Dear Supporters; Volunteers; Donors and Prayer Warriors; Stakeholders
Wow, we are screaming down the highway to the end of the year.
Our numbers of children are still 30 although we have gained 4 new girls 3 of them from the same family. We look forward to getting to know them. Hopefully, our 4 matrics will pass and find places of study/work, which means they will move off the program, making room for more new children.
The sad news is that we have taken 3 children off our books as they were simply not responding and taking part in Hlanganani. We require school reports to be handed in and attendance at church and tutoring in order to better lives. If this does not happen, this shows us that they are not making an effort. We also asked a Home Based Carer to step down, as we felt that the example being set for the children, was not positive. It’s heartbreaking to do this but if we do not set the boundaries then the children will not think we are serious.
I’m very thankful for having the opportunity to take a closer look at Hlanganani. In the following, I would like to give you an insight into my experiences within this project.
One of the new things at Hlanganani is that we set up an incentive scheme that gives the children rules and orientation. Living after these guidelines will be rewarded with tokens that later can be traded for food, clothes, toiletries but also toys to sell for the children’s own businesses. Earning a lot of tokens could also mean being able to take driving lessons or a refund of the university and medical fees.
The main purpose of this is to motivate the children to make an effort and to take over the responsibility of their own lives.
Not only the kids but also the home-based carers got a list of rules that tells what is expected from them if they want to become (or stay) a part of Hlanganani which is really important to be a good example for the younger ones, however it is not easy for everyone to totally follow God’s guidelines since that often is not part of their culture.
Besides the positive things such as seeing that the reward system is accepted by the children and already bearing fruit, I also witnessed terrible things.
A few days ago a fire in Diepsloot burned down the shacks where some kids of Hlanganani live. They lost everything apart from a few clothes and their bible. Thanks to the donors they could at least be provided with blankets, pillows and clothes.
Photos from the burned down shack and its leftovers.
During the school holidays, we offered the kids to come to tutoring in order to work on the subjects they struggle with. For economics and accounting, we had John and Mike come over to assist. Nonetheless, the major problem mostly is not the lack of knowledge but simply the fact that these children are speaking English as a second language and with a traditional language that’s complicated, being able to understand the tasks given is not as easy as it might seem for African language speakers.
I want to thank all of you who made this a memorable time for me and who made me feel like home even if I’m miles away from Germany. I’m sure I’ll never forget the time I spent in South Africa.
We plan to visit the Zoo for the “end of year” party this year, some of the children have never been there. So watch this space for the photos of the party!!!!
We would like to thank all of you for your interest, love and prayers for Hlanganani.
Without this loving support, we would be nothing. May God bless and keep you!