Desperate Times call for desperate measures!

Dear friends

You are now reading a letter that I had hoped I would never have to write.

The reality is that Sikhula Sonke is in financial trouble and we urgently need your help. Since we first opened our hearts to the women and children in Khayelitsha in 2001, we have always lived from hand to mouth. Thanks to the generosity of our faithful supporters and by the grace of God we have deposited and invested R3,2 million in our training and support programs since inception. But in this tough economic climate, it is becoming increasingly difficult to raise sufficient and timeous funds. At the same time the demand for our programs increases as the impact of our training and support is felt across the pre-schools of Khayelitsha.

New doors are opening for us to begin reaching out to the 80% of children and parents outside of Early Childhood Development Services, and new partnerships are being formed with other NGO’s working in our area.

Please be assured that we are always proactive about finding new donors and supporters. We have been instrumental in drawing up a Khayelitsha District ECD Plan and in the formation of the Khayelitsha ECD Stakeholders Forum, and we have requested financial support from Government for the execution of this plan (we are still waiting for a decision) which we are 100% committed to. We have submitted proposals to the National Lottery for the last 4 years and along with the South African Education Trust have taken them to court for rejecting our application and appeal for spurious reasons (the Court date is set for the 18th of May 2010).

We continue to do whatever is within our power, and we have faith that in the medium to long-term, our financial situation will be much healthier. It is in the short-term that we need urgent help.

Currently we employ 8 staff members at a total salary bill of approximately R60, 000 per month. Please will you consider making a once-off donation or becoming a monthly donor? We are a Public Benefit Organisation and can provide you with a tax certificate.

And once again a very big thank you to all those who have given and continue to give.

Yours in community service,

Wendy Wiemers

A report on our work with the ECD Assistants 2009/10

Sikhula Sonke has continued to strengthen and grow its capacity as community development champion and as service provider in community of Khayelitsha. In the beginning of this year, Sikhula Sonke was presented with the greatest opportunity by the Department of Social Development to facilitate the process of the of the development of the ECD assistants (previously known interns) to acquire skills in all the relevant area around early childhood development, while at the same time focusing on developing the Early childhood development plans for our Khayelitsha Social Development district office. This has been performed in consultation with all the ECD stakeholders in Khayelitsha. The ECD assistants have played a crucial role in these activities and given them an opportunity to learn and gain more experience.
This has been a great experience with lots of great things to be proud of, with successes and achievements to celebrate. It has also been very strenuous, hectic and a very challenging with lots of learning opportunities as well. It is our responsibility as the Sikhula Sonke team and the DSD district office to be accountable and serve the stakeholders of the ECD field to our level best and beyond. This report will provide a more in-depth of the activities and progress of the ECD Assistant’s project.

10 ECD Assistants were placed in Khayelitsha Social development District office in June 2009. Out of 10 ECD Assistants, 8 of them were new in the programme and two of them were already working in the programme at the district office. One ECD Assistant was placed within Sikhula Sonke’s offices after three of them were offered a contract of employment by Sikhula Sonke.

Sikhula Sonke and the Department of Sikhula Sonke has invested in the PROFESSIONAL AND CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT TRAINING OF THE ECD ASSISTANTS by training them in the following:National ECD guidelines; the Cycle of community development; Children’s rights and the Child’s Care Act; Child Trafficking by JUSTICE ACT; Communication and leadership; the Minimum standards for ECD; a Knowledge building seminar on Early Childhood development by UNICEF and Psycho-social support training by OLIVE LEAF FOUNDATION.

The main tasks of the ECD Assistants involve:
•Visiting ECD sites to assist the unregistered sites meet the minimum requirements / standards so that they can be registered.
•To encourage and ensure proper delivery of the ECD programs in the centres.
•To report on issues around child safety and protection
•To assist those who need to re-register their ECD Sites.
•To take part in the general admin duties of the Department of Social Development.

Sixolile Mxunyelwa started in September 2009. This was Sixolile’s first job in his entire life and he was not sure what to expect from a professional world of work. A week after the educational seminar in Paternoster (West Coast) the real work started both at DSD and on ECD sites. He pushed so hard in assisting the educare principals to such an extent that he only has 4 unregistered centres under his name. Most of them are registered and looking at assisting the registered one with improving their standards.
“I learnt both from my colleagues, my co-ordinator and from Sikhula Sonke ambassadors on how to conduct myself professionally. The knowledge building seminar organised by UNICEF contributed a lot in empowering myself around Early childhood development, thanks to you Mdebuka of Sikhula Sonke”

Masilakhe Mahlombe also started with the programme in June 2009. Sikhula Sonke introduced Masilakhe to the concept of early childhood development. Masilakhe was glad to meet other ECD assistants at grassroots educare trust from various district offices of the Department of Social Development. He understands perfectly the goals of the EPWP to reduce unemployment through this programme and prepared himself to learn as much information as he can.
“ We have experienced what working in the ECD field is like and Knowing that the children are the valued members of the community”.

Concluding remarks from Mdebuka Mthwazi, the Program Manager of Sikhula Sonke:
"The level or the degree of synergy and professionalism that these ECD Assistants have shown in this project has given me the hope that after this project, most of them will make professional characters. It has not been easy to lead this project from both Sikhula Sonke’s side and the district office side. We hope that in the New Year the channels of communication will improve from these partners for the sake of the development in this project.

A very big thank you to our Argus Cyclists

I would like to thank those special people for raised funds for Sikhula Sonke while completing the strenuos Argus Cycel Tour. I estimate that approximately R17,000 was raised in total. And of course a very big thank you to all those who gave generously! The hero of the day was definitely Superman Frank who raised just under R13,000! Thank you Frank.

Patch work quilts for sale

We are making and selling patchwork single and double quilts and other items with African traditional materials (shweshwe fabric). Please contact Wendy to place an order at +2784-467-1163 or wendy@sikhulasonke.org.za

How can you help?

Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development
Khayelitsha


According to a recent report, of South Africa’s approximately 19 million children, more then 43 per cent live in violent or unsafe environments. Within the Western Cape the numbers are no better and the situation is compounded by the fact that fewer than a quarter of under-six year olds receive formal pre-schooling. The statistics may seem disheartening and the challenge insurmountable, but Sikhula Sonke is one of many wonderful organizations channeling their energy and expertise into making a difference to the lives of pre-schoolers.


As an Early Childhood Development organisation, Sikhula Sonke ECD believes that parents and caregivers are uniquely placed to protect and promote the rights of children and to support optimal development during the early years. To equip them for this crucial role, Sikhula Sonke seeks to build capacity and to provide quality training, support, monitoring and mentoring.


Educare practitioners are able to register for FETC ECD Level 4 training, which gives them the tools, knowledge and confidence to deliver preschool education to the children in their care. Additional training is also offered covering topics such as financial management, health (including HIV/AIDs), accident prevention and nutrition. Through the monitoring programme, trained monitors visit educare practitioners in their pre-schools and help them to put their learning into practice on a day-to-day basis, providing ongoing support and mentoring and assisting them to get their pre-schools registered with the Department of Social Development.


Training for parents and caregivers focuses on empowering them to play an active role in nurturing their own child’s advancement physically, emotionally, socially, as well as educationally. The emphasis is on building the skills and capability of parents, helping them to understand how young children learn and develop, and teaching them how they can most effectively contribute to this vital life phase.


There is a desperate need for high quality pre-school education within highly vulnerable communities like Khayelitsha and Sikhula Sonke’s important work has to date reached over 65 educare centres that together care for 4000 children each year. Sikhula Sonke means ‘we grow together’, and this truth can be seen being lived out daily through the organisation’s work, as parents, carers and educators together make an enduring difference to the lives of hundreds of children, providing them with the firm platform they need for success in later life.

We need:

1. Money:

- for the upgrade and furnishing of an educare centre (approx. R45,000 per school)
- for the training of an educare practitioner (R12,000 each)
- for the creation and planting of sustainable food gardens at the pre-schools

Items:

- paper, crayons, arts and crafts materials, puzzles, books and toys
- Computers and office equipment

Time:

- to organise and support fundraising events
- to make patchwork quilts for our "Sewing for Sustainability" project
- visit our Coffee Shop in Khayelistha and see our work.

Contact: Wendy Wiemers, 021 683 9440
wendy@sikhulasonke.org.za www.sikhulasonke.org.za