2010 Challenge South Africa
Partners & Projects
The 2010 Global Seva Challenge will support the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) doing work in South Africa : Christel House South Africa, Earthchild Project, South African Whole Grain Bread Project, GOLD Peer Eduction Development Agency, Linawo Children's Home and the Baphumelele Halfway House.
Christel House South Africa (CHSA)
Christel House South Africa (CHSA) breaks the cycle of poverty through education, health and empowerment. It currently serves 688 children from some of the most destitute, violent and crime- ridden communities of Cape Town. In spite of the challenging conditions to which these students return every night, they have hopes and dreams of future success and self-sufficiency. This remarkable school opened in 2002 for students in grades 1 through 4, in a rented facility. Through the generosity of the City of Cape Town, land was provided on a long term lease for a nominal sum, and construction of a new facility commenced in 2008. The school was completed in 2009. There is now space for a full Senior School Library, but no books to fill it. Consequently, the 360 students in grades 7 through 12 have no reading material beyond their textbooks. Off the Mat will fund the purchase of books to fill the Senior School Library, and then volunteer to protect, catalogue, index and shelve these books during the groups’ trip to Cape Town in 2011. LEARN MORE
The Shanti Uganda Society is a Canadian based organization that began as a vision to bring the healing power of yoga to communities experiencing trauma in Uganda. Our work with them will be specifically to create the Birthing Center and Organic Farm Project.
The Birth Center will be a place where women come for prenatal support and care, prenatal yoga, birth assistance, postnatal support and breastfeeding education. The center will also provide ongoing training for local midwives and those in the birthing community.
The organic farm and garden will provide food and income to support the children at the Shanti Uganda Center, a place where community members will learn about sustainable agriculture and medicinal plants and develop practical income generating skills for women with HIV/ AIDS.
Additionally, a portion of the funding for Shanti Uganda will also supply birth kits to decrease the risk of infection for both mother and baby. Bare Witness Tour participants will assist in the construction of the birthing center and garden, as well as assist in training programs and perhaps a few live births.
To learn more about Shanti Uganda, click here.
Earthchild Project
The Earthchild Project focuses on the holistic development of children, teachers, schools and communities. Their aim is to create meaningful and sustainable change by providing practical skills in how to live a more balanced and fulfilling life with a focus on self-awareness, health and wellness, and the environment. LEARN MORE
Building Tomorrow is an international non-profit organization empowering people to raise funds & awareness to build and support educational infrastructure projects for underserved children in sub-Saharan Africa. Building Tomorrow Academies are built in areas that do not currently have a formal school in operation, giving many children their first opportunity to learn inside of a classroom.
Countries such as Uganda have initiated Universal Primary Education (UPE) programs, guaranteeing a free education to every Ugandan child. However the government simply does not have the means to provide all children with even a basic classroom.
OTM and Ambassadors for Children have partnered with Building Tomorrow for the 2009 Uganda Project in an effort to raise $125,000 to build a primary school, housing for all seven teachers and their families, and a farm on the school’s property. Without housing, it is not uncommon for teachers in Uganda to walk long distances to and from work each morning or live separate from their families. Without providing a meal at school, students often must go an entire school day without eating.
The funds raised during the Seva Challenge will pay for land, construction materials and desks while local community members volunteer over 25,000 hours of labor to complete the construction of the Building Tomorrow Academy.
To learn more about Building Tomorrow, click here.
South African Whole Grain Bread Project
The South African Whole Grain Bread Project aims to establish community-based microbakeries to produce fresh, high quality, whole grain bread to improve the nutrition of health-compromised and malnourished adults and children. The bread will help satisfy the dietary needs of malnourished HIV/AIDS positive individuals who need to improve their health in order to allow retroviral drugs to work effectively. In addition to the health objectives, the baking initiative has been designed as a small business/ social development project that will encourage income generation opportunities for South Africans living with HIV/AIDS. LEARN MORE
The New Hope School (NHS), Entebbe, Uganda, is run by a local Ugandan and provides shelter and schooling for orphans and young children without adequate homes.
We will be supporting NHS by providing new beds for the children and orphans and supporting the improvement of their water system and educational programs.
This organization is very small, so, unfortunately, there is no website.
GOLD Peer Education Development Agency
GOLD is a dynamic not-for-profit organization playing an important role in the transformation of under-served communities in South Africa, Botswana and Zambia. GOLD (Generation of Leaders Discovered) is rolling out a strategic long-term youth peer education model that focuses on equipping youth to help education in difficult circumstances and to promote the holistic well being of their peers and ultimately their communities in a structured and sustainable manner. LEARN MORE
Linawo Children's Home
Linawo Children’s Home is a residential home that cares for abandoned, neglected and orphaned children as a result of substance abuse, poverty and/or HIV/AIDS. Included in this group are children with disabilities and HIV. Linawo Children’s Home is currently situated in Khayelitsha, Cape Town although they are trying to purchase property so at to provide the children a stable and secure home.
The Home was started in 2002 by Ivy Konisi who was involved in her church’s outreach ministry to the community and discovered that there were children who were abandoned and lacked proper care in their homes. Some parents were abusing alcohol and gave no attention to their children's welfare. While other parents needed a haven for their children because they were either suffering from illnesses or their circumstances were not suitable for raising children.
Linawo currently provides temporary and permanent residential, physical and emotional care for 15 children between the ages of 1 and 12 years. Care will continue until the children are 18 years of age when we hope to further support them through tertiary/higher education. Education funds have been started for this purpose. The long term mission of the home is not merely to provide food and shelter for children but to rehabilitate their lives and develop good and honest characters so that they can become adults how make an effective contribution to our society. Their vision is to have a number of satellite homes in different communities around the country where not more than 20 children are cared for on one premises so as to maintain a family environment. LEARN MORE
Baphumelele Halfway House
The Baphumelele Project will construct a recovery house that will allow young people to begin the process of reintegration with society, whilst providing monitoring and support, creating livelihood opportunities by providing education as well improving capacities for young people. Creation of a farm residence will assist youth who have left highly structured institutions to adjust to and reenter society and live within its accepted norms and standards as well being capable of independence. 18 and 21 year olds who are at risk may be released to facilities of this kind located within the community and usually with no security other than supervised regimen of sign-in, sign-out, and curfew rules. The halfway house provides a supervised and restricted environment in which to ascertain the young adults/youth’s ability to form a productive life in society.
For the 2009 Uganda Project, OTM will work closely with YouthAIDS in order to become educated about HIV/AIDS in Africa and will support their work in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS worldwide.
Learn more about PSI/YouthAIDS in Uganda.
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