Nicole Kafka - Tulbagh Community Update
Posted by Susan Stefanyshyn
on May 30, 2016
Photo Credit: Wendy Scott
Nicole Kafka a volunteer for the Tulbagh Community in South Africa gave us an update on various activities that our Rotary in part is helping make changes in their lives:
Tulbagh, South Africa is a small farming village 90 minutes outside of Cape Town. The community is faced with problems such as poverty, addiction, abuse, early drop-out rates, early-pregnancy and a lack of support services. Tulbagh Community Projects works in Tulbagh to help address this issues and assist residents to reach their goals and lead healthy lives. Tulbagh Community Projects believes that the residents of Tulbagh have the passion and expertise to solve their own problems and helps connect them to the resources needed to do so.
Rotary City Rotary club has partnered with Tulbagh Community Projects since 2008. It has been a life-changing adventure for all of those involved in our community. The projects have become part of the fabric of the community and have had visible results. Below is an overview of our current projects and their role in the community.
Single-Parent Run Soup Kitchens:
Three women run soup kitchens out of their homes and receive a stipend each week to support their own families as well. The purpose of this project is to assist the women in providing for their own families and in turn uplifting them to serve and support the neighbourhoods they live in. We started with 3 women in dire circumstances and now through the program these women have not only build up their own families, but built up the lives of their neighbours as well: feeding, encouraging and supporting people as the project feeds, encourages and supports them.
Now: These three women continue to serve bowls of soup and bread to 250 children each week.
Educational support:
When we began, children were dropping out of school for the sole reason of not having the required uniforms and school supplies for class. Over the years, we have made sure that the most needy students have access to education without this resource barrier. We have even seen some of these students continue on in school, graduate and go on to post-secondary education.
Now: We continue to support children with access to uniforms and school suppliesin cases where their families are unable to provide these items. This allows all children to start school with pride, knowing they have the resources to succeed.
Sports Equipment Centres:
Over the years, children have been able to sign sports equipment in and out from various locations in the community. This has not only allowed the youth the ability to access healthy free-time activities and stay away from the negative choices of drugs and alcohol, but it has also been able to foster relationships between the youth and the coordinator, making neighbourhoods stronger.
Now: Although we have had difficulty lately finding locations for these sport centers, we would like to restart this program. With an increase in the drug and alcohol addiction rate in Tulbagh and the country at large, it is now more crucial than ever to offer healthy choices and guidance to our youth.
Emergency Assistance:
As in any community, building relationships of trust is the foundation of any project development. In areas with social-economic challenges, part of building these relationships means being able to be of assistance emotionally and financially in times of need. Tulbagh Community Projects believes in assisting community members meet their basic needs in times of trouble. This may be help with food, electricity, medical help, or counseling.
We would like to thank all of those involved in supporting Tulbagh through the last 8 years. The encouragement and assistance with resources has had an dramatic effect on the lives of all of those in the community.