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> VHUTSHILO MOUNTAIN SCHOOL (VMS) > School Newsletter
School Newsletter |  | | | VMS Children and Staff 2010 |
Vhutshilo Mountain School 2010
As usual, the past year has had its disappointments and rewards, births and deaths, interrupted by ongoing government strikes and hysterical soccer mania... Through it all VMS emerges stronger and makes more and more of an impact both locally and abroad..
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Tribute to my staff...
Something I have omitted in the previous newsletters is to mention the dedication and personal growth of the Vhutshilo staff: Our three highly qualified and dedicated teachers who earn far less than they would at a government school: Principal Florence who started at the new school in 2005, teaches the Grade 2 and 3 classes in one room, and runs the education side of the school. The wife of a teacher, she has 4 children and still manages to study part time. Teacher Constance joined the staff the following year and teaches the grade R (readiness) and grade 1 classes in our other small classroom. It takes her an hour on horrific roads in public transport to get to school every day. She is a single mom with 3 children and also continues to acquire new diplomas to add to her resume. Teacher Dorah came on board last year to take charge of the pre-schoolers and babies and has proved to be a creative and innovative instructor. Besides taking care of 31 youngsters, she also takes all the grades for art lessons. She, too, is a single mom as her husband died last year, and she has 3 young children of her own to look after. Porti, a young student from the village, comes in twice a week to teach our learners the rudiments of computer literacy. To see these eager youngsters sharing the few old computers that we have acquired over the years, is especially gratifying, and I constantly tease them that I am waiting for them to take over my job.
Julia, arrived at my mobile home in 1989 to ask for a job working in my garden. Her hard work and loyalty over the years has been formidable, and when the school was started at my home in 2002, she enthusiastically embraced the tasks of cooking, cleaning, and looking after the children in our care. A large part of this entailed pacifying the screaming and frightened youngsters as quite a few of them had never seen a Makhuwa (white person) before. In 2003 with the arrival of my 3 year old foster child, Vhuhwavho (Wavho), she once again proved her worth as she helped my child to embrace the western world while keeping one foot firmly entrenched in her own culture. Even more commendable was, that, with the horrid stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, (even worse in those days!!) this traditional, illiterate woman donned gloves when needed and showed me how to tie a nightly nappy as we battled with the constant diarrhoea. I would often escape to my bedroom to hide from the indignant roars from the garden as my first and only child had her bottom cleaned with a hosepipe!!! When Julia first arrived she was living in a small wooden shed, covered with black plastic. Her husband had brought home a new wife and kicked her and their 3 sons out of the house she had built. She now owns a beautiful, brightly painted 3 room house which she has slowly added to, and made more comfortable over the years. Besides cooking at the new school, and supervising the cleaners, Julia also keeps control of the stockroom. One day a week she sells the surplus of the donated second hand clothes from the kiosk in the garden, and this pays for the stipends for the 3 volunteers.
Eunice, who lives next door to the school, was employed as a casual labourer by the local builder who built the school in 2004/5. She asked for a job when the school began and worked as a gardener and cleaner. Her husband had died the previous year and she has 6 children. Whilst other schools and businesses in the area are repeatedly being burglarized, VMS has stayed safe, thanks to Eunice and her children who kept a sharp look out. Her youngest child leaves VMS at the end of this year having been at the school since it opened. Eunice helps Julia with the cooking and cleaning, ordering of goods and control of the stock room. Her oldest daughter has completed a nursing diploma, and two other children are studying Electrical Engineering and Business Management at a college in Polokwane Her small home too, has had additions, and her standard of living has improved tenfold.
Three women from the support group earn volunteer stipends: Evelyn is now in charge of the seedling nursery and vegetable garden. Also a single mom, with 6 children, and a granddaughter, her last born son, called Vhutshilo, is the youngest child at the school. Luckily Evelyn took the drug, Nevirapine, when she was pregnant so he does not have HIV. At a few months old he would spend his days in a huge cardboard box in the kitchen, and quickly became a firm favourite with the children and staff. He is the picture of health and at 13 months, toddles around the school, reprimands everybody with a small wagging finger, bangs the big drum in reception and constantly keeps us all amused. He likes to sit on my lap, share a morning banana, and tell me his news. This always ends in a battle of wills as he tries to thump the computer keys, and then he waddles off to help the staff as they lay the tables for breakfast. (is it any wonder that I am always late with my own work ?)
Phophi has the unenviable task of changing nappies and cleaning the classrooms and kitchen. She has a mentally challenged daughter, who at 16 years already has two young children. She often goes walkabout leaving the toddlers with Phophi, forgets to take her ARV's, drinks and beats her mom up, spends time in jail and generally makes this softly spoken, kind woman's life a misery. Although it is a highly sensitive issue, in this case we are encouraging her (through a Social Worker) to consider sterilisation. Phophi cannot take on more grandchildren, and even more worrying is that she is spreading HIV/AIDS, and there is nothing we can do to stop her. Phophi astounded us all by enrolling with ABET (Adult Basic Education & Training), a government literacy programme, a few years ago and has acquired 3 diplomas. She loves practising her English on me, has a bank account and saves a small amount every month from her meagre stipend. She has also extended her tiny one- room house to include another bedroom.
Our third volunteer, Thendi, married a man who had lost his previous wife to HIV/AIDS and she looks after his two daughters, plus their own two. She helps Evelyn in the nursery and vegetable garden. Although earning a pittance, these women get their transport paid, two meals per day, regular fresh vegetables, second hand clothing.. and most importantly have an excellent support system as the women all look out for each other.
My young outreach assistant, Khathu, returned to VMS in December, after a 3 month maternity leave. (just in time to prevent a nervous breakdown as I juggled the finances, the shopping, the outreach programs etc etc! ) She gave birth to a son, called Halatedzi (meaning God will never forsake ) who will no doubt be very spoilt as his household consists of Khathu's mom, (who runs a small NGO in the village) her granny, and Khathu' s two younger sisters, one of whom will be studying at an agricultural college next year, and the other will be doing her final school year, so he will be the only man in this close knit matriarchal family. Khathu passed her basic bookkeeping exam, flew to Durban for a Link and Learn workshop with Oxfam, and managed to get her license so she can now drive our new school vehicle, taking a load off my shoulders. This family is also extending their house in the nearby Tshivhilidulu village. Earlier in the year we employed Elewani from the support group to help with the ever increasing outreach program. She is a single mom with one child who has been attending our school since 2006, and who will next year move to a local school. She, too, attended a workshop held by Oxfam in Polokwane.
The school employs 3 contract drivers who transport the children to and from school, and since starting with us have built up their own young clientele with children from other schools. They are dependable and reliable, and earn a reasonable income which enables them to support their own families...
Click here to view pictures of VMS staff.
|  | | | VMS Staff & Drivers |
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VMS supports local business's....
Wherever possible we buy building materials from the village hardware shop, and fruit from the local farmers and street hawkers. Our daily bread is delivered from the village baker, and the school vehicle and mine are repaired at our neighbors garage. Even the panelbeater has had a fair piece of the pie as Khathu and I have had to make use of his expertise when somebody moved the poles and the gate in the school grounds!! A print shop helps us with faxes and copies, and our floor polish is bought from a small project run by women in a nearby village. Don't let me forget the welder living behind us, the painter/builder, plumber and general maintenance man...
I felt it important to mention these people who have come to rely on VMS for employment and trade. With an unemployment rate of over 50% (most of them women) I wanted to make you all aware that by helping VMS you are also assisting this community to achieve a slightly higher standard of living. |
|  | | | Khathu & Elewani Outreach Staff |
Outreach program making a name for itself.
This ever increasing project has been funded by Oxfam Australia over the past 2 years; they are wonderful, and we have come to rely on their advice and constant support, almost as much as we rely on the grant they give us! Our workshops held for HIV+ children and their caregivers are doing much to alleviate the stigma of HIV. Elewani does monthly home visits to all HIV+ children (35 youngsters ranging in age from 2 to 16 years of age) from the surrounding villages, to monitor adherence to the strict ARV drug regime, check that the foster grant is not being misused, and ensure they have food security. This constant one to one monitoring paid off in the case of young Philly: He started getting terrible mouth sores, bleeding gums and his weight had dropped. The local doctor asked me to arrange an appointment with my own private doctor as he was worried that Philly had built up resistance to one of the three ARV drugs, and we don't have the facility to do the testing here. As this is extremely expensive, my doctor suggested I get hold of the AIDS hospital in Johannesburg as we had had such good results with Thendo who spent 2 months there with a similar problem. (see last years newsletter) A panel of doctors liaised with our local doctor, and they agreed to change Philly s regime without the tiring and costly trip, on condition he was under our supervision. Although still under weight, his general health has improved dramatically and he is once again attending school and riding his bicycle. This success story was unfortunately counterbalanced by the death of a young 6 year old boy: his caregiver was so worried about the villagers finding out that her son was HIV+ that she would hide when Elewani went to visit, and refused to allow the child to attend our workshops. As usual we went through the what if's and if only we had but ultimately we can only help people who want to be helped, although this does not help the sadness (and anger) that a child is dead because of ignorance and fear.
On a more positive note the outreach staff managed to help access new and outstanding foster grants for 15 guardians/caregivers, which at least ensures that they can feed and clothe their young charges. |
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Children take control of their own workshops!!
Feedback from the children attending our ARV workshops was that they were getting bored because the facilitators and guest speakers all told them the same things and they felt that they had taken control and were living positive and healthy lives. Earlier in the year we had had a 3 day visit from Patti Henderson, an anthropologist from the University of Cape Town. She was doing research on the children's workshops for Oxfam, and she was the first person to introduce the children to the world of acting, both as a way to spread the word and as a therapeutic way of dealing with stress. At a later workshop the children were told to write and produce a drama, which was not only great fun, but paved the way for our next step in peer education, as we hope they will ultimately produce these plays for similar workshops which have started up in other villages. My 11 year old foster child facilitated part of the following workshop, and although she reiterated most of what they had heard before, it made an impact coming from another child. Wavho has been on national T.V. twice, talking openly about her status, and as she was one of the first children to go onto the ARV's, and looks the picture of health, she is an excellent ambassador " and South Africa s youngest Peer Educator!
The older children from the this young support group spent two weekends away at local game parks, where they not only learnt more about the wild animals, and the importance of preserving our beautiful flora and fauna, but also strengthened the bonds of friendship and support between them. |
|  | | | Elisa's children in front of their new home |
Financial help from our website.
www. hopeforlimpopo.org (HFL) has contributed to VMS in many ways over the past year. Elisa, a woman who does much to help community members, and the mother of one of our children, has been battling to get a RDP (govt. house) since 2002. Both her and her young son are chronic asthmatics, and we were sure that a large part of the problem was that the roof of their rondavel was covered with old thatching.
When I went to visit one day I saw Elisa and her family (she has 6 children and a grandchild) busy making bricks from clay mud, and a single room was in the process of being built. This really impressed me, as many people wait for handouts, but this sickly woman was willing to try and do the best she could for her family. A few weeks later I had the wonderful task of accompanying a truck with zincs and rafters, bought by money donated through HFL so that she could complete her room... What a treat that was !!!
Thanks to the HFL website for attracting and directing the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to us. You will hear more about VMS on National TV as you read on.
Another HFL donor, The Segal Family Foundation, has sent money for the roof of our new classrooms which we hope to start building at a later stage. Besides these much needed cash donations, HFL has also increased our individual sponsors, and in total we now have 29 children whose transport and education is covered. Thank you Jo Ann and Nancy for your tireless energy and expertise, and patience in dealing with our always late replies and constant excuses!!! |
|  | | | Tshavhungwe |
Persistence again payed off.
The Road Accident Fund eventually paid out a substantial amount to Tshavhungwe who was paralyzed from the waist down following a car accident in 2005. VMS had been helping her mother to pay for the frequent trips to Gauteng to see specialists and lawyers, writing letters and applying pressure with constant phone calls.. Happy hugs and tears heralded this wonderful news. We had to help set up a trust, and submit a monthly budget, and later in the year we will get plans drawn up for a wheelchair friendly home. |
Income generating projects slow but steady:
Earlier this year women from the support group visited Madi a Thavha, an organization that markets arts and crafts from various small rural projects. The women were amazed at the wide range and quality of the goods. They attended a lecture, and asked questions about the importance of costing, keeping a simple bookkeeping system, and marketing. We then visited 2 successful projects in the area, and they came back tired but motivated.
We set up 2 of the women from the glass beading project so that they could work from home. This saved on time and transport, and they could fit their production time into their own home schedules. The only market at the moment is in France, and after an initial problem of transferring money, the women were very pleased to start earning an income. A workshop to teach some of the other women to make jewelery from the beads will take place at a later stage, and hopefully this will involve more of the group members.
The seedling nursery started by the French visitors 2 years ago is beginning to bear fruit, as we no longer have to travel to our nearest big town to buy seedlings. Besides making sure the school and the outreach programme has a constant supply of fresh vegetables, local farmers are also buying from us. The Department of Agriculture was very impressed with our garden and they visit often, and give practical advice and lots of encouragement. They invited 2 of the women to attend the Madzivhandila Agricultural College for a weeks course on growing vegetable seedlings, and at a later stage they will return to learn more about costing and simple bookkeeping. I am not sure which was more enjoyable for these single mothers: learning more about their project or getting away from their families and living like students for a few days !!!
A spinoff of the nursery was the beginning of a relatively cheap project based at my home which is in a subtropical, very fertile part of Venda: black bags are regularly filled with a good mixture of soil and placed under a small irrigation system in the old monkey proof cage that was previously used as the vegetable garden when the school was still running from my mobile home. When myself, or the gardeners from the neighboring homes, are pruning garden plants, the cuttings are shoved into the bags, and usually take root within a few days. These bags will then be transported to school and planted as mother plants for future cuttings which will ultimately be sold. Over the years our once very rural area has begun sprouting large modern houses as government officials working in the cities send money home to their families, and there is more focus on beautifying their homes with lovely gardens, so I foresee a fair market in the future.
The block making project which has been at a stand still for a while, will again become active when we start building our new classrooms, hopefully later next year. |  | | | Beauty making beads |
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Untimely deaths sadden us all at our school of life.
We were deeply saddened to hear of the death of Mr. Jean de Haller, from Geneva. Our thoughts and prayers to his bereaved wife and family. They were the main contributors to the building fund for the Halfway House, which is still being used as a temporary classroom for the toddlers. Only when we have completed the classrooms, will the Halfway house be used for its original purpose which is to temporarily look after HIV+ children struggling with the drug regime, or social problems at home. The visitor s room attached to the house will be used to accommodate volunteers later this year, and the school will be able to benefit from the fresh ideas and energy they invariably contribute.
The HIV+ support group were devastated when a member died unexpectedly in her sleep. She had been at a meeting the week before and had shown none of the secondary symptoms usually associated with HIV/AIDS. We have not yet heard the official cause of death, but the women had to be reminded that even though they are HIV+, they can also die from other causes. |
2009 application to the National Lottery.
The Lotteries Board declined our application because PriceWaterhouseCoopers, our pro bono auditors, have not yet submitted our audited financial statements for 2007/2008. This was a huge disappointment as it was not our fault: we had met their requirements repeatedly but they kept losing the documents. In February 2009 I was told the financial statements were only awaiting a signature. Then after more months of begging and pleading, another person from their office phoned to ask for more documents and so it went on. We have been told repeatedly that there isn t a problem, and that the statements were only waiting to be signed-off . Initially we thought it was great, having an internationally reputable firm auditing our books, but as I write this, they still have not given us the signed statements, nor written to the Lottery Board asking for clemency as promised, nor even commented on the fact that they lost us the remainder of a grant of R3,920,110.00 This is the balance of funding from a proposal which was spread over 3 years, and having completed all the necessary progress and financial reports after receiving the first tranche, we would definitely have received the balance for the following year. Needless to say we will be appointing a different firm, regardless of what it may cost. We did not know that pro bono would end up losing us a fortune! |
Visitors from Scotland.........
In September, the school buzzed with the arrival of Stuart Robertson, his wife Patricia, Les and Monica McNeill, and Snoddy Campbell. This was particularly exciting as the McNeills (parents of co-founder, Fraser,) had last visited VMS when it was still based at my mobile home, and Stuart had attended the opening of the new school in 2005, so it was a real treat to show them what we had achieved over the past 5 years. Although the newsletters, hopefully, let everybody know the latest developments, it is always better for the school to have visitors who can see for themselves, and report back to the various congregations, and Scottish communities who have been our mainstay since its conception. The visitors kindly sponsored a day trip for all the children and staff to the local resort where the children swam in the warm pools, played in the big open spaces, and of course, consumed a huge lunch. Thanks to Stuart's friends who had donated money rather than buy him birthday gifts, we were able to have tiles put in the bathrooms and kitchen, and painted the walls a fresh green colour. Besides looking bright and cheery, it is much more hygienic and a lot easier to keep clean...
This was our second school trip as Inder (our ex-VSO volunteer, now working in a nearby town) had kindly sponsored an earlier day visit to the Ben Lavin game reserve. We unfortunately did not see much game (mainly because of the loud noise our hired bus made as it chugged along the dirt road) except for the brief sighting of a lone giraffe which caused great excitement (and chaos) as children and staff rushed to the windows. The game reserve management had gone out of their way to make this a special day, and without our knowledge had hired a sliding castle. The absence of costumes did not deter the youngsters as they stripped off their clothes, and pushed and shoved to climb the ladders and slide down to land on top of each other in the pool at the bottom. The staff and I had our hands full as we extracted drowning, giggling, crying children, got them dried and dressed, only to find them back in the melee as soon as our backs were turned! |
VMS and yours truly appear on national T.V!
This considerably shook up some local Councillors and brought us to the attention of the Provincial government including the Premier s Office A few weeks before the school closed I received a call from the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) office in Polokwane to say that they had heard about VMS and were on their way to do a brief article. They walked around, took pictures and did some interviews Asked whether we had any problems and if we were getting help from government, I told them about our ongoing registration problems with the Dept of Education, and that the local municipality wanted us to pay for a stand number before the registration process could be completed. Although they said it would be aired a few days later during a touching lives insert in the middle of the 7 pm news, I did not take it too seriously... so you can imagine the disbelief when my child and I were watching TV the following day and saw ourselves, in the middle of the evening news! It was National AIDS Day, and apparently the interview was aired on all 3 National TV Stations at different times of the evening. By the time I arrived at school the following morning there were 3 very official looking cars parked outside. Representatives from the Provincial Government and the Education Dept. had come on a fact finding mission. I showed them lists of people I had contacted since 2005, with their responses (or lack thereof...) copies of letters written etc. The next day the Chief of Staff from the Premiers office in Polokwane met with me, and assured me that we would be registered early in the new year.... You have no idea what this will mean to VMS: The salaries of my 3 teachers will be paid by the government which, after the 3 week strikes earlier in the year, (during which none of my staff missed a day...) means they will not only get substantial increases but also perks such as housing allowances and medical aid benefits. Wages for a cook, cleaner and gardener, as well as food allowances, books and stationary etc will all be subsidised. This will have a ripple effect as money used previously for these wages can be spread over other staff members who have been earning well below the minimum wage requirements. I don't like to count my chickens before they have hatched.., but as the SABC do follow up programs to see if the problems have been resolved, I have a feeling this time I can safely, at least start planning! |
|  | | | Children's HIV/AIDS Support Group |
On a more personal note.....
I knew from when she was very young that my foster child Wavho, had a hearing problem as she would turn my face to see my lips when I spoke to her, and people would complain that she was rude as she did not always greet them when they walked by. Sorting out the effects of chronic malnutrition, T.B. and HIV had, obviously, to take priority, but once she was stable - and incredibly healthy- we investigated further. Both her ears had been affected due to the constant infections when she was a toddler, and she only had 38% hearing in her right ear and 28% in her left. When the doctor showed us the state of her inner ears on a big screen I was horrified to see the huge holes in her ear drums. How she managed to do so well at school, help with the ARV workshops and lead a fairly normal social life is another exceptional facet of this amazing young girl. In March a new ear drum was implanted, and the surgeon and audiologist were totally amazed at the 99,1 % result. The second operation in early December was a lot more difficult as the 3 inner bones had been badly affected and the surgeon had to remove the anvil as it had calcified. Never-the-less they grafted on a new ear drum, and that too has been a remarkable success - the surgeon said he had never seen a recovery like it !! The next step is to replace the anvil (at the moment she has no hearing in that ear at all), but the surgeon is positive that after the 3rd (and hopefully final) operation, now scheduled for October, we can expect at least an 80% hearing level. My heartfelt thanks to all who contributed, whether with donations so that we could have this done at a reputable private hospital, or with prayers and positive thoughts. |
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2010 ends in high spirits.....
Parcels of gifts and sweets once again arrived, thanks to Jessica Wolpert, her Mom and sister Stacey, who persuaded people in Hong Kong to donate money, and thereby bring a bit of Xmas spirit, not only to the 73 learners attending VMS, but also the children assisted by the school as part of the outreach program. Ann Ormiston from Netcare sent a truckload of dried goods, tins of food, cool drinks and sweets which helped with our annual Xmas party and graduation ceremony, and supplemented the food parcels sent to needy families during the long holidays. This certainly makes my Xmas meal a lot more palatable knowing that at least some families have a decent plate of food on this special day...
Although it rained during our graduation ceremony, and the mortar boards were too small (and had to be shoved hard over little heads ...) this did little to dampen the fever of excitement as the approximately 200 caregivers, parents and guests watched as the pre-school children received their certificates enabling them to advance to the first grade of their educational paths. All the classes put on dramas and there was much singing and dancing with plenty of audience participation. Little Vhutshilo was the centre of attention as he bopped and swayed on his newly discovered walking legs, clambered up for cuddles, and added his voice to the many speeches.. This baby epitomises the spirit of VMS, as he has become our mascot!
Last, but definitely not least, I want to thank my Board of Directors, who keep me on track and make sure the school is run according to proper procedures. This is vitally important as it seems to be the rule rather than the exception, that funding given to small NGO's gets lost on big salaries, exorbitant administrative costs, luxury vehicles and so forth.
Thanks to all who contribute to make this little school an institute to be proud of, and once again apologies if I have omitted to thank anyone by name or been tardy with email replies and thank you notes. Besides the common-place computer and internet problems, important things often get forgotten in the ups and downs of our daily routine.
In my wildest dreams I never imagined I would be the Director of such a wonderful programme, and I never fail to feel an enormous sense of achievement and gratitude when I drive through the gates...
Warm regards to you all,
Susie
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