By Louise | Managing Director
WOW! The new year has begun with a bang! We are all back on deck and ready to confront all that 2025 has to throw at us! I am very grateful for the management staff who have all returned to work a week early in order to prepare for this coming year, such is their dedication to the vision and mission of KTD196.
Do you realise we are a quarter of the way through the century! I just realised how quickly time is running. At KTD196 we have entered our 22nd unofficial year and officially 18th year. We started the bones of the Children’s project in 2003 under another organization, but it wasn’t until 2007 that we left that NGO and KTD196 was formally created.
For over two decades we have been faithfully serving the children of Limpopo, it has been a road of huge ups and downs but your support and your commitment to our shared vision has enabled us to make huge in roads. Your financial contribution has enabled us to produce amazing results in the lives of the children and now adults we serve.
For example, there was a huge out cry by the Department of Health and Social Development over the high number of teenagers who delivered babies on Christmas day in 2024!
The health department said the number of teenage mothers dropped from 145 in 2023 to just under 90 this year. Three 13-year-old girls from Limpopo were among those who gave birth on Christmas Day.
On Thursday evening, Limpopo Premier Ramathuba reported that police had arrested a 28-year-old man, who is alleged to have fathered a baby born to one of the 13-year-old mothers, on charges of statutory rape.
Statistics show that more than 122,000 teenagers gave birth this past financial year in South Africa, with 2,716 young girls aged 10 to 14 and 119,587 teens aged 15 to 19 facing parenthood while still being children themselves.
At Keep The Dream196, for another year, we have had no pregnancies. In over two decades we have had 13 girls pregnant, with over 18,000 girls having gone through our program. Of those 13 girls, all were over 16yrs of age. Some, sadly were as a result of rape.
Our project is working hard to address this social issue in particular but also many others. Your support has been integral to our work. I was interviewed by DSTV because of our track record in this area. Below I have included a YouTube version of the interview. This program was aired nationally, unyet we still cannot get government support for the work we do and statistically saving the nation over R100million per year in not paying for Child Support Grants per year. Never lone hospital visits, follow up care for sick children (both child and teen mother) for many years to come.
That is why your support is so crucial! You are intrical to the work we do! You enable us to do this life saving work.
I am humbled and very grateful together we are changing a nation!
God Bless you as we journey into 2025 together!
Louise
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By Louise | Managing Director
By Louise | Managing Director
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