As part of our community outreach programme we May 7, 2013

As part of our community outreach programme we try to involve the mothers of the preschool children as much as possible.   We do this by the mothers taking turns to cook the children’s lunches (in lieu of school fees) and also by attending regular workshops and meetings.   As you may be aware the preschools have an organic garden attached to them to provide fresh vegetables for the children’s lunch.

This months workshop was on the importance of nutritious food.  We are hoping to encourage the mothers to set up their own vegetable gardens at home so that the children have a plentiful supply of nutritious meals.  Three beds were cleared in the garden, one for each classroom. The mothers attended a workshop talking about the importance of vegetables in the diet, and then came out to the garden and were shown how to plant seedlings. Each mother planted a seedling in the garden ‘belonging’ to her child’s class and the children will now water and harvest the plants in the coming months. An enjoyable and informative day was had by all.

Clearing up after the storms April 29, 2013

Not only was there significant structural damage to the area (see the last post) but also cosmetic damage. The beaches look very different with huge amounts of wood from the felled trees and all over the area you can still see the effects of the storm. The small river that runs behind the BI offices had also flooded and deposited litter all over the road.Thankfully help was at hand with 50 willing pairs of hands and a few big rubbish bags.

The Jujurhu preschool children went out for an hour and transformed the look of the place. It also taught them a good lesson about how much better somewhere looks without litter!

If only all the after effects of the storm were as straightforward. We have spent much of last week compiling lists of the damaged property and sending them to the relevant government departments. We’ll keep you posted with the progress.

Storms hit Bulungula April 22, 2013

A weekend of storms (around 400mm of water in 30 hours) has done a lot of damage to our villages.   As far as we know, thankfully no lives have been lost, but 42 dwellings have been wrecked in the Xhora Mouth Area (where the BI is situated).

The road from here to the tar road was impassable on Sunday due to flooding and a huge tree coming down.  We’re hoping that should be cleared soon as the sun is out and the roads dry fast. 

We are currently assessing the extent of the damage as we will need disaster relief assistance as soon as possible from the government to fix the road, and to mend the huts as for many people this will be their only dwelling.

Making the best use of, and making, resources April 10, 2013

The preschools are very fortunate in being donated resources to help the children learn through playing. These are greatly appreciated and enjoyed by both the children and the teachers. We have recently sorted through the storeroom to organise the games and puzzles into age appropriate groups so that they can be even better used.  As many of the teachers did not play these games when they were children, we have spent some fun afternoons playing the games (eg memory games, dominoes, lotto and snakes and ladders) and working out how we could use them best with the children.  The teachers showed a healthy competitive spirit particularly during snakes and ladders.

These sessions are taking place at the same time as Funeka (the school principal) is running workshops on how to make your own resources with the Jujurha teachers and the other teachers that are being trained here at Jujurha. This has included making containers and musical instruments and improvising to make the games that we don’t have.   We are going to be doing workshops on games to help with auditory perceptioin, visual perception, numeracy and literacy and hope that this will be an inspiration for more resource making.

How to use wages wisely

Phumzile arranged for a man from the Old Mutual Foundation to come and give a talk to the teachers, BI staff and the essential oil workers about how to manage and budget their money. He did an excellent presentation where he gave us the ‘Big Five Secrets of Money Management’.

1. Secret of the Lion: Pay yourself first, live off what is left
2. Secret of the Leopard: Create a clear financial vision
3. Secret of the Elephant: Learn what you earn, know what you owe and spend
4. Secret of the Rhino: Charge down your debt
5. Secret of the Buffalo: Protect your assets and make your money work for you.

He encouraged us to save ‘as much as possible’ and talked about different methods of saving. He warned against loans and credit by showing the shocking difference between how much money you borrowed originally and how much money you finally paid back. He allowed plenty of time for questions (mostly about how do we make more money!) and gave us all booklets with further information and budget plans. Everyone said that they found it very useful and enjoyable.

Rural Skills Centre building update April 8, 2013

The construction of the Rural Technical Skills Centre is progressing with 3 apprentices plus one translator already working and one more apprentice to soon join them. The apprentices are learning a variety of skills while building the centre, such sustainable building methods, carpentry and metalwork, permaculture and organic farming, sustainable water management and renewable energy installation. At the end of their apprenticeship they will be able to start their own businesses and provide their expertise to support other projects.

Early days

Building in progress

The first floor of the building is already build and stone floor is completed in the bathroom.

Stone floor

The skills the apprentices will acquire are all important for the local community, for example building with natural local materials, compost toilet management, permaculture gardening, solar power installation etc. This way the project will be long term sustainable and the trainees at the centre will be able to establish their own small scale enterprises.

 

NACCW Isibindi training for our Home Based Care Workers

During the last few months 16 of our CWP workers have been training to become Child and Youth Care workers and just this month they completed the Cluster 1 of Isibindi training by National Association of Child Care Workers (NACCW). Cluster 1 consisted of 5 Modules focused on child and youth rights, development, support and care. They were taught to provide care for all child development aspects, such as physical, emotional, social, cognitive or spiritual. They also are able to demonstrate and teach the parents specific routines about nutrition, hygiene, safety or games to engage with their child. Training on HIV/AIDS care and support to people on ART was also included in this Cluster.

Lulamile, our NACCW trainer      

During the training

They had 5 weeks of intensive training and a thick assessment book to fill. Managing to complete the cluster is an important achievement for our caregivers, as some of them struggle due to their limited education. During the previous months they visited all households and collected information on the number of old, sick and disabled people, the children or any other individuals needing care. So we are really proud of them as they all completed the Cluster and already started visiting households with children in order to observe, assess their particular needs and help when necessary.

Study group to fill the assessment book after the training was over

Soon they will receive the Mentor Mothers training, part of the Philani outreach programme, during which they will be trained in ante-natal and post-natal care, nutrition, breastfeeding support, HIV and basic child health. They will start working with pregnant women and continue to care for them at least until their baby becomes three years old.