Lifeskills for 8 children in South Africa - Pilot

Avuxeni, Minjane? Umfekile Minjani!

I hope you are well and enjoying life?

I have just returned from Australia where I was catching up with different supporters, sharing the work we do at different and new venues, and I have been blessed by people’s responses to the impact we are having.

I know I share this occasionally, but it really is amazing as I reflect back over where we have come from and where we are now. It has been an amazing journey of challenges and some defeats, successes and wins for the last 22years.

As I reflect, I came to South Africa as a volunteer palliative care nurse to work with the Department of Health and was seconded to a Home-Based Care Organization at the peek of the AIDS pandemic. It was confronting as you can imagine with the Minister for Health being adamant that garlic and beetroot would cure AIDS. Still, in all the chaos, the Home-Based Care Volunteers worked hard to care for people with HIV and their families.

During my first year with the other organization, we held a SWOT analysis (Strength, Weakness’s, Opportunities and Threats analysis) regarding the work of the Home-Based Care Volunteers. Their biggest heart ache was watching the orphans and vulnerable children drop out of school, get into drugs, alcohol, crime, sex and become infected with HIV and just perpetuate the whole devastating process.

It was from this SWOT that I was tasked to do “Something” and from there, KTD196 program for kids started. We had 13girls that where a pilot program, together Elizabeth and I started in the kitchen of my home, wrangling with this children’s project. Trying to shape and guide it into something that would be acceptable to more children and assist in accessing funding.

By May 2004 we had 60children, it was all working, and I was able to get some funding for training of more adults to start groups. By the end of 2004 we had over 1,100 children participating through out Greater Tzaneen Sub District and Volunteers were running the groups.

Since then we have had lots of different challenges including Volunteers from the original organization being prohibited from working with us, Drop In Centres closing due to lack of funding, communities accusing us of promoting satanism because our kids wear badges when they learn different skills, and just a lot of petty jealousy and negativity towards the program because we are making a huge difference and that affects the status quo and less than subtle decline in villages within which we work.

Because of our work poverty levels are improving, money lenders are not functioning as well as they were, Community Policing Forums are getting rid of dangerous characters in their villages, crime is reducing, wealth is increasing. Families are becoming functional, the children are becoming active participants in their communities. People are no longer feeling threatened and vulnerable and are taking stands against corruption just to name a few positives.

It boggles my mind that this is all happening and where we started, in my kitchen with nothing but a passion to see positive change in the lives of the children we work with. You have been a part of this journey; you have facilitated this work through your sponsorship. You can lay claim to all this work because of your support. We are only as strong as your support.

Now I look back over 22years at the fact we have 21staff, an office space, we are a professional organization and not just a little shoestring charity without support. We still have the same heart, the same passion, the same love for the work we do, we can just do it at a more professional level and track our impact more effectively, AND we are reaching far more people with sustainable change. Thank you for your provision and for trusting us with your hard-earned money. Thank you for believing in us.

Blessings

Louise

Links:

• Why not visit our website you are welcome to leave a message!
• Facebook is a great way to keep up to date with what we are upto
• You could browse through our YouTube Channel!

Avuxeni, Minjani? Umfekile minjane! (Hello, how are you? I am well!)

I love the work we do at KTD196, I love the passion by which people link arms with us and build this project. I am very humbled that so many people have the same dream and vision as I and come along side to assist us in realising that dream. I want to start introducing my team to you. Since I spoke last week about the SHG quarterly review I thought it would be fitting to share Nkulu's bio first as she spear-heads the project.

She is one of the many products of the work we do. She is an original member of our first scout group, long before Elizabeth and I quit our day jobs to do this work full time. What Nkulu doesn’t share is how she and her friends, with any free time, where out helping us grow the Scout portion of the project. Even when she went away to university, she would come home during her breaks and be an active part of the work we do.

Nkulu runs her own Pack (a group of 7-11yr olds) and continues to do so having helped 100's of children since 2013 achieve their goals and become leaders of the future. Nkulu also serves as the National Program Co-ordinator for Cubs in South Africa, so she is in charge of the Cub program in its entirety for the Nation.

I hope you enjoy her story, Nkulu is a product of KTD196, she is here, doing what she is doing, because of your support.

Blessings

Louise

My name is Nkululeko, and I am a vibrant and chatty young woman working for Keep The Dream196. I initially joined Keep The Dream196 in 2003, I was also one of the original 13girls that started KTD196 in under the direction of Louise and Elizabeth before KTD196 formally existed. I have been committed to this project ever since.

The reason I chose to be so involved is because a lot of children need guidance and mentorship, they need elders whom they can identify as role models and they can learn from. It’s not just a job but it has to come with passion and the feeling of having to want to help a child. I would encourage the youth whether you are a scout or not to help change a child’s life, to help build a better South Africa by grooming the small children into being the future leaders.

If we have a very strong foundation that is instilled in children, if they are groomed and led to the right path then we’ll have fought the struggle of having a better South Africa. It’s not only for the children but as an individual it is fulfilling to know that you have played a role in changing a child’s life and have given someone the chance to dream and to dream big.

In 2013, ten years later I was employed as a social worker in the project, and it has been an incredible journey. I am now the Team Leader for the Self-Help Group Approach (SHGA) Programme, and I also assist with the scout’s program, children are my passion.

I have had the privilege of facilitating parenting skills training and empowering young girls to build their self-confidence and overcome societal stigma. Currently, I lead the SHGA, working with nearly 2,000 women from various communities. These women meet weekly to learn about financial literacy through saving and lending money, as well as to discuss various topics that foster self-confidence. Our goal is to cultivate independent women who thrive in their lives and positively impact their families. The impact includes 70% of these ladies now have Income Generating Activities which are pulling them out of poverty and establishing them and their households financially, often for the first time.

My dream and aspiration is to see this organization and the SHGA expand beyond Limpopo and create a greater impact worldwide.

Links:

• Facebook is a great way to keep up to date with what we are upto
• Why not visit our website you are welcome to leave a message!
• You could browse through our YouTube Channel!