Child sponsorship update from Port Elizabeth
26/03/2008
Update from May 2007
We greet you all from Port Elizabeth, the bustling seaport city, the gateway to the sunshine coast and frontier country.
We are in the second quarter of 2007, and autumn has arrived. The children are starting to wear warmer clothing to school. Winter is mild in our part of the country, with champagne days, and crisp mornings.
SOS Children’s Villages is celebrating twenty-five years in South Africa this year. We are proud of this big milestone.
We have admitted eight new children to the village this year and expect to admit another five children before the end of May 2007. These children are admitted due to nine youth being disengaged and reunited with their families. At present, we have ninety-six children in our family homes and fourteen youth in our youth facility.
Our first quarter school reports have shown some improvement in results. Eight children attend occupational therapy, seventeen remedial classes and twenty-three receive tutorial in mathematics, science and geography. We have an educational team that supports the children with their studies and identifies children with learning problems.
The summer season has seen a group of the children involved in training towards becoming junior lifesavers, which will allow them to be employed. Some of the children could hardly swim when they joined the life-saving club, and have made remarkable progress.
We have different dance groups in the village such as ballroom dancing; traditional dancing and we even have a Pantsula dance group; which is a dance that originated from the townships. It is very popular with our youth. Our children participate in many cultural activities at school and at church.
In January two of our youth girls were identified to attend a two year course at a college in Namibia. They are studying cooking and dressmaking. Although they are far from home, there is a SOS village close by. The youth leader in that village assists them in all their needs. We are very proud of the two girls and know that they will be able to find employment once they qualify.
Our Kindergarten has seventy-seven children at present and hope to have eighty pupils by the end of next term. As a fundraiser for the Kindergarten a debutant ball was held, which was a great success. The little girls wore white dresses and the little boys’ suits for the gala event. The community and parents supported the event wholeheartedly.
The Kindergarten continues to support thirty children with their scholarship programme. The programme assists those children whose parents have been affected and infected by HIV and AIDS. Our wellness programme for the staff is going well and will be a guide to the implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention at the workplace.
Our family strengthening programme has appointed an assistant who visits families where children are at risk of becoming abandoned or orphaned. We assist affected families at service points in different areas with soup kitchens, clothing, food parcels and counselling.
The family strengthening programme has started vegetable gardens in one area where destitute families can directly benefit. The vegetable garden will benefit the pupils at the school where the vegetables are grown; as well as the families who cultivate the vegetables.
We had a successful G.O.L.F. day in November 2006, and had more golfers participating than in the previous year. This national event has been growing for the past few years, raising awareness of the organisation.
In March, we had an event called Reach for the Stars where we acknowledge children who excel despite their challenging circumstances. We had nominees from our two SOS villages in the Eastern Cape and the surrounding community. The children who won in each of the three categories, sport, cultural and academics will be going up to Johannesburg for the gala event.
It is early into the second term, and the school exams and college exams are looming. Thank you for all your ongoing support and kind interest in our children. We are proud of our village and the work that we do. Please feel free to come and visit when you are in our beautiful country.
Werner vd Westhuizen
Village Director
Sponsor's update from Mthatha
Update from April 2007
We once again send our wishes of good health to you and your families from our beautiful country in the region of Eastern Cape, South Africa.
The SOS Mthatha Village is currently providing a home to 120 children and 19 youth. We admitted another two children at the end of December 2006, a 14 year old girl and a boy of 8 years. They have adapted well to the Village settings. We sadly lost one of our young girls on the 25th of January this year. She suffered from asthma, had an attack and passed away.
In our youth houses, three boys who successfully completed Grade 12 in 2006 have proceeded to tertiary studies, two at Boston College doing Public Relations and Information Technology, one at the University of Fort Hare doing BSc pre-medical. Another youth is studying second year Journalism at Rhodes University.
On the 21st March 2007 we attended the ‘Reach for the Stars’ programme that was held at SOS Port Elizabeth Village. This biennial event celebrates the achievements of the children and youth both from the village and community. Two boys from Mthatha Village received trophies and they will go to the finals to be held in SOS Cape Town Village in September 2007. We are also looking forward to celebrate our centenary of 10 years on the 25 May 2007. Our children are also involved in the traditional dance with a community group and they are participating in many events including a trip to India in June 2007.
One SOS Mother is in the third year of study towards the four year BTech Child & Youth Development qualification through the University of South Africa. Seven SOS Mothers are studying towards the pre tertiary qualification in Child & Youth Care with the National Association of Child & Youth Care Workers. Other trainings are being arranged to empower the staff that will then be in a position to offer an improved quality of service.
SOS Primary School maintains sound relations with the State Education Department. The school submits quarterly and annual school progress reports to the Department. The school held a prize giving ceremony which was well attended by parents and the community to witness their children’s achievements. The learners participated in circuit athletics and 16 of them went through to the district athletic competitions; four of our learners won medals (2gold & 2silver) and went through to regional competitions; two learners won gold medals and went through to the provincial athletics where one of them was awarded with a bronze medal.
Learners are preparing to take part in competitive choral music with other schools. Other events are arranged to help increase the level of participation in recreational activities.
The School Governing Body has been elected and the broader community is well represented.
The SOS Nursery School provides services to 85 children from age groups 3-4; 4-5 & 5-6 years (5 from SOS Village, 14 scholarships from the Family Strengthening Programme and 66 from the community who pay fees). The service is based on Early Child Development and Special Needs Educational programmes. This is supported by SOS Nursery School extra curricular activities which stimulate confidence and builds the young children’s self esteem. Some of these extra curricular activities are included in events for fundraising.
The Family Strengthening Programme has started a food garden project with people from 32 households in the community. This project is aimed at providing fresh vegetables for consumption and for them to sell as an income generating project. Some households are being supported to help them start their own vegetable gardens.
We have forged partnership with a community based organisation that renders home-based care services to those who are chronically ill.
We convey our sincere appreciation for all your generosity, which brings hope for a brighter future to our children.
Yours sincerely
Michelle King
SOS Village Administrator
Relevant Countries: South Africa.