Farming project fills many mouths

Stephen Ngakane and a new crop of tomatoes

  The Carryou Ministry farming venture At Vleikop, on the outskirts of Randfontein, has been a roaring success. The summer harvest is drawing to a close and winter crops are now in the ground.
 "Not only were we able to provide fresh, healthy, vegetables to feeding programmes run by Carryou Ministry but we also supplied cabbages, spinach, beetroot and carrots to a nearby creche and to around 60 members of the local community, who assist in the vegetable garden," says caretaker and overseer, Stephen Ngakane.
 "It is my goal to be even better and produce more this year. All the vegetables are grown organically, using cow manure supplied to us by a neighbour and I can honestly say, we have succeeded in making a positive difference in the lives of many.
 "Many of the crops we hope to harvest in winter are planted and, as we've learned a great deal since starting this programme, I am confident we will do even better this year.
 "It is my hope and dream that soon, we will be able to farm more of the land we have, as there is a lot of poverty in the area and a great need to provide food for the hungry," says Ngakane.

And we're done!

 After much hard work by the Carryou team, who built and erected the tunnels themselves, the structures are now complete.
 "We are delighted," says Carryou Ministry General Manager, Rev. Lawrence Mabaso. "The guys did a wonderful job.
 "We are in the process of trying to arrange some training in the relevant farming methods and are looking forward to being able to supply fresh vegetables to our feeding programmes."

Growing food to feed the hungry

Carryou Ministry was recently given a ten-year lease on a small holding at Vleikop on the outskirts of Randfontein.
 "We are deeply grateful and will be using the property to cultivate and supply vegetables to our feeding programmes," says a delighted Rev. Lawrence Mabaso, Carryou Ministry General Manager.
 "There is also a house on the property that we plan to use to house vulnerable children."
 The ground has so far been rough-ploughed and tunnels will be erected shortly.
 "We've received an aid grant from the US Government to help get the project underway," says Rev Mabaso, "but we are looking for someone with farming experience who can provide us with mentorship and training."
 The project is designed to provide food for Carryou Ministry's feeding schemes, generate income from the sale of surplus produce and provide employment, training and skills for a small number of unemployed people.

Sue's report

Sue Heywood is a US citizen who is deeply involved in not only raising funds in general to help with Carryou Ministry's work but also has been instrumental in getting US sponsors to help specific children and families. She recently visited Carryou Minstry, as well as many of the kids and families she has come to personally know over the years. Of the reasons she did so, was to see what the current needs are and to report back to the US sponsors.
 This is an extract from her report. To respect the privacy of many of the people concerned, we choose not to publish the names of some of the aid recipients.

 When I was there in early October I was again aware of how much our funding achieves. While I was going round the homes and schools this time, I was able to buy three months supply of milk for an orphaned baby whose grandmother had run out of milk and money to buy it, food for a number of hungry families whose shacks showed no evidence of anything for today's meal, paraffin for cooking and text books for school. I also brought  with me two bags stuffed tightly with beautiful clothes, some jump ropes and frisbees! I always first asked Rev Lawrence whether the money I gave would be a help and appropriate. The joy it brought, I wish you all could see. Thank you for your past support of this wonderful organization.

Photos from October 2012

At the Toekomsrus drop in Center, table tennis which was bought by a friend in New Jersey last Christmas. The caregiver was teaching a long line of eager kids. To the right on the floor a small crowd played monopoly and scrabble!

Finger board was equally popular

 ***** girls wearing T shirts donated by Tuxedo Library. They live in a one room outhouse on a farm with one bed. They were hoping for a government low cost house, but so far nothing has happened.

More T-shirts for the ***** family. Their caregiver  (in blue) tries them for size.

Martha Come is one of the most promising people I have met. She is taking every opportunity offered to her through the DIC, her church and her school. She is going into 12th grade. She and her brother live on an orphan grant of R250 a month...about $35. Carryou is applying for further assistance for them. The neighbors showed me several sheets of corrugated iron which they had bought to repair Martha's roof which leaked in many places.

Next door this grandmother was very happy with a new T-shirt.

***** is another girl whom I have watched develop and have hopes that she may improve her conditions through her own efforts. The youngest of three sisters, she has seen both her parents die and just recently her eldest sister. She seems healthy, and grateful for Carryou's support.

 **** ...a sad little boy. I couldn't get a smile out of him. When you see the home situations it stresses the urgency for Drop in Centers, creches and extended school programs. There's such a 'nothingness' about life in a squatter camp.

Pamela Serage went with me on the first day. What a joy she is! She is working in Gauteng hospitals, putting an orphaned cousin through college and plans to support one of Carryou's orphans when she has finished paying for her cousin's education. Our sponsorship of her has really changed her life and she is now giving back.

***** still smiles but her teacher says she isn't doing well at school because she is frequently absent. She walks 5 kilometers to school across dirt roads and scrubland all by herself. No wonder she doesn't always come. I keep thinking about this little girl and wishing I could do more.

I admired the construction of this house. It even had a porch.

Rev Lawrence Mabaso was with me in Tshediso's house, a low cost government house left to him by his aunt. Tshediso was studying for his first year's law exams but Carryou told me that he can't afford the text books to study. I was able to help.

Setholele Primary School Several of our sponsored orphans attend this school. Behind me is ******, another young lady with some spunk and promise!

With Brenda Naholo, the orphan manager and coordinator, sorting out the bags of clothing I had brought and deciding who would get what.

If you would like to help Carryou Ministry please contact us.

Fresh bread every day

 All over the world charities face an uphill struggle to raise sufficient funds so they can continue to do their work. In South Africa charities and N.G.O.s are finding it increasingly tough as over 15 million people rely on Government for social grants in order to survive.
 There just isn't enough Government money to go around.
 It was this in mind that Carryou Ministry decided that they needed to find ways to become self-sustainable and the idea of opening and running a bakery was born.
 "It's a way of generating income and also supplying bread to our feeding projects," says Carryou General Manager, Rev. Lawrence Mabaso, "in addition it will create jobs for eight people and impart valuable skills."
 Late last year application for funding for the project was made to the National Development Agency for the cash needed to purchase the necessary equipment for a bakery to be set up at the Toekomsrus Drop-in Centre in Randfontein.

Bakery Manager, Anna Mogase

 R350 000 (approximately US$44 000) was made available and ovens and other necessary bits and pieces were purchased. A full time Bakery Manager was appointed and staff members were sent for training at a local, commercial baker.
 "We are busy with the final fittings and making the changes required by the Municipal Health Department and then it will be all systems go." says Bakery Manager, Anna Mogase. "We are looking forward to being able to supply our communities with freshly-baked bread every day.

Providing health and dignity right to the last breath

Africa can be a tough place and, although the South African government has made progress in setting up clinics and primary healthcare facilities in many rural communities, the simple fact is, sometimes patients are just too ill to get to one of those facilities.

It is for this reason that Carryou Ministry operates an extensive home-based care program.

“Teams of workers walk from home to home, caring for people who need physical and emotional support during their illness,” says Mzi Tshikitsha, Home-based care Programme Manager.

“Part of the service we also provide is to be with patients during their final hours.”

Mzi Tshikitsha

It's an emotionally difficult job but it is both vital and rewarding.

“The Home-Based Care program strives to achieve and maintain a high standard of palliative care that is both empathetic and offers dignity to all patients unable to access alternative medical care,” says Mzi.

“We do this by carrying out basic but essential tasks like washing and feeding the patient, moving them to help prevent bed sores and ensuring he or she takes medication as prescribed.

“In addition, Care workers also assist the patients' families by feeding the family, cleaning their houses, washing clothes and collecting water from community taps.

“The Care workers are also trained to counsel children and adults, and as such, can offer emotional and spiritual counseling to patients and their families. They also ensure children are not exposed to traumatic situations,” he says.

But, as always, money needed to do the important work, is in short supply.

“We do our best to provide food parcels for destitute families and orphans,” says Mzi.

“Parcels include maize-based porridge, soup, sugar, salt, oil, beans, peanuts, matches and washing powder. Fortified nutritional meals are provided free of charge for individuals infected with HIV and those with compromised immune systems.

“But, in truth, without the financial support we get from US-based, Sue Heywood and her supporters in the USA, we would not be able to supply many of these essential items.”

Yet, despite the difficulties, Carryou Ministry's Home-Based Care program still manages to make life easier for more than 250 people every month.

Their work has seen some Tuberculosis sufferers and patients on anti-retroviral drug programmes, recover enough to be able to return to work.

In addition, door to door awareness campaigns were conducted at 15 informal settlements where 200 000 male condoms and 16000 female condoms were distributed in an effort to help prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS.

“We are starting to see the message get out there,” says Mzi “and now people are starting to voluntarily disclose their HIV status – something that did not happen in the past.”

If you would like to help with this vitally important work please click the “How you can help” link on the right or contact us.

More than just a feeding scheme: a vital community hub

 Today, standing in the dry, dusty, OR Tambo informal settlement some ten kilometres outside the town centre of Randfontein, it's hard to believe, or even imagine that last year this was the site of fierce flash flooding that saw some families’ homes and possessions washed away.

  But, at 3am on 20 February, that is exactly what happened when the heavens opened causing some shacks to collapse and washed away furniture and belongings.

  Carryou Ministry, who operate a creche and feeding program in the settlement, together with the West Rand Disaster Management team was called in to help. All in all, 37 families were affected.

 “Carryou Ministry undertook to accommodate the women and children of the affected families in the Carryou Drop-in Centre (DIC) while the men decided to stay with their belongings and re-build their shacks,” says Brenda Naholo, Programme Manager for the DIC.
 “For the next week the women and children had a roof over their heads and running water and each day the families, including the men, received two cooked meals. The local municipality donated blankets.

 “We prepared breakfast and lunch and Pillar of Strength, an organisation doing home-based care in the area made supper,” she says.

 “Women and children slept in the DIC centre at night but the men chose to take care of their belongings and returned to their shacks after having their meals.

 “Since then we have also assisted families to apply for and obtain important documents lost in the floods such as identification documents and birth certificates.”

Vital Hub

 

  The Carryou DIC was established as a feeding point for orphaned and vulnerable children but it is much more than that. It is a vital hub and beacon of hope for the impoverished community.

  Kids are not only fed but receive assistance with homework and schoolwork, some of it given by unemployed men in the settlement.

  But conditions are not ideal. Children do their homework in one of the containers but must sit on the floor as there are no chairs or tables yet. It is a challenge but still better than that experienced by many other kids in other parts of the country.

  The DIC also offers, counseling services, life-skills programs that cover issues like HIV/AIDS prevention, TB awareness and teenage pregnancies and help given to community members who need to obtain birth certificates and identity documents.

  In the past year the following Community Involvement and Education Programmes were run at the centre:

• Teenage pregnancy awareness campaign
• Community mobilisation on vaccination
• Pap smear awareness
• Mobilisation on child  negligence and their rights
• Candle light event
• HIV AIDS Awareness
• Awareness on Foster Care for foster parents

Many other activities also take place at the DIC including:

• Caregivers support group once a month
• Boys and girls support groups separately  once a month
• Youth support group
• Child care forums
• Teenage support groups
• Community leaders support group  to discuss issues affecting the community

  It’s a huge task that must somehow be done with limited financial resources.

 “We get many referrals and requests for assistance from surrounding schools and communities, “ says Brenda.

 “It is a great challenge that we face as increasing numbers of kids are being orphaned as a result of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. In just the past year, the number of people receiving assistance at the OR Tambo DIC has increased by 25%!

 “But we receive assistance from many quarters, even internationally, For example, at least 22 food parcels are distributed to child/granny/sick parent households every month as a result of the fund-raising efforts of Sue Heywood and her supporters in the USA.”

If you would like to know more about the work of Carryou Ministry or would like to offer assistance, please click on the “How you can help” link on the right of this page.

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Providing hope in a bleak place

O.R. Tambo Informal Settlement is a squatter camp at Elandsvlei, about 10 kilometres outside the Randfontein town centre.
 It is a grim place, of that there is no doubt. Residents live in shacks that they construct themselves, made from whatever materials they are able to scrounge. In summer it is like living in the bowels of hell and winter is a thoroughly miserable experience. In some years, shacks are washed away by heavy rains.
 Water must be collected from large plastic tanks set up at the entrance to the camp that are filled every few days by the Randfontein Town Council. Sewage is rudimentary.

 The people who live in O.R. Tambo are desperately poor. Some are orphaned children who have no choice but to fend for themselves. Without help, the community, especially the children, would have little hope of knowing anything else and would simply slip into the abyss made up of the millions of the unknown, desperate, poor in South Africa.
 But there is hope for these vulnerable people.
 At the end of March 2012 Carryou Ministry opened a Drop-in Centre at Elandsvlei. The facility provides a nutritious, cooked meal to around 600 children, six days a week. It also supplies daily meals to kids at a nearby school.
 There is also a nursery school that operates at the Carryou Drop-in Centre where, currently, 22 pre-school kids are fed, cared for and prepared for school.
 In the afternoons, trained care-givers are on hand to help both primary and high-school children complete their school homework and prepare them for their exams.
 In addition, counseling services are made available, life-skills programs that cover issues like HIV/AIDS prevention, TB awareness and teenage preganancies, are run and help is given in obtaining birth certificates and identity documents.
 "As a society it is our God-given duty to give these kids a hand-up in life," says Rev Lawrence Mabaso, General Manager of Carryou Ministry. "Who knows what potential lies amongst them and just needs a little help, to be realized?"

 

 

 

From little acorns great oaks grow!

Sister Pam Jamison, Carryou Ministry Founder

"We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop." - Mother Theresa of Calcutta.

 There can be little doubt HIV and AIDS is one the greatest challenges this world faces, with millions of people dying or  becoming infected every year.
 One of the areas hardest hit, is Africa and the impact in South Africa is enormous. Every day, families are left devastated and children, of all ages, are left without parents and must fend for themselves.
 It is an enormous problem. In a study conducted in 2006, an estimated 122 000 -- almost 1% of the population -- lived in child-headed households.
 The sheer magnitude of the deadly pandemic meant that the South African Government, even with the best of intentions,  struggled to provide adequate care and support and ordinary South Africans, of all persuasions, knew they could not simply sit on their hands and do nothing.

Randfontein

 In Randfontein, a former mining-town some 40 kilometres west of Johannesburg the situation was no different but it was to be the site of the start of something amazing in 2000.
 It all started when the Anglican Church, St. John the Divine, asked Pam Jamison, member of the congregation and a nursing sister to attend an AIDS 'trainer of trainers' course. This was because increasing numbers of people were turning to the church for assistance in dealing with the trauma of HIV and AIDS.
 Pam completed the course and soon began to care for patients in Toekomsrus, a township bordering Randfontein. Word quickly spread however, and she was asked to train others so they too, could care for the sick.
 And it wasn't long before care-givers in other townships and rural areas got to hear of Pam's training and came flocking to her for help and so, Carryou Ministry was born.
 "It just grew," says Pam. "Carryou Ministry is a non-profit organization involved in home-based care for the sick and elderly, as well as people affected by HIV/AIDS.
 "As a result of the devastating disease our biggest challenge now, is caring for the children left behind."

Inspired

 Carryou Ministry's work is inspired by the Bible reading from Matthew 25:35.
"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me."
 "We started this ministry in with no resources - just sick people and a strong faith," says Pam. "We prayed to God to lead us according to His purposes, which He always has done.
 "The name Carryou can be found in Isaiah 46:4, where God says: 'I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.'"
 And God has been true to his promise.
 Today Carryou Ministry feeds around 1 000 people (mainly children) six days of the week, provides home-based care to over 200 terminally-ill patients, helps hundreds of kids with their school homework every day and provides a variety of other  counseling and support-services.