Plans for 2010 – 2011

Background to our work

Our intention is always to concentrate on how we can assist, promote and sustain the prevention of and protection against abuse; hence the main focus of our work is to break the cycle of abuse through:

Working with pre-schools to

train the women to recognise and act on suspicions of abuse;
to provide a safe place for children
to provide a knowledgeable place for people in the communities.

The empowerment of women and men, working in community services, through training and awareness programmes.
Diversion programmes for vulnerable or potentially violent young men and/or young women, we:
- encourage and promote a different pattern to their lives through development programmes
- work with children whose lives are disrupted by poverty, abuse, malnutrition, illness or abandonment.

CHILDLINE

Childline Limpopo

We will continue to fund the stipends, for the third year, of 4 volunteer workers and 1 cook in the crèche for 75 children living in very poor rural surroundings. In 2010 -2011 we anticipate the crèche will have improved to such a level that it will be registered and can get local government funding – it will then be entirely self-sufficient. We hope to plan, with Childline Limpopo, for a new crèche in another area in 2011.

Childline Mpumalanga – C4C

We are currently planning the training of another 220 crèche leaders through the Caring 4 Crèches programme after April 2010.

Childline NW – C4C

Plans are underway for another 100 crèche leaders to be trained

THE TEDDY BEAR CLINIC

Due to shortages of funds, we cannot fund the travel for damaged children until things improve.

OPEN UNIVERSITY – JOINT PHD PROGRAMME

The programme is back on track, and early report from the fieldwork on why perpetrators abuse small children are showing some fairly awful and entrenched family, health and cultural problems.

BIG SHOES

Due to shortages of funds, we cannot fund the training or offer another bursary until things improve

EKUPHOLENI MENTAL HEALTH CENTRE

We are funding the stipend of Happy – the football coach who works with Ghetto Boyz during the weekends, and monthly stipends of 8 new volunteer workers until their bursaries from the State kick-in during April 2010

In the autumn we will fund places for some of the Ghetto Boyz on tertiary courses to help them to the next stage of diversion from crime and abuse … helping to break the cycle.

We funded a specific specialist CATTS course for the new volunteers in February 2010.

In March our friends at DHL sent a parcel of second-hand football kit to the Ghetto Boyz; it was all donated by Slough Town Football Supporters Club, and I took a huge second bag of shirts, bibs and assorted stuff.

JOHANNESBURG CHILD WELFARE SOCIETY

Reduced programmes for this year

AGANANG - Auxiliary Social Work Programme
The new course started in January 2010. We are funding 10 places.
CATTSLevel One training and Level
Two training are planned with 21 volunteer workers from many community services in Soweto on each course

IMISEBEYELANGA

Despite the considerable success of this programme, and the value given to children, the vulnerable and communities we have had to take some hard decisions due to the plummeting value of Sterling v the South African Rand – we are currently in negotiation to fund continued essential training by them, but reduced by about 1/3rd in 2010-2011.

As part of their extended programme Imisebeyelanga have been helping a very feisty young women we featured as ‘Martha’ on our website – who has set up an orphanage for abused street children; she was an abused street child herself and even since starting the orphanage has had to cope with several rape attempts, the latest in November 2009. We are planning to fund enough for the children’s food for a year.

COPESSA

A community service working with orphans, vulnerable children, and families in need. We fund the stipends and training of 6 volunteers including their supervision and the cost of training the supervisor at one of the advanced courses at CATTS.

In 2010-2011 we are supporting their aim to use 5 volunteer young people from Soweto to engage with the unemployed young people and school children to help pick up instances of abuse that are unresolved, and divert them and others from automatically entering lives of crime, violence, and abuse.

We will also continue to fund the stipend of 2 volunteers working with vulnerable families and children

FOOTBALL

In the light of the successful programme [Ghetto Boyz] at Ekupholeni and recent research we have devised a pilot project to divert boys from trouble through football that could be replicated all over the country – but initially through Imisebeyelanga. We have a promise of funds if we can find £10,000 find match funding …. Offers??

Other incidental work

At Othendweni, an orphanage for abandoned and abused babies and children and part of Johannesburg Child Welfare Society, we have previously funded the training of their volunteer workers through CATTS; the training at CATTS continues as and when they request places. At Othendweni they take in about 10 abandoned/ abused babies a month and regrettably some children stay for their whole childhood.

With help from a local church the children have formed a choir and we have introduced them to Angels Choir - www.angelschoir.org – the idea is to plan a visit to the UK later this year or in 2011, funded and organised by Angels Choir. There is no cost to the infant trust.

Lesley Rudd