By Louise Batty | Managing Director
Greetings
How are you? How is your family?
Recently, you supported a small project to assist us to take 250 kids to camp. Well I am happy to say that despite funding limitations we were able to take 150 kids to camp. I just wanted to thank you and also to remind you that #GivingTuesday is due to start @0001 EST on the 27th November.
This #GivingTuesday @GlobalGiving is dividing $150,000 in matching funds among its nonprofit community members. How much we get depends on how much you give! Help us win big.
One of the many things I am excited about for the start of the new year is deciding how best to implement the extra resources from Global Givings Giving Tuesday appeal. We have a new program called Meerkats for children aged between 5-7yrs that we would love to start. We also want to strategically plan expansion to our current program and impact more children than ever before.
Impact such as:
1) Reduced teenage pregnancy from 13% in Limpopo to 0.07% in our program sustained for 16years
2) Matriculation pass rate is 62% in Limpopo, in our program it is 92% for 10years
3) Nationally 12.7% of all natural deaths amongst children are suicide; we have had 0% suicides in our program
4) 70% of the 20million (or 14Million) South African youth are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of assault, robbery, rape and murder than adults. We have had one child while in our program out of over 12,000 in 16yrs be arrested. He was then found unable to stand trial because of incompetence.
4) All of our children have to go to school to be a part of our program; children actually drop back in to school to take part in our program.
Once again I am asking you to assist us in our work to change lives and impact families and communities.
On #GivingTuesday The more money we raise in comparison to our peers on GlobalGiving on the 27th November 0001 EST; 0700 Pretoria time and 1530 Adelaide time, Global Giving will match this amount giving $150K in matching funds, so as you donate we get a double share! Can you help?
Also, if you start a new monthly donation any time from now until December 31st, Global Giving will double your first donation. These are all ways you can maximise your gift to the children of Limpopo Province. You will know your donation will make a difference in the life of many children for life!
Thank you in anticipation of your support
Louise
The causes of crime are complex. Most people today accept that poverty, parental neglect, low self-esteem, alcohol and drug abuse are all connected in explaining why people commit crimes. Some people are simply at greater risk of becoming offenders because of the circumstances into which they are born. For example: 40% of sexual offences occur in the home; 33% of assaults happen in the home; single black women experience high levels of abuse and murder by youth aged 15-35yrs of age.
We understand that Criminality is learnt through exposure at home, school and in social environments which should be the sources of safety, nurturing and support, unfortunately this is where criminal behaviour is internalised. 70% of the 20million (or 14Million) South African youth are more likely to be victims and perpetrators of assault, robbery, rape and murder than adults. 50.2% of surveyed children in one research said they had knowingly committed a criminal offence by the time they were 15yrs of age.
It costs between R45,625 to R133,805 to incarcerate one prisoner.
In 16years, with over 12,000 children who have come through the program Keep The Dream196 has had one child criminally involved with the police and because of his age deemed incompetent to understand the seriousness of his crime.
Keep The Dream196 is impacting youth in such a profound way that even though our kids are living in poverty, struggle with parental neglect (which we also address through workshops with the parents) and exposure to alcohol and drug abuse, our children have such self esteem that they look past these challenges and look forward to their dreams becoming a reality.
This is only possible through your support. Join us. Together we will change families, communities and my dream, the nation of South Africa.
From Ronny
Before I joined the Childrens Program from Keep The Dream196 I was somehow like a terrible young man.
I was the kind of person who like swearing at other people. I was a person who liked going out to the streets with my friends during the night and we’d mock everyone who passed by and laugh at them regardless of their gender or age.
Lying was always on the tip of my tongue. If I did anything wrong at home and my parents would try to rectify my mistakes I would get angry with everyone and go away and come back when they are sleeping (I was very short tempered and not very friendly to other people).
I and my friends had taken to beating other children as a very fashionable style and we would beat them up for no good reason. The worst thing about me is I was a great gambling animal. I would steal any of my parent’s cents and rob out their change when they would send me to stores or shops so I could gamble with the money. I would play dice with older people.
The older people who were my friends would force me to drink alcohol and have many girl friends, so I did because I wanted to be with them because they gave me money to gamble with if I didn't have any.
So Keep The Dream196 childrens program has changed my life completely as I am away from these hectic things I was doing in the past. I’m no longer fooling around with my old friends, Scouts has made me have good friends. I am glad I’m away from those bad things because the only thing that was left was for me was to start smoking and start dying from AID’s as I was already drinking. My future looked very bad, if I continued I would probably end up in Jail for theft, mugging people or dead from choosing some one who was armed when I tried to rob them.
I spoke to Ronny recently, he is the IT support manager for a Old Mutual a large insurance company in Johannesburg. Ronny has also started his own Non Proift Organization to support children in Alexandria a dangerous township in JHB.
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