Sept '11 Update

News

At Zandondo the weekly Go Go’s (Grandmothers) lunch club has continued with discussions including HIV/AIDS, family issues and child rearing.

GoGos in Zandondo talk about family issues over lunch (click to enlarge)

The formalities. To make it easier to work together the people working in Zandondo at the Esibukweni Preschool and with the Gogos have registered the charity called Sicalo Selikusasa Lelichakazile - The start of a bright future. It will be this charity which Swazi Children works with to develop the project.

A new Peace Corps volunteer has been assigned to Zandondo, about a month ago. The Swazi name she has been given is Wamu, and she has attended some of the lunch club sessions.

There is so much potential to support the ongoing work in Zandondo including developing the site and building, supporting the childrens education, and growing food in the school gardens . Swazi Children is continuing to raise funds and explore opportunities for further grants.

While Swazi Children continues to offer support on the ground to the current activities in Zandondo the Trustees are continuing to develop a more formal project and strategic plan. To inform the project development so we can be sure that not only are we being as useful and supportive as possible but also secure a successful project application we need to develop a plan based on hard data (e.g. numbers of children of appropriate age in the Zandono catchments requiring support, costs of site development and building). This data collection will be done in collaboration with the new Sicalo Selikusasa Lelichakazile charity and Wamu the Peace Corps volunteer.

Fund Raising

Did you know your old jewellery can still raise a sparkle? One of our Trustees received a cheque for £5.50 from Fundraising Co Ltd from Sutton Coldfield - the company which recycles jewellery.

Envelopes are available for distribution so please contact us if you’d like an envelope to send off your old bling.

The same company supply boxes so various items can be recycled e.g. phones, foreign currency etc and the proceeds given to the charity. Again if you think you know where you could put a box like this to raise funds for Swazi children (your corner shop? clubhouse?) please contact us.

If you do have any donations please make cheques payable to: Swazi Children.

Background to the project

Swazi Children has a great opportunity to join hands with an emerging initiative at Zandondo, to strengthen this and build on it. In this way we can maintain our original purpose to assist children being badly affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS in a rural community in Swaziland. Zandondo is a community in east Swaziland where there is a small project already being established where we have good contacts and can get involved and support it to grow. It has similar objectives to Swazi Children.

The vision is that the community- based centre will be a focal point to establish a lunch club and support centre for Grandmothers (Gogos as they are called in Swaziland) and the orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs) they support.

Zandondo District has an existing pre-school/library in use by many of the people in the community. Swazi Children is currently funding a Gogo’s lunch club. These Gogo’s are responsible for the care of an OVC. The small Gogo’s ‘Lunch Club’ currently meets just once a week where Gogo’s receive a meal and are being introduced to Early Childhood Care and Development educational sessions and discussions.

We are also planning to provide a weekly lunch at the pre-school for all children ensuring all OVC’s are included. As we get funding and a clearer idea of the numbers of people who need support we will increase the number of days meals are provided and develop a longer term programme of support. Our local contacts will be working with Swazi Children to help inform us in making funding applications.

During 2011 Swazi Children will fund the building of a simple shelter at the site which will house a cooking area and a seating area for the Gogos and children. Swazi Children will pay for an appropriate technology stove and a water harvest tank from the roof. This shelter would be a Phase 1 development to be followed by Phase 11 which would include a new classroom and storeroom. Phase II will depend on raising funds from further applications and will have a longer term plan regarding the layout: the Gogo shelter; new classroom and store; office and a garden (for vegetables).

At the moment (June 2011) this is the current structure.

The aim is that the Gogo building will become multi-purpose i.e. it will be used by the adults and the pre-school children at different times of the day for different purposes – to be a forum for the grandmothers; a place where children can play safely; read their library books; have nutritious meals and be part of an extended ‘family’ group.