Message from Andy Russell in South Africa

 

 

 

 

Phakamisa Projects

P.O. Box 31
KIDD'S BEACH
5264 South Africa
Phone: +27 (0)43 7811133
Fax: +27 (0)86 500 6377
Email: colleen.jm@iafrica.com
P H A K A M I S A P R O J E C T S
Registered as a Non-Profit Organisation: No. 030-375 NPO
Registered with SARS as a Public Benefit Organisation: No. 930029289
.
Over this six month period an over-riding concern
of the Committee has been funding. With
the completion of our seventh project, Masakhula
Crèche, our finances are at a low ebb.
Another on-going problem occupying our minds
has been the great need there is for personnel
at the preschools to be appropriately trained.
We have had both greater and lesser success
in these areas of concern:
Training:
Our dedicated search for a suitable training programme
for our preschool ladies was rewarded
in July when we became aware of Lynne Hobbs
in East London who had developed a training
course for preschool teachers which she runs
all over the South Africa. She agreed to put
together a course for our nine participants and
supply an isiXhosa speaking facilitator to guide
them. The course started in September and ran
for 10 weeks of 1 x 2-hour session per week.
The headmaster of Kidd's Beach Primary
School helped us enormously by allowing the
course to be held in the art classroom every
Wednesday afternoon. Attendance was good
and the course was completed on time. It remains
only for the participants to complete their
Portfolios of Experience for submission to the
assessors from SETA and 21 hours of practical
observation in a registered preschool facility.
This will be done early in this new year. The
course has been designed to cover 24 of the
most practical units of the 140 units required for
a full NQF level 4 qualification. On successful
completion the ladies will be awarded a certificate
accordingly.
Sophakama Day Care Centre
(Ncera Village 3)
.
An excellent example of the value of training is
this little school in Ncera Village 3 near Kidd's
Beach. The building was built by Phakamisa
Projects as our second project in 2004. Initially
staff was untrained and little enthusiasm and
activity of educational value was evident. Once
Phakamisa Projects' Jenny and Patricia became
involved in helping with daily activities
(see our last News Update), and with the 2 staff
members attending the training programme,
enthusiasm and daily activities have improved
immensely. Even the building itself has taken
on a bright and cheerful look!
Funding:
Several approaches have been made to various
organisations for funding but there has been
little success.

.
Over this six month period an over-riding concern
of the Committee has been funding. With
the completion of our seventh project, Masakhula
Crèche, our finances are at a low ebb.
Another on-going problem occupying our minds
has been the great need there is for personnel
at the preschools to be appropriately trained.
We have had both greater and lesser success
in these areas of concern:
Training:
Our dedicated search for a suitable training programme
for our preschool ladies was rewarded
in July when we became aware of Lynne Hobbs
in East London who had developed a training
course for preschool teachers which she runs
all over the South Africa. She agreed to put
together a course for our nine participants and
supply an isiXhosa speaking facilitator to guide
them. The course started in September and ran
for 10 weeks of 1 x 2-hour session per week.
The headmaster of Kidd's Beach Primary
School helped us enormously by allowing the
course to be held in the art classroom every
Wednesday afternoon. Attendance was good
and the course was completed on time. It remains
only for the participants to complete their
Portfolios of Experience for submission to the
assessors from SETA and 21 hours of practical
observation in a registered preschool facility.
This will be done early in this new year. The
course has been designed to cover 24 of the
most practical units of the 140 units required for
a full NQF level 4 qualification. On successful
completion the ladies will be awarded a certificate
accordingly.
Sophakama Day Care Centre
(Ncera Village 3)
.
An excellent example of the value of training is
this little school in Ncera Village 3 near Kidd's
Beach. The building was built by Phakamisa
Projects as our second project in 2004. Initially
staff was untrained and little enthusiasm and
activity of educational value was evident. Once
Phakamisa Projects' Jenny and Patricia became
involved in helping with daily activities
(see our last News Update), and with the 2 staff
members attending the training programme,
enthusiasm and daily activities have improved
immensely. Even the building itself has taken
on a bright and cheerful look!
Funding:
Several approaches have been made to various
organisations for funding but there has been
little success.
July -December 2012
Large funders like the National
Lottery and the My School Project see us as too
small an organisation for them to fund. There
are a couple of approaches still out there that
we are hoping will be able to help. In the
meantime in November and December we held
two fundraising events to help swell the funds.

Banking Details: Your contribution to any of our projects will be most welcome.
Bank: FNB; Branch: Vincent Park 211021; Account No: 62196726932; Type: Cheque Account. (Swift Code FIRNZAJJ for foreign donations)
Should you make an internet donation, please advise us by email as we would really like to acknowledge your contribution.




A series of Fundraising Teas is being organised at various
venues around East London. The first of these was held in
November at Baubles & Bling Coffee Shop. An amount of
R600 was raised from just 25 guests and the help of the
sponsorship from the Coffee Shop. More of these mornings
will be organised at other venues in the new year.

A Wine Tasting Experience and Art Exhibition was held
over the Christmas holidays in Kidd's Beach. Grace-Ann
Gates presented several quality wines giving advice on wine
appreciation. The Art Exhibition was opened during the evening
by Terry Flynn from East London's Anne Bryant Art Gallery.
A delicious finger supper was provided by the committee
and lots of other helpers. This event raised over R6000.

Ncedolwethu Day Care Centre

The new kitchen takes shape alongside the old one.


It is with great sorrow that we have to tell of the death
of one of our committee members recently. Jenny
Hetem who spent many hours advising day care centre
staff, helping set up the training programme and participating
in lots of different ways, passed away after a
stroke earlier this month.

We miss you, Jenny

Thanks to the on-going generous support of the Rotary Club
of East London, who gave us R55 000 to spend on this project,
we were able to help this preschool by building a new
kitchen for them. They had applied and been on our waiting
list since June 2010. Their major needs are to replace both
their old and dilapidated classroom and kitchen. With this
funding we were able to make a start in helping them with a
much better and more hygienic kitchen building.

A brief history of where it all started
In 2003 one of our founding members, Lu Holdstock, received
a request from the Kayser’s Beach Primary School
for help “to build a shack” to house a Grade R class at
their school. The teachers recognised the need for the
children entering Grade 1 to have the benefit of a preparatory
programme. These children come from a rural, poor
community where little opportunity exists in their home
environments for their ideal educational development.
Lu took the request to the Kidd’s Beach Branch of the
Cape Women’s Agricultural Association (CWAA) who
formed a subcommittee to start off the project.
Phakamisa Projects was formed from this subcommittee
to continue with the work.
At the Kayser’s Beach School, instead of just a “shack”,
funds were raised to provide two ship’s containers to
house a Grade R class and day care for younger children.
To combat the heat, roofs were built over the containers,
and East London Rotary Club built suitably sized junior
toilets. In addition to planting indigenous trees in the
grounds, we also provided outdoor playground equipment
for this now well established Educare facility.