End-of-Year Party
Ready, set, go! A line of laughing teens ran full speed towards the pool, then jumped in giving it their all. We were at our end-of-year holiday celebration enjoying some lovely South African sun at a wonderful big public swimming pool. The majority of children had requested that they be able to swim at their holiday party… so we delivered!
The little ones splashed in the baby pool, slightly more adventurous ones tested out the shallow end, whilst the teenagers hung out by the deep end. The children relished sausage rolls, chips, cool drinks, and watermelon for lunch. Then they finished off with a lovely refreshing ice lolly. We were so thankful to Enoch, Sharose, and her family (from Junction Church) for coming to help with the day’s festivities and for keeping the children entertained!
The day ended with the children receiving individualized Christmas gifts kindly given by different members of the Junction Church family. They were further blessed with a gift bag of new clothing items donated by The Master’s Table. As the children packed into the taxi to head home, huge smiles were spread across their faces… the perfect sign that the day had indeed been successful!
Empowerment…One Loop at a Time!
It was such a blessing to have some of our supporters, Bob Jensen (The Master’s Table) and his daughter Laura, from the US, come and visit us. During their stay, Laura hosted a fabulous class, teaching some of our guardians how to make mats. It was a joyous occasion with lots of laughter, and chatting, as well as a lovely array of scones with tea made by our very own HBC Nonhlahla.
With this newfound skill, the guardians are now able to make smaller mats to sell as well as larger mats for children to sleep on. Given that all they need are pre-used sheets/material and the crotchet needles gifted to them, they are now empowered to have another avenue in which to bring in an income for their families.
Gold Reef City
One of our fabulous volunteers, Phumlani, kindly gifted Hlanganani with some tickets to Gold Reef City! How to determine which kids got to experience this amazing treat? Easy… bring in our ongoing desire to see the children improve in their schooling. Two children were selected from primary, middle, and high school. The first selection was the child who had been performing well consistently throughout the year, and the other who had shown significant improvement from one term to another.
The children buckled down and worked hard. Some were so determined to be able to win this grand prize. When the winners were announced the whole group roared with applause and happiness for the ones they all knew wanted to win the most and then got a “golden” ticket to go! Hard work certainly does pay off.
It was a wonderful day all around… lots of rides, yummy treats, and happy smiles. A “competition” and reward we definitely hope to be able to do again next year!
Saying Goodbye
After several years of our Diepsloot Daycare being in operation, firstly known as the “Flying Eagles Academy” and then more recently as the “Golden Naartjies Academy”, we have decided it is time to close the doors on the daycare. Our two little ones in Hlanganani who attended the daycare, graduated from preschool this year (yay), and are now heading to Grade 1.
The heart behind opening the daycare was to help empower and support the community in which it is located. At this time, we are looking at other ways in which the property can be used to best benefit the Hlanganani children and the community of Diepsloot. We are so grateful to all of our Home-based Carers, who throughout the years have poured in countless hours of time, energy, and dedication into the young children who played and grew at our daycare.
Saying Hello
It is with much joy, that we welcomed Lungile Ngwenya to our team this year. As the husband to Sharon, our Child & Family Co-ordinator, he was already very much aware of all the ins & outs of Hlanganani. As a wonderful man of God, he has been such a great addition to our team. Especially coming in to mentor and disciple all of our boys… who so desperately need a strong male role model to lean on and go to for advice and support. We are excited to see our boys grow closer to God under his counsel.
Looking Back, Looking Forward
Throughout the year, we have striven to not only ensure the children are provided with ongoing mentorship and care from our invaluable Home-based Carers at their homes/schools but also have the space as a group in which to learn new biblical principles and valuable skills to help them succeed as they journey in life. Together, young and old, they have planted seeds, painted, molded with clay for the first time, had a singing lesson, and been coached on soccer skills, to name just a few topics covered this year.
We have watched as many have come out of their shells, others have taken on the challenge to improve in their schooling, and still others have sailed as they received glasses and reading lessons. We have certainly encountered many challenges along the way this year, as not every step has been a smooth one. However, the Lord has always been found faithful as each hurdle was crossed and we continued to grow as a team through them.
Watching the kids enjoy the huge blessing of swimming at our end-of-year party… big smiles and constant shrieks of laughter made us eager to see all that the Lord has in store for next year. There are many children on our waitlist eager to receive the support the others do. As we welcome Ruan (and his wife, Bianca Serfontein), Lead Pastor at Junction Church, onto the Board of Directors as well as Kirsten Gray we are excited to see Hlanganani ‘get together’ and grow more and more as the Lord ensures His children receive the love, care, and suport they need.
