (Tim and Maz) return from their 6 week break. We are thanking the Lord for getting us through so far without too many hiccups! Although we have had some rather frustrating technical issues with our water system (which has to go through lots of hoops, gadgets and gizmos to make it clean before it magically comes out of our tap) we are still standing!

Our trusty volunteers doing their thing!

Children’s Unit
The children have been enjoying some more pleasant weather and it makes everyone’s lives a little easier when they have opportunity to let off steam outside! They are looking forward to a short, one-week school holiday too. Let’s hope the weather is good to us then too!

Last week we had a new admission of a cute little two-year-old girl. She is settling in really well to our strange little family here and certainly is happy to hold her ground around the older children! You may have read our blog post about her but we have recently found out her mother died due to TB. It is very sad but we are hoping there is a possibility for her to be placed with her grandparents soon.

We are still rather worried about a recent decision that has been made by the courts for one of our children. It is not appropriate to divulge the detail but please pray that God protects the little girl in question throughout the process and that His will be done.

Our football pitch - perfectly flat as ever!

Sports Outreach and Community Work
Sports in the informal settlement of Iraq now has a couple of challenges. We arrived last week to find that our ‘pitch’ (and we use the term loosely in the first place) had been attacked by a digger and had huge chunks taken out of it. The boys managed to play around it but it has severely reduced the space they have to play and makes it a bit of an obstacle course! Of course, we are more worried about it than the boys! We are also battling a little bit with all the younger children who come to watch the club. There are more of them that there are children to teach. A lot of them are younger siblings of the kids who are in our club. As much as we don’t want to tell them to go away – especially when we know they don’t really have anything to do or anywhere to go to – it is really distracting and makes it hard for the mentors to teach the sessions. When we have the manpower we can offer a babysitting service but this isn’t always possible and quite often there is a lot of in-fighting amongst the little ones. We need to pray about a good solution! They are so cute and need love and attention too but we can’t always do everything!


Other News
Volunteers:
This month we have been able to welcome two lovely all-american gels to the team. Kathryn and Martha are both from Texas and heard about our work through our church links there. They have been fantastic at getting stuck in and are great self-starters which is always helpful when we are short-handed. Both the girls will be with us for a couple of months and it’s really nice to have some refreshment to the team again.


Cycle To The Sea:
Our terrific team of 10 who cycled themselves silly for us managed to raise in excess of £2500. When we asked them for a report on their efforts this is what we received:

Too tired for prose but in brief my report is:
-          Great success
-          Splendid route
-          Stunning weather
-          Perfect lunch stop
-          Good crack
-          Varied fitness!
-          Very welcome overnight
-          Impressively generous donations
-          Most are keen to repeat next year


Thanks so much guys. We appreciate every penny. And to hear that they want to do it AGAIN makes our hearts swell!

You can still add to their total here: www.justgiving.com/CycleToTheSea2012


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!


Up And Coming Events
For further details check out our Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/thembalitshafoundation


Wholehearted New Album Released 1st October

Our friends at Wholehearted are launching their new album, Fearless Love, which will be available on iTunes very soon. If their previous offering is anything to go by then you are not going to want to miss out on this. It also includes Hope Is Here which was written with Thembalitsha in mind! Check it out! http://wholehearted.co.za/

HOPE 2012

Top SA bands are going to be making some noise for us this World AIDS Day (1st December).

If you are going to be any where near Cape Town then diarise it and get your tickets before they sell out!

They are available on computicket now. A steal at R150 a ticket. Please support us and get the word out to your friends/family/school. The more people who know about this event the better!


Get your tickets at www.hope.org.za/2012

Reality Bites

Mummy Netty taking good care of the new arrival

We are always very excited to have a new admission to the children's unit and last week we were able to welcome a gorgeous little two-year old girl (although she looks more like a one year old than two because she is so under-developed). She has settled in really well, is smiley, affectionate and definitely has some dance moves on her! She even has a pronounceable name which is always a relief for us English speakers!

She was referred to us because her mother, who is HIV positive, was too ill and had been taken to hospital because of TB. The social worker had said that the mother looked like she wouldn't survive much longer but we have often been told such things and then seen dramatic restorations to health so we didn't give it too much attention.

This week we heard that the mother had died. Just like that.  Of course, we don't know the reasons why this lady got so ill but it does make me wonder....Was she born with HIV or was she given it unknowingly? How did she find out? Did she know to take her ARVs regularly without fail? Was she getting any support from anyone? How did she get so poorly with TB? Did she even know she had TB or did she think it was just a cough and ignore it? If this woman had been born in another country or in this country but with money would her life have been the same?

We do have to be thankful that there is a possibility of this gorgeous girl going to live with her Grandmother in the Eastern Cape but it still doesn't detract from the fact that she will never know her mother....in this life anyway.

Emily

can you fill these spaces?

could you be sitting here this time next year?

as you may be aware the village of hope is run by staff of 13 full time paid workers, ranging from our house moms to a maintenance team but these key people are supported by a team of full and mid term volunteers who oversee the management of the project, run sports outreach, invest in the house moms, do the finances, write policies around the care of the children, complete the school and shopping runs, take the children to their medical appointments and assisting in running our adolescent HIV support groups, the list is almost endless and this all takes time and dedication to undertake the running of such a large project which is also linked to our sister project, thembacare grabouw where there are other opportunities to serve.

these mid and long term volunteers also oversee the short term mission teams who join us for 10-14 days throughout the year and who are an invaluable resource to carry out the larger tasks much like this weeks team from augusta have undertaken with the repainting of the children's unit.

we have never been short of volunteers and with the amazing support of the HAN students from holland we are able to undertake the day to day running of the project most of the time.....however we currently have a couple of opportunities for the right people to come and join our team for a mid to long term period.

our sports outreach is growing and with our 40 week programme now in a format which can be rolled out into other areas we are seeking a longer term volunteer/s who can help run and coordinate our sports outreach programme which currently takes place in 7 different areas of grabouw each and every weekday afternoon. this could be an opportunity for an intern or recently qualified student, however before you get too excited there are a few things that you must consider, firstly you must be able to drive a 4x4 vehicle, this is how we transport most of the sports equipment to the clubs, many of which are run in areas where a normal car wouldn't be able to access, you would also be able to lead and stimulating an existing team of willing local mentors (volunteers), and finally and most importantly you would have a passion for children, especially those aged between 9 - 15 years, who we work with bringing life skills, health awareness and the love of Jesus via sports!

...there are other opportunities around social work and our wider children's work, this post or posts would involve supporting the current children who live with us at the village of hope as we seek to place them back into their homes in the community, most of our children have complex medical and social issues which means that this is a job with lots of pressure but is also so rewarding when it comes together with a successful reunification back into their families. with this in mind there is a need for this person/s to complete home visits to ensure the 20 or so children who have already been placed home are still healthy and being looked after by their carers in the community. helping out with support groups and stimulating the children who live with us at the village of hope is also a key area of this role.

if you are interested in coming to live in grabouw, south africa, and are keen to help support our work with those infected and affected by HIV, AIDS and TB in an area which is rife with these health issues, if you are someone happy to share their lives with our other volunteers in the self contained volunteer unit, and are self motivated and have a love of kids and empowering people then we would love to hear from you!

community works

healthy meals......happy patients
.......helpful volunteers

it's hard to convey just want we do do via the them thembalitsha foundation's projects here in grabouw, maybe you think that our work is confined to our village of hope children's unit and thembacare hospice work (both inpatient and outpatient) but a lot of our time is given to work in the community. this can be seen via our sports based outreach to over 200 children a week or our rainbow smiles club which our volunteers help with every friday afternoon, all of which remain within the foundations scope by providing healthcare, education or training, but with so much need on our doorstep and a plethora of volunteers who's hearts are broken for the poor and needy its really hard to remain focused and therefore limit our work to those infected or affected by HIV, AIDS and TB.

however as part of our support to the community i (tim) sit on the community police forum (CPF), and although it's hard to remember how one gets involved in such a wide way i do believe that God has placed us here to work with and assist the local community in various ways and with the basic education, provided by my secondary schooling in aylesbury that we so often take for granted, we have the skills and abilities to help in many different areas.

last week under our CPF 'projects' banner we were able to take over the daily task of providing a basic healthy meal to the 50 or so people who attend the day hospital to take their TB medication. the meal is vital for the medication to be effective and the day hospital are grateful to captain noble and a team of volunteers from his church who undertake this task each and everyday.

for us it was a once off and we were not only able to hand out this meal, which was made by one of our volunteers (pauline) and my mum, but also a leaflet informing people of some simple facts to enable them to live a safe and healthy life supported by our local police service. i was joined by a couple of the CPF members and four of our thembalitsha volunteers (three shown in the photo, which appeared in our local paper, plus katia) who got up early to hand out the food and documents, we prayed for each patient and found that we had so much food that we were able to bless all the patients who were attending the ARV (antiretroviral) clinic as well.

if you would like to get involved in our work either via prayer, volunteering or giving regularly enabling us to reach more people with practical and effective care then please visit our thembalitsha foundation web site

praying for our children

just chilling in the kitchen before dinner,
her favorite time of the day

on tuesday morning maz took our little two and a half year old girl into tygerberg hospital where she will stay for a few days whilst the team get her started on her ARV (anti retro viral) medication for her HIV. normally there's no need for our children to go to hospital to start this treatment but due to the fact that she is also on TB medication and has had TB meningitis then the staff want to observe her before sending her back to stay with us at the village of hope.

she is such a dear little (well not so little) thing, she copies everything anyone says and has really developed since she has been with us. please pray for her as she stays on her own and that there wont be any complications with the different types of medication.
we are longing to see her happy smile back with us again soon.

an update on our 11 year old boy is that he has now been discharged from the red cross children's hospital into our sister project, thembacare athlone, mommy maz visited him yesterday and he is doing a little better but he is still a poorly boy!

world TB (tuberculosis) day

today we are celebrating world TB day, TB (tuberculosis) is a constant threat to those living in dire poverty and with extended health issues such as HIV. please visit the Stop TB site here to find out more about this disease.

our town of grabouw has a huge problem with people infected by TB and our thembacare facility are doing all they can to combat the spread of this curable disease. unfortunately many of the people we are working with default on their medication which can cause further problems as the TB becomes resistant to the drugs, please remember those living with TB today and pray for the work that we and our sister project thembacare are doing.

The map shows the 22 nations who have 80% of the people living with TB today.

sisters reunited

Over the last couple of months we have been caring for two sisters who's mom has been receiving treatment for TB in a local hospital. This weekend we successfully reunited the family and whilst the reunification came a liTtle quicker than wee had hoped it is still wonderful to see a family back together again.

We are now able to take in another couple of children and we pray that God will send us those whom we can provide that much needed love and care for.

the plight of south african children

i was sent a link to this interesting article on the bbc website from one of the thembalitshauk board members, it tells of the story of so many children in south africa who are the only breadwinners in what are child headed homes.....and as you imagine homes in the affluent west, or even affluent cape town, please amend your thought to a tin shack with no running water or electricity which you wouldn't put your dog!.......click this link to read

funnily enough (well not so funny) we were only talking in our village of hope meeting yesterday about the plight of a 14 year old girl living in nearest squatter camp, who is looking after her brothers and sisters and has never attended school.....we were asked to help her, but how, we have so many other children who live with the same situation in our town.....

another interesting article on the bbc site, and one is at the heart of my concerns, is that of all the work that is being completed on the stadiums that will be used for the world cup and the infrastructure that surrounds that, as opposed to the governments concern on providing the promised new schools, basic housing, sanitation etc.........it's a mad world!

sick children and laptop found!

please could we ask you to join us to pray for our wonderful 9 year old boy, sorry can't provide names, who is not only infected with HIV but also suffers from alcohol fetal syndrome, has taken a turn for the worst and tonight we have taken him to a local hospital, 30 miles away!, for checks on possible TB or pneumonia........

....on a massive positive not the laptop that was stolen from a local home, see previous story, has been found in the 1.5million strong township of Khayelitsha..!.....amazing hey, the boy who lost it is over the moon and thanking God for returning such a precious item to him.

south african health!

living in south africa for the last 9 months has been a life changing experience in many ways, some preconceived ideas have been blown out the water, others challenged and still others were confirmed.

i (tim) have found it so hard living with all that we have right next to those with absolutely nothing, that could be possessions but also the health that we enjoy and the education that we take for granted...

many people have asked me if what we are doing is really making a difference, aren't 'the people' so set in their ways that they won't change?, do they really appreciate all you are doing?......and sometimes i ask myself that too. why don't these people change their ways, why do they continue to sleep around spreading this awful disease......however when you look at it so many of the people we work with and who we call neighbours have no chance to the news media that we have access to and here in lies a problem.

so much of our info now comes to us via the internet, tv and then radio.....we don't have a tv so i spend my last minutes at night and first minutes in the morning catching up with the news on the national broadcaster (sabc) for the local south african news and then a few minutes each day reading the bbc web pages for a fuller world picture.

the radio station often broadcast info about health, especially hiv, aids and tb and refer to a web site called health-e.......(which is well worth a look at here), the site is full of the basic info on these three major killers here in south africa however those who need to hear often don't have radio and defo no internet, or the education to read english, so how can they read up on this info......aaargh.

life over here is so unfair and as i pack my suitcase for a 6 week return trip to england today my heart is overwhelmed by the problems, are we really making a difference or just putting a patch on a gaping hole....for me i can say that the work is more than fulfilling, that the lives of the children living with us are being changed but we need more hands, more funds to really get the message out there into the communities...informing people of those basic things we just take for granted.....

world tb day.....

just to let you guys know that today is world tuberculosis day and what with grabouw sitting as number two in the world of new infection cases we are doing so much work with people infected by this disease.......the problem that we have is to keep people on the programme as if they default they will become resistant to the drugs and will be unable to be treated...good news for us is with the amazing work our careworkers are doing in the local community we have moved from the number one spot from last year...which is great news!