Topsy Foundation NPC

Challenges faced in the last 12 months have taught us to be flexible and think out of the box. As a result, we are able to do more for the community. 

Responding to community needs 

Food security has been highlighted as a major issue in South Africa. The communities we work in are no different and as The Topsy Foundation is one of the only non-profit organisations in the area, we continue to supply food parcels to supplement existing vegetables from the food gardens we helped establish in the community. Groceries are bought by Topsy and our staff put them together. We also receive some from one of our partners,  Rise Against Hunger. Providing these food parcels not only means that the community has food security, but have also kept them safer as they were less likely to leave their homes every day, putting themselves in harm's way to put food on the table, limiting the chances of contracting the coronavirus at the peak of the pandemic. This is important because Dipaleseng has one of the highest HIV/AIDS rates (31%) in the country, thus more people in the community are at high risk.

One of our beneficiaries who receive the food parcel, Mamokete who is an 80 years old granny and lives in Siyathemba with her four grandchildren and great-grandchild. Mamokete qualified for our Orphaned and Vulnerable Child (OVC) project because she is elderly and heads a household with orphaned children. Topsy has been assisting her with vegetable seeds, rice packs from Rise Against Hunger which she says Topsy is a great help as she has no other source of income either than her old age grant. The rice packs she receives together with vegetables she grows help provide nutritional meals for her family which allows her to save as much as possible. She no longer has to ask for food to feed her grandchildren, now she picks from her garden.

The effects of the pandemic will be with us for a long time to come. As a result, we have incorporated COVID-19 relief into our Holistic Early Childhood Development programme. Increasing our beneficiaries of the Food Security Project, we now feed 7000 individuals, providing families with food parcels, seeds comprising of carrots, onions, spinach, cabbage, tomatoes and beetroot.

The criteria for choosing these families are as follows:

* Child under the age of six (6)

* Orphan

* Single parent

* Foster parent

* Persons living with a disability

* Elderly person

* Or be a Child headed family

The families receiving these food gardens are empowered through training and mentorship provided by a trained and experienced Topsy staff member.

Many children between the ages of 0-6 years old were affected when the lockdown regulations led to the closure of Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres to prevent the spread of the virus. The result of this means that the children in our community who are already disadvantage due to socio-economic issues in their communities would fall behind in their physical, emotional, cognitive and social development. Bringing early learning and stimulation to the home was one of the ways to mitigate. We have identified 900 of the most vulnerable children and provided food parcels and ECD resources which include books, Duplo Lego Blocks with a parental guide and a handout with stimulation ideas.

Now that children are attending ECD centres under lockdown level 2, we have found that a high number of them are falling behind. To help children catch up, we have provided ECD Practitioners with an enrichment training course. The course adds to their existing qualification, equipping the practitioner with more tools and activities to make learning more fun and exciting for the children. The children will learn quicker and retain information longer.

Parents are provided with support in the form of small workshops to assist them with the ECD resource kits and general parental stress they may have been experiencing. Other interventions include the provision of hand sanitisers, masks, other essential sanitary products and teaching on the prevention of the coronavirus.

The past year has shown us that together we can do more. That is the spirit that has got us through the challenges we faced.

2019/20 financial year was one full of change and progress for The Topsy Foundation, with the appointment of a new director and implementation of a new programme to provide additional support to parents and caregivers in the communities of Dipaleseng. We worked tirelessly to promote our mission of providing disadvantaged rural communities with the support and tools needed to raise happy, healthy, and capable children. We welcomed new staff, increased the impact of our work, and have been building partnerships that will have a lasting and positive impact on our communities.

The essential package of services in the critical early years of a child's development consists of the following pillars:

• Early learning and stimulation
• Nutritional support and education
• Parental and caregiver guidance and skills
• Health screening and growth monitoring
• Psycho-social support

Despite the ongoing challenging economic climate, we are incredibly proud to report our achievements during the period, which include:

• Our Early Childhood Development (ECD) Programme continued with its support to 27 centres. Through our holistic activities which include practitioner training, access to our Play and Learn Centre and health screening, we increased support to 1850 – 2000 children per month.
• Our community workers continued their home support and visited 80 households per month.
• Our Food Security project continued to steadily reach more beneficiaries reaching a combined total of over 5,900 beneficiaries per month through our individual and community food gardens.
• The Women's Health Programme continues to be a significant advantage to the communities from Dipaleseng. A constant average of 45 females receives pap smears monthly and all women in need of colposcopic biopsy treated in our centre.
• All Early Childhood Development programme staff received refresher training from Protective Behaviours south Africa (PBSA). PBSA is a practical, empowering approach to personal safety. It is a process that encourages and develops self-confidence alongside skills that help us avoid being victimised. This is achieved by recognising our personal concept of safety, trusting our intuitive feelings (early warning signs) that tell us when we are feeling unsafe and developing strategies for self-protection. 

An impactful new programme "Caregiver/Parent Capacity Building" was implemented to extend our reach to more families and provide care and stimulation to children who are not attending ECD centres. Unicef designed the programme, and ELRU facilitated the training of Topsy staff. The training took place in September 2019. The training gave our team the skills and knowledge to build on the existing experience and abilities of caregivers whilst covering the following topics:

• Health and nutrition
• Play and creativity
• Physical development
• Social development, emotional development and confidence building
• Intellectual and language stimulation
• Child safety and protection
• Healthy family relationships
• Positive discipline
• Grief and bereavement
• Me, the parent/caregiver

Topsy employs 29 staff members who are well qualified and experienced to work across the various life-changing programmes we deliver. Most of the staff are recruited from the surrounding communities; therefore, they know the challenges faced by beneficiaries and can respond to community needs sensitively. 

We've been continuously growing and learning through our involvement with growing networks. Our success is the community's success. With the ongoing support of donors, partners, staff, board, and volunteers, we are ready for the challenges and achievements ahead in 2021.