The Bulungula Incubator

For the Vulindlela Scholarship children: A new school – a whole new world!

Bulungula Incubator — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 12:15:15 +0000

It has been an exciting and often somewhat scary time for the 7 children who have taken up their scholarships atUmtataInternationalSchool. There was the sight of piles of new books that had been labeled and covered for them, bags packed with their smart, new, red, grey and white uniforms, new pyjamas, bedding …everything they could possibly need and more than they have ever imagined owning. This excitement and anticipation has been mixed with apprehension, of course, at the prospect of leaving their families, their homes and Nqileni village – every single thing that is familiar. But they set off bravely, buoyed by the good wishes of the whole community.

When Rejane and Nkuli visited them at school 10 days later, they found (mostly) smiling children who, according to their teacher, Mrs Ike, are getting along just fine!

Goodbye and Hello

Bulungula Incubator — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:27:52 +0000

The Grade R class of 2011 had a wonderful send-off at the end of last year. A special Farewell Party was held, attended by the parents, staff and all the other Jujurha Preschoolers. Each Grade R child was given a Jujurha Preschool Certificate and a brand new school bag to take to their new school! We are confident that they have each been given a firm foundation on which to build their future school careers and we can only hope that the State will ensure that every child’s constitutional right to a good education is realized and that they are afforded the opportunity to break the cycle of poverty as they realize their own potential for the benefit of all South Africans.

The new school year has started with a record number of enrolments at Jujurha Preschool. For all the new children in our 3 – 4 year old class, the first day meant entering a whole new world of exciting and stimulating activities in a bright and beautiful classroom.

It meant storybooks, toys, puzzles, blocks, crayons and a whole playground where interesting and fun-filled activities are the order of the day! It also meant being given and using a toothbrush for the first time, using toilets, learning about washing hands, lining up at mealtimes…..For a few children, it was a little overwhelming at first but they soon felt quite at home under the warm and watchful eyes of Xolisa and Nokonwaba, assisted by Nosihle.

The children of Nqileni are very independent and deeply secure within the community, with the result that even the youngest will walk to and from school every day without their parents. For some, this will be a 2 – 3 km walk each way, up and down the grassy hills, stopping here and there for a game or a chat!

Community Profiling

Bulungula Incubator — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 12:58:41 +0000

The BI is pleased to report that we’ve made big strides on the community profiling project. Since July 2011 Nomsingisi Hopisi, our Community-Based Care Worker, and Kate Rice, a long-term volunteer, have been going house-to-house in Nqileni collecting both qualitative and quantitative data on the families in our community. The objective of this data collection is to gain insight into the needs, circumstances, and concerns of the community, so that the community and the Bulungula Incubator can work together to best meet local needs on the ground.

The data that we are collecting covers a range of issues, from child mortality to material affluence (for instance, the number and condition of a family’s huts, and the numbers and types of livestock that the family owns) to educational attainment to hopes, aspirations, and worries for the future. This data is useful for many reasons. For example, through the profiling we are able to identify individuals who are having trouble accessing social grants and necessary medical care. In many cases Nomzingisi is then able to work with these individuals to try to access these much-needed resources. Moreover, collecting information on child mortality over time provides concrete insight into changes in infant and child mortality since the arrival of water tanks several years back. The interview survey itself was compiled by Kate, in consultation with Rejane, Nomzingisi, and Dave, and draws on Kate’s expertise as a doctoral candidate in medical anthropology.

This data is also useful, as we can compare this data to a partial baseline collected by Julia Cloete in 2006. Julia collected quantitative demographic data on many of our local families as part of her Master’s research project. Comparing these data sets will allow us to examine changes in affluence, access to services, and mortality over time.

The profiling of Nqileni village was carried out on a part-time basis, sandwiched around Nomzingisi and Kate’s various responsibilities at the BI. We’re now in a position, however, to devote more time and energy to profiling the other villages in a timely manner. The profiling project is now going to be Kate’s sole focus at the BI, and other local staff are being hired to work part-time as data collectors. We have now finished profiling 117 households in Nqileni, and as of the New Year have moved on to neighbouring KwaTshezi. We hope to be finished all four villages by the end of May 2012. We’ll keep you posted!

Kate & Nomzingisi, our community profiling team

School Uniforms for Scholarship Kids

Bulungula Incubator — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:06:28 +0000

In response to our scholarship fund appeal, the Resolve Group came up with a lovely idea that would delight the Vulindlela scholarship kids while bringing heart-warming xmas cheer to their clients.

It is a sad reality that we live in a country where the value of (yet another) corporate gift to thank our clients for their support and friendship might change the lives of some of our fellow citizens.

In recognition of this, the Resolve Group has, on behalf of our clients, made a donation of 99 items of school clothing as well as other forms of educational support for 7 children in the Bulungula Incubator scholarship program.

While we hope you are pleased about giving rather than getting this year… we know that Yonwaba Olo, Zethu Bonakele, Thulile Dodwana, Linathi Sitwayi, Asali Zintoyinto, Linewu Mukutwane and Zolile Dyubhele are delighted with their gifts!”

Thanks for making a difference to our project and our children.

Resolve, Encounter, Converse & Resolution Logic

And so we come to the end of another happy and stimulating year at Jujurha Preschool

Bulungula Incubator — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:44:44 +0000

The variety of activities in the classrooms is a source of endless fun and purposeful play whether it is dressing up as mothers taking their babies to the clinic …

where the doctor examines them

or becoming engrossed in playing matching games and doing puzzles….

or choosing books in the library prior to story time.

Siyasithanda isikolo ! We love school!

No ordinary kitchen!

Bulungula Incubator — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 10:36:32 +0000

Most of the children attending Jujurha Preschool come from impoverished homes where a balanced diet is a rare luxury. Thanks to funders such as Breadline Africa, we are able to offer healthy meals on every school day.

In lieu of school fees, all parents undertake to spend one morning a month preparing meals on our two solar cookers and a 2-plate gas stove: porridge for the children every morning and later a cooked dinner for 52 children and 20 BI employees.

Baskets of fresh vegetables are picked daily in our flourishing vegetable gardens. Lately we have enjoyed spinach, greenbeans, cabbage, onions and beetroot. The carrots, peppers and 3 varieties of butternuts are also looking good…

A Hop and a Skip to the Beach

Bulungula Incubator — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:58:10 +0000

The Jujurha Preschoolers make the most of living just minutes away from a pristineWildCoastbeach. On a hot summer’s day they make their way down the grassy hills, wearing their distinctive shweshwe hats, to play games, explore rockpools and play in the biggest ‘sandpit’ ever!

The ancient milkwoods in the indigenous coastal forest offer welcome shade.

Sack races, 3-legged races and shell-and-spoon races remain as popular as ever.

It’s all thirsty work – cooldrink and fruit end off a happy morning!

Getting Mobile

Bulungula Incubator — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:32:15 +0000

Nomzingisi and her dedicated team of Community Care Workers have made another small intervention with a big impact. Nomzingisi helps scores of community members every day to access social grants, pension fund payments and report relevant cases to social workers along with providing support in solving a range of other household difficulties. While this work is important and life changing for the people they assist, it’s not always exciting to blog about

But this week, they did something very heartwarming: with the medical staff from Madwaleni Hospital, Nomzingisi and team helped 2 community members from Tshezi Village to get mobile.

Bonani who was born with mental and physical disabilities at his home with Emily, the physiotherapist

Because Bonani was unable to travel, Nomzingisi and her team missioned to Madwaleni Hospital (a full days’ travel) and explained the problem to Emily, the physiotherapist. Emily immediately offered to visit Bonani and brought two wheelchairs, one that would enable him to sit comfortably during the day and move around his hut and another for travelling outside, around his village.

Bonani's Mother and Nomzingisi (far right) offload the wheelchairs

There was an eruption of joy at the arrival of the wheelchairs, just a week after Nomzingisi’s visit to the hospital.

Bonani, very happy, trying out his new outdoor 4x4 vehicle

While they were at it, Nomzingisi, thought she’d try to give an old man a new lease on life. Utat’ Mdeni has badly swollen legs and finds it difficult to move around. The hospital staff visited him after they had been to see Bonani and with medication and his new wheelchair, his quality of life has been improved significantly.

An old man gets a new lease on life

Keep up the good work Nomzingisi and team!

After-School Enrichment Program Update

Bulungula Incubator — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:17:40 +0000

The afterschool enrichment program for grades 4 through 6 at No’ofisi Senior Primary School is now well into its third term! Over the past few months we’ve explored a range of activities, from puzzles (pictured) to bead-making to sport to English language learning. We now average perhaps 25 children per week, most of whom attend regularly.

A particularly exciting recent development has been the addition of Nosihle Zintoyinto (pictured) to the afterschool program team. Nosihle is a member of the local community members who is currently working towards the NQF4 Certificate for Early Childhood Development. Her training has been funded through the BI. Kate (our Canadian volunteer, who has been running the after-school program at Noofisi since March of this year) has been training Nosihle since the beginning of this school term, and Nosihle will be taking over running the program in the New Year. She’s been a phenomenal addition to the team, and will bring a lot to the program in the coming year.

Despite these successes, there are some ongoing challenges. Poor teacher attendance and early dismissal of students continues to be an issue at No’ofisi, and most students –especially those who live far from the school- are not keen to sit around waiting for hours for the after-school program. Regular attendance of boys is also a real challenge, and one which seems difficult to overcome. Although we have strived to offer a range activities which should appeal to both sexes (puzzles, lego), boys rarely attend except on the special end-of-term days when we watch films such as Planet Earth and Eyewitness Mammal on the satellite TV. We continue to work towards overcoming these challenges.

R100 a month will change a child’s life – what a great xmas gift!

Bulungula Incubator — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 10:40:37 +0000

Our new scholarship programme was officially launched last month. We managed to raise some funds and have paid the deposit to secure the places for 7 children at a school in Mthatha. As we all know, transport and living costs are pretty high and we’ve realised that we need to build the fund susbstantially to ensure that the children have all their needs covered. By pledging just a R100 a month, you can help us do this!

Scholarship kids at our Preschool with Funeka, their teacher

Why not make the pledge your xmas gift to these children or make the pledge in a friend or family member’s name as a gift to them. You could even get your colleagues to make it the office gift of choice this year. Go to DONATE to make your pledge.

…and remember to get a Woolworths MySchool card and add Bulungula Incubator as a beneficiary BEFORE you get going on that xmas shopping!

To apply for your card online go to: https://www.myschool.co.za/supporter/apply/ or simply email your Name, Postal Address and ID number (passport number for foreigners) to rejane@bulungulaincubator.org and a card will be sent to you in the post.

For the full list of partner stores that you can use the card at, go to:

http://www.myschool.co.za/partners/partner-profiles

If you already have a MySchool card, you can add Bulungula Incubator as a beneficiary on your card on the website at: https://www.myschool.co.za/supporter/update/load_profile.php, by calling 0860100445, emailing them on cs@myschool.co.za or just email me at rejane@bulungulaincubator.org and we’ll do it all for you! You’ll need to quote your ID number and MySchool card number.