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After a long day at school, Isaac Kabini makes his way to St. Joseph’s, a place that he feels offers love and help to all in the community of Onverwacht, South Africa. Isaac is only 16, but having just completed Grade 9, he is making big plans for his life. He wants to be a doctor so that he can contribute to the community in the same way that St. Joseph’s has contributed to his life, by providing a safe haven for people who are in need and acting as a source of guidance for children and adults alike. Isaac is involved in a number of activities at St. Joseph’s, and his favourite thing is playing soccer with the other children – he is excited about the 2010 FIFA World Cup coming to South Africa and hopes to one day meet the Bafana Bafana team.

There is a certain pride in Isaac’s eyes as he speaks of his time at St. Joseph’s – it is clear that he takes his work there seriously and is immensely proud to be involved in many different activities. About 90 children make use of the different facilities provided at St. Joseph’s, ranging from an aftercare centre that children can visit after school, support and counselling sessions for groups and individuals, sporting activities – including the newly built jungle gym – and a choir. Most of the children who use these facilities have traumatic family histories, experiencing things that children should never have to experience, and find refuge within the protected and loving walls of St. Joseph’s.

And it is not only dreams that are being nurtured on the premises – one of the most important activities at St. Joseph’s is the communal vegetable garden, which was started with funding from the Golder Trust for Orphans. Started in 2008, a total of 7 foster parents work in the garden on a daily basis, growing vegetables for personal use, for sale at the local market and to facilitate a number of feeding schemes that are run by St. Joseph’s. Over 80 families have benefited from the vegetable garden – children who belong to the feeding schemes are given vegetables to take home to their families once a month, and these same children are even allocated small vegetable beds for themselves so that they can learn how to grow vegetables and help support their own families. The vegetable garden was initially developed to ensure the sound health and nutrition of the children, but has since grown into an income generating activity as well. Plans are underway to increase the size of the garden considerably so that more families will have access to the land. Investigations are being made on how to improve irrigation and also how to gain access to a tractor that will aid the preparation of the vegetable fields.

The work done at St. Joseph’s has had a major impact on the surrounding community – not only do people recognise the vital role they play in assisting orphans, but the effects have been felt for
all children. There have been huge improvements in welfare and nutrition, and there is an ever growing sense of camaraderie – people recognise the importance of standing together to work through their problems and with the services provided by St. Jospeh’s, children like Isaac finally have the chance to pursue their dreams and, in turn, make even greater contributions to their community.

For more information, visit www.sizanani.org

Meet Sylvia. Sylvia is a single mother of three children; a daughter of her own and two other orphans whom she has looked after for the past 5 years. She lives in a small house in Haniville, a township located outside of Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. She has limited formal education, no family support and very little opportunity to find a job.

If you had asked her three years ago what her biggest aspiration was, it would have been to find a job that would allow her to feed her children and send them to school, hopefully offering them a life better than her own. If you were to ask her the same question today, it would be radically different. Now, as the supervisor for a rose geranium production unit (funded by the Golder Trust for Orphans), she is making plans to send her daughter to law school, is finalizing the secondary education of both the orphans she cares for, is building two new rooms onto her house and is a source of inspiration for those that she meets.

Such is the magic of Walk in the Light, a catalyst for transformation in an often dark and hopeless world. Located on just over 10ha of land, Walk in the Light is a shining example of how a simple act of goodness can have a profound impact on the lives of those in need. Bruce Taylor, who started the operation more than 3 years ago, has facilitated the creation of nothing less than a haven. Walking through the rose geranium fields where sweet scents float on the air, or the vegetable gardens where the spinach is vibrant and the cabbages look like giant, beautiful roses with their great furling leaves, it is impossible not to feel the energy and love exuding from the land. This is the land that employs 6 women, all like Sylvia, who in turn support 16 orphans between them, and facilitates the production of food parcels that provide a vital source of food security to more than 18 families in the local community.

But this is only where it begins. With rose geranium currently under production, there are plans to purchase a small distillation unit that will enable the extraction of essential oils, to be used for sales within local markets. This provides opportunity for greater employment for local community members, and for the expansion of the orphan support base that has already begun.

In fact, it is the hope of helping the children that drives the whole operation. Work has begun on establishing a small crèche that will cater to the needs of often neglected children in the area, complete with bathrooms and a small kitchen, and one cannot help but laugh at the smiling elephant peering at you from its portrait on the outside walls. There is also a library, recycling bins, a jungle gym and even a climbing wall.

To be in the presence of such dedication and commitment to transforming lives is a humbling experience. It serves as a reminder to the desperate needs of so many people,
so many children abandoned to face a harsh world on their own. It also serves as an inspiration, through the realization that effort does make a difference and to see the joy on Sylvia’s face as she speaks of her life is true testimony to this. If ever there was a doubt that darkness and tribulation could be overcome, one only needs to spend an afternoon at Walk in the Light to be reinvigorated, and to see how dreams can be translated into action.

Picture:

1: Sylvia  2: Bruce Taylor and the local women involved in the geranium oils project  3: Painted wall at Walk in the Light  4: Vegetable garden at Walk in the Light

Things on Hope Farm have been busy but generally going well in 2009 so far. Thanks to the Golder Trust for Orphans, we have been able to make some progress on the development of our farm and take care of more children and people in our local community as a result.

Our plans for this year are to continue with all we have been doing and carry on saying yes to as many children as are brought to us for care giving.

Donations from the Golder Trust for Orphans have helped us:

1. Purchase a quad that makes it easier for Andrew to get around the farm quickly. 
2. Purchase a cow that has allowed us to produce milk for our kids. We now have several cows!
3. Purchase the equipment we needed to raise chickens. We are now selling frozen chickens to local grocery stores and benefiting from the income.

All the children who we have brought to the farm over the past year are thriving. Bethany, who was brought to us last year, is doing very well (see photo 2) and we have begun to see real progress in the development of the more abused children as well.

It is time to start a preschool on the farm for the small children. Rae home-schools all the children and we now need to build a separate building for the small children with a safe play area. We are looking for someone to help Rae teach the little ones. So far we have managed to dig and concrete the foundations. We are also going to make our home bigger so we can care for more children.

Many thanks to all Golder employees for your support of the Golder Trust for Orphans. Your help is invaluable to us!

1 - Entrance to Hope Farm   2 - Bethany is thriving!   3 – A new playground where local kids can play safely!   4 – Hope Farm frozen chicken, ready for market!   5 – Angela Scott from Golder’s Pietermaritzburg office visits Hope Farm   6 – Golder Trust for Orphans Quad!