Child Protection South Africa Project #22124

Leadeship Skills for 50 orphan and vulnerable kids

A microproject by Keep The Dream196

Project Report | Aug 6, 2025
6 Cluster Level Associations - and counting!

By Louise | Managing Director

Avuxeni, minjane? Umfekile minjani!

Good morning, how are you? I am well thanking you! It is rather chilly in South Africa at present but apart from that, we are all well and powering on.

Every week I have an opportunity to write and update about the work we are doing and the impact we are having, I love sharing the work we do, the stories of the children and adults we serve, I love seeing the changes we bring, it is so exciting, it spurs us on to greater exploits. We have a huge vision and mission. We don’t think small!

VISION

Keep The Dream196’s vision is to create a world where children, women and families have the resilience, and have access to the knowledge, skills and support they need to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances.

MISSION

Our mission is to use a rights-based approach to holistically empower children, women and families by providing life skills training, and self-employment opportunities to break the cycle of poverty, dependency, and by empowering individuals to become active contributors to their own prosperity and also to the well-being of society.

You have partnered with us to bring real change.

And that is what we are doing!

The Self Help Groups are currently at 120 groups with approximately 2,100 women and families represented and supporting over 5,500 children. That is through your support. Over 70% of the ladies have small businesses and are no longer dependent on loan sharks or government to meet their needs. They are doing it themselves.

We have now organized 6 Cluster Level Associations made up of 8-10 SHGroups, this level is about me and my community, bring change at village level. By the end of the year we expect to have 9 CLA’s in total. Now we are bringing change to not just me and my family but now me and my community.

This is because of you! Your support is essential. I hope you are as proud of the work we do, that I am. Last week I was in Pietermaritzburg attending a workshop on the 3^rd Level of this program, that of Federation creation. Federation is about me and Province, bring structural and policy changes to bring change. KTD196 is leading the way in South Africa regarding the Self Help Group Approach. You should be very proud of the work we do and the impact we are having, our Institutional donors are!

I am grateful to you, for being our partners and being part of our Community of Supporters!

Blessings

Louise

My name is Mihloti I am from Shiluvane village, I joined Keep the Dream 196 in 2021 June for SHGA program as a Community Facilitator. Every journey begins with a direction and a step it was not easy because we knew nothing about the program, and I was unemployed. I am grateful to be working and be part of this program.

It was a challenge in the begining with the program, because it was still new but with the training that was given to us by the organization and the support we have received I was able to learn and master the SHGA program.

We started by understanding the program, next, facing the community and the Indunas, which are community leaders, they thought we were scammer’s wanting to scam them, explaining it to them properly our aim and mission they gave us a chance to run the SHGA program and that was the start of our program.

4 years later here we are, running the program with women who want financial freedom and to change their lives and communities and day by day we are working together for the good of community development. Now that others have heard and seen the change in other women’s lives, they just invite us to explain the program and how it works and when to start. Many times women wait by the side of the road, to see us come, they want to be a part of what we are doing because news has spread. Opening groups are now very easy because we have 4yrs of doing right by the ladies we work with and they want to spread this program.

I am very happy to be part of Keep the Dream196 and the SHGA program, because we are changing, touching lives of so many families and reducing debts from the loan sharks many women are free spending and saving within their budget, they now have enough groceries and can now buy school uniform clothes, for their children and built better houses or restore their old ones.

Many, many have started small business's, which one day at a time are growing, from the savings of the SHGA program.

Thank you, Keep the Dream196, for the opportunity to bring change and touching lives one day at a time, I am grateful because I have grown as well physically and mentally. I am now a better person, am now patient and understanding and every day we are learning something new from the groups of women’s and the topics we are discussing in the groups. I am very proud of the work we do. Thank you from Mhloti

Mhloti

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Jul 30, 2025
Camp Feedback - Skills Development

By Louise | Managing Director

CPR Practice

Avuxeni, Minjane? Umfekile minjane!

Part of the allure of camp is that we get to take the children through an in-depth process of skills training and development. There are many different skills that we take the kids through but I am going to highlight a couple here today.

We implemented Leadership Development Course Level 1 & Level 2, this is where the children get to work together as small groups, learning about group dynamics, communication, teamwork, and complete various activities. The activities include hiking, map reading, building a shelter, and many other fun tasks.

It is wonderful to watch the children grow and develop and become confident as leaders. Often the naughtiest child is the best leader, however also some of the quietest children step forward and command respect. The transition is great to observe.

One activity that the children love is learning first aid. Its not all theory it is practical as well. In the video attached below, Benji and Kallie show you how they have been taught to treat an emergency requiring CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation). I have also included in the photos, the learning outcomes of the training before a skill is mastered and a badge earnt.

We utilize cascade training to ensure the older children teach the younger children, you cant teach what you don’t know is our philosophy, so we ensure the older children know their skills and are able to teach effectively. We build on each level of training until the children can instruct other young people to complete their learning objectives. It is a fabulous way to train.

As you can see, from the level and depth of the learning outcomes, what we do is very challenging however regarding first aid, it can be life saving so we cannot cut corners.

I hope you enjoy the video’s you are welcome to leave messages on YouTube.

Thank you for making this possible

Blessings

Louise

Learning Requirements for First Aid

Learning Requirements for First Aid part 2

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Jul 23, 2025
Camp Feedback - Girls Sex and Sexuality

By Louise | Managing Director

Avuxeni, Minjane? Umfekile minjane!

I cant believe it, after months of preparation, the camp is over. The build up is always exciting, attending camp is always a challenge because of the cold, some years more so than others! Either that or I am just getting old, and that cant be!!!!

Now that it is over, and we have had a break, we are starting to plan our next camp in October and the excitement is building again. This time it will be in the warmer months which is fabulous. Not that the kids care, they just love getting away and learning new things and experiencing new adventures.

I shared last week about BOYS2MEN training and how well that went. I would love to share about the girls Sex and Sexuality Training however, it was considered as sacred women’s business, I was not allowed to listen in, I was not allowed to take photos or hear any of the comments. So sadly, I have nothing to show you, however over 30 girls did attend. What grieved my heart was that some of the girls from our partner organizations are sexually active which goes against what we stand for. This was discussed at length, unpacked, and examined. This is so desperately sad, and underlines how important the work we do is.

We have not had a teenager pregnant since 2018.

This is amazing and a testimony to the work we do, however sometimes it feels like we are fighting a losing battle with culture, expectations, peer pressure especially with our partners. Because of financial restraints we cannot visit our partners as frequently and reinforce the scout laws and promise. The recent girls training reflects the change of attitude we have identified. Some of the girls are dating, dating translates to having sex. In this culture that is the only reason to date. It is very sad, relationships are not developed, friendships with the opposite sex are not encouraged, sex is the only language of relationships.

The work we do is so important. Thank you for helping us to continue with this quite extra ordinary impact. The financial support you give enables us to change culture, change perceptions, change the future. At camp we realised how important working with both boys and girls is, how developing friendships and respect for each other is paramount.

Thank you for making such a difference. Thank you for seeing the impact and being willing to step up and hold hands with us, to produce this change.

Louise

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