Help Educate 22 Children in Zandspruit, S.Africa

Dear Thandanani Friend

If you recall in my last report I indicated that we desperately needed to find an alternative venue for Thandanani due to the dangers of our environment, and that some possibilities had opened up that were looking promising, well I am very pleased to report that it is all happening. The house that we had seen could only be purchased if we were able to sell our current property, and that process was dragging, but a local church stepped in and bought the new property on our behalf, so we’ll be taking occupation (rent-free) as soon as the legalities of transferring the property are complete, and as soon as we’ve been able to complete the Government’s red tape to transfer the Children’s Home from one location to another.

I had hoped that we would be able to move in by the end of the year but it would appear that the legalities will take a bit longer, and beyond the red tape we will need to make some modifications to the house to make it suitable for our purpose, so with a bit of luck we may be able to move by end-February 2023.

There is a great excitement amongst our children and House Parents at the prospect of moving and although the move is at least 3 months away, some of the packing-up process has already started.

Once again we want to thank you for your support over many years, but would like to highlight that we could really use your support once again as we seek to raise the funding to cover the cost of the move, and to make it as smooth a transition as possible.

Please take a look at the attached photos of the place we’re moving from, and of the property we’re moving to, which can accommodate all 22 of our children.

I’ll keep you posted in future reports of our progress.

Kind Regards

Paul

Links:

• Thandanani House of Refuge

Dear Thandanani Friend

As highlighted in my last report the challenges of living in Zandspruit (the area where Thandanani is located) has been increasing on a monthly basis, making it an undesirable place to be raising children due to the many harmful influences all around us. I also mentioned that we needed to find a new location, but that in itself was easier said than done because the possibility of selling the current property seemed impossible given the nature of the area. And then of course we had to find a suitable property, in a reasonable area, for an amount that was affordable.

But as the lawlessness notched up a level in the past few months we knew that a new home was no longer just a wish, it was an imperative, and we had to act.

In the past 6 weeks, two almost miraculous events occurred within days of each other. A friend approached me and said he knew of a property that was for sale that would suit Thandanani perfectly, and after inspecting it we agreed, but what about the funding? And then a few days later I was approached by a property developer who was interested in buying our current property, and although the deal is not done yet we are hopeful that it will be concluded within the next few months.

So our hopes are high that we will be able to move to new premises before the end of this year, and be assured that our children will be in a safer environment.

I’ll keep you posted in future reports of our progress, not forgetting to thank each one of you for your support over the past years.

Kind regards

Paul

Links:

• Thandanani House of Refuge

Dear Thandanani Friend

In my last report I mentioned that four of our young people had completed high school and were hoping to study further based on their much awaited results. Well I am happy to give you the feedback that all 4 passed their final exams and the status is as follows:

• Palesa is studying Teaching after donors came forward and covered her first year fees.
• Manana is studying Hospitality after receiving a 100% bursary from a local company.
• Esther is studying a course in Early Childhood Development.
• Xoli passed his exams but was disappointed with 2 of his subject marks which prevented him from entering the course of his choice, so he is busy preparing to re-write these subjects this month.

Apart from the 4 young people above who have just graduated from high school there is also Zyna who has now entered into the 3rd year of her IT course, at which she is thriving, and hopes to be able to become independent next year and move out on her own. And Sam who accepted an internship at a medical research company studying Covid.

We have a serious challenge at Thandanani with respect to where our home is located as the lawlessness around us continues to escalate, to the point where it has become an imperative that we find an alternative location. This of course is easier said than done (especially the cost of such a move), but we’ve started looking at alternatives, and will keep you posted.

Once again many thanks for every contribution you have made.

Kind regards

Paul

Links:

• Thandanani House of Refuge

Dear Thandanani Friend

Well 2022 has arrived and it brings with it a new set of challenges, but also new hope.

January marks the start of a new school year, and as we have mentioned many times before the hope for our children is a good education whereby they can rise above their circumstances and plot a new course for their lives.

Four of our children completed high school last year and all of them are hoping to study further:

• Xoli hopes to study Engineering next year and is eagerly awaiting his final school results, as well as funding applications that have been made on his behalf.
• Palesa hopes to study Teaching and is also eagerly awaiting her results.
• Manana has enrolled to study Hospitality and is just awaiting the confirmation of her funding.
• Esther has enrolled to study an Early Childhood Development course which will equip her to work at a Kindergarten or Nursery School.

It should be noted, that due to Covid, the last 2 years of tuition for the above final-year students has been less than satisfactory, hence the apprehension about their results, and in an effort to assist them with their final year exams we received the voluntary assistance of a group of teachers and ex-teachers who gave up their time every Saturday for about 2 months to give extra coaching - a huge thank you for their assistance.

Your support helps us to help them achieve their dreams, so once again many thanks for every contribution you have made.

Kind regards

Paul

Links:

• Thandanani House of Refuge

As I look back on my reports over the past 18 months it seems that Covid has featured in almost all of them, and I guess it’s a sad reflection on the state of the pandemic worldwide and the disruption it has caused to everyone, not least to Thandanani. I previously reported that we had managed to evade any Covid infections at the Home, but sadly it eventually caught up with us in the last 3 months.

Xoli, who is in his final year of high school, was in the midst of writing his mid-year exams when he tested positive and had to stay at home. But not to be outdone he was able to continue writing at home under supervision, and then to make sure that he didn’t pass any virus back to his teachers, the exam papers were hung out on the washing line for an airing, from where they were collected in due course by our house manager and returned to the school – definitely not an everyday sight to see exam papers on a washing line.

The access road into Thandanani is rather rough to say the least, so it was not surprising when one of our 2 vehicles (which was 12 years old) finally decided to call it a day. As our public transport system is less than adequate we had no choice but to start looking for a replacement, otherwise we’d have had a problem getting the kids to school, visiting the doctor, doing the shopping, etc. So we are now the proud owners of a new Suzuki Ertiga which can transport 7 children, however, it was not an expense that we had anticipated this year, so it has put a strain on our financial resources.

The South African economy has been hit hard by Covid, and the knock-on effect is that many donors are thinking twice before making a donation, resulting in many charities taking strain, and in fact some have had to close due to the reduced income. Thandanani has felt the pinch as well, resulting in our income being somewhat lower than the same time last year, plus we’ve had the expense of the vehicle, so if you are able to assist it would really be appreciated.

As we move out of winter and into spring (in the southern hemisphere), and as the 3^rd wave of Covid seems to be receding rapidly, we look forward with renewed hope and optimism to what the future may hold.

Kind Regards

Paul

Links:

• Thandanani House of Refuge