Letters from Randfontein

 

Benjamin

 The love of reading can open many doors and establish relationships that stretch across oceans. That is  precisely what has happened between children at a rural school in Randfontein and kids at Tuxedo Park School in New York.
 The US kids recently put together a project to raise funds to buy books for children at Mamblomong School and the nearby Elandsvlei Drop-in Centre. (Read the story here.)
 Almost 250 books were delivered and already they are opening new worlds to the local kids.
 In this post we publish some of the letters written to the children at Tuxedo Park School by the youngsters from Randfontein.

Boy

Elias

Johannes

Kelebogile

Lerato

Lizzy

Moipone

Passie

Piet

Refilwe

Providing for souls and empty tummies

 Hans Dippenaar (59) is a man determined to make a difference in the lives of Randfontein's most desperate residents.
 The local business man is not only building a church that will serve the spiritual needs of the nearby Elandsvlei informal settlement but has also given Carryou Ministry rights to use two hectares of his farm that abuts the settlement.
 "A few months ago Rev. Lawrence Mbaso, Carryou general manager, approached me," says Mr Dippenaar. "He told me they wanted to start a vegetable farming program so they could grow some of their own food to help supplement their feeding schemes and also create employment in the impoverished area.
 "I agreed to set aside two hectares, at no charge, and said I would help get electricity to the area but that Carryou must fence-off the piece of land and make plans to provide water.
 "If you can't make a difference in people's lives, what's the point of living?" he says.

Church opening

 And Mr Dippenaar is making a big difference. In two weeks time (4 November), the church he is building, largely with his own money, will be opened.
 "One night, God laid it upon my heart to build a church," he says. "I had no idea how I would do it, or where I would get the money but the Lord had a plan that He put into action and, though it looked impossible, everything simply fell into place."
 The farm across the road from the small-holding where he was born, raised and has lived his entire life, was suddenly offered for sale and he was able to purchase it at around half the original asking price.
 "When one of the owner's heard I intended building a church on the property told me that 16 years ago, God showed him a vision of a church on the farm and it was now finally coming to fruition!" says Mr Dippenaar.
 The church will have a full-time pastor and a house for him and his family will soon be erected adjacent to it.
 "I also plan to build some cottages that will house retired ministers who will work amongst all communities in Randfontein. There is great need in our area," he says.

Work is on schedule for the November opening.

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Annie* goes home

 Annie* left her home in the Transkei and came to Randfontein early in the new millenium to join her husband.
 For a short while things were fine but then she suddenly became ill and became paralysed from the neck down. Unable to cope with his wife's sudden disability, her husband abandoned her and left her to fend for herself.
 "We found her living in a shack in Bekkersdal in 2003," says Mzi Tshikitsha, Carry Ministry, Programme Manager. "She became one of our Home-based Care patients but, whenever we visited her, we'd either find her alone or one of her daughters had bunked school to care for her.
 "All Annie wanted was go back home so she could be with her family and we set the wheels in motion to make that possible," says Mzi.
 "We contacted her family in the Transkei, who couldn't believe she was still alive but were eager to have her back but, as is often the case, finding the money needed to get her home, was a problem. Her family are not wealthy people and could not help, so we decided to approach her husband to see if he would contribute, which he did.
 "We gathered all her possessions, and loaded her and them into a car, and, on a Sunday morning, four of us accompanied Annie on the 1 400km (approx 860 mile) journey. Because we had to take it slow and easy, we only reached her village the following day at about 15h00," he says.
 "It was a day no-one will ever forget. News had spread and the entire village was waiting to greet and welcome Annie. People were crying and singing and then they all gathered and prayed for her.
 "It was incredibly moving and emotional," says Mzi. "We've kept in contact and, although she is still disabled, she is happy."

* Not her real name.

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Spreading a little joy and happiness

 Last week Sue Heywood and her husband, Alan, were in Randfontein to visit some of the Carryou Ministry programmes as well as the people concerned.
 Sue, an American citizen and resident has supported Carryou Ministry for the past eight years and has, during that time, raised in excess of $365 000! In addition to raising funds, she has also found sponsors from her community who provide financially for individual children and families. These kind people have improved the lives of many children, particularly orphans.
 Sue brought bundles of clothes, including T-shirts donated by her local library, as well as many toys.
 "It's absolutely wonderful to see the smiles on the faces of the kids," she says.
 These are some of the pictures shot during her visit.

Read more about Sue Heywood.

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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.

One person can make a huge difference!

Sue Heywood, an angel of hope.

 It is sometimes said that a single person can't really make a difference in the lives of many but Sue Heywood, an American citizen smashes that myth!

With two kids she helped supply school uniforms

 In the past eight years, her efforts have been directly responsible for providing food to hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children, providing an education for others and enabling many terminally ill people to receive comfort and die with dignity. She has raised over $365 000 in the US to help Carryou Ministry's work.

 “I became involved with Carryou in 2001 when I asked Mark, our son, to introduce me to a grass roots organization that dealt directly with the effects of HIV/AIDS in an area of poverty and had a Christian mission as its driving force,” says Sue. 

 “I wanted to be able to make a big difference to a small organization where what money I could raise, would go directly to the people it was intended for. I also wanted to develop a personal

relationship with the staff.

  “I was taken to Randfontein where I met Tony (Jamison), husband of the founder, Pam. He took me around and showed me what they were doing and hoping to achieve and I went back to the US, determined to help.”

The start!

Sue and Pamela Serage. Pamela was an orphan who received

support from Sue that allowed her to attend university. She has

subsequently graduated with a bachelor's degree.

 At the time, Sue and her family were members of St John's Church in Ramsey, NJ. Where Sue was in charge of the Church School and a member of the Vestry.

 “We made a donation of $1000...and that was the start!” she says.

 “Later we moved to Tuxedo Park NY and to St Mary's Church, Tuxedo. In fund raising I also

wanted to raise the awareness of people in the US, particularly children, of what it is like to be really poor, be affected by HIV/AIDs, and to have to rely on people like the Carryou caregivers to survive. I want children who have so much, too much in many cases, to be aware that they can help others who, in many ways are like them but living in circumstances that are very different.

 “In the US, to raise money, I have given slide show presentations in schools and organized walkathons and tee shirt sales for the students, similarly in churches which have developed into annual fund raising, Mardi Gras breakfasts, garden parties, yard sales and musical concerts,” says Sue.

Sue visits one of the child-headed households that Carryou supports

 “And by identifying individual orphans and vulnerable children I have found sponsors who take a direct interest in the welfare of these children and donate regularly. Their contributions provide food and school uniforms for the children. We have also sent donations to assist in specific building projects like the Drop-in Centre in Toekomsrus. 

 “In the last two weeks Episcopal Response to Aids sent $150, the National Honor Society of Baker High School donated $500, specifically to help a high school graduate being cared

for by Carryou and we had a Yard Sale that raised $700,” she says.

 “The truth is, without Sue, her family and friends, we simply would not be able to do much of the work that we do and many people would suffer,” says Carryou Ministry, General Manager, Rev. Lawrence Mabaso.

 If you live in the United States and would like to make a tax-deductible donation to Carryou Ministry, you can do so via Sue Heywood.  Her email address is sueheywood@optonline.net. 

“Our donors make cheques to St Mary's in Tuxedo (www.stmarysintuxedo.org) with the memo indicating payment to Carryou. The money then goes into our outreach account and when we have enough we wire it direct to the Carryou account. St Mary's sends the donors a letter so they can get a tax deduction for their charitable gift,” she says.

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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