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> VHUTSHILO MOUNTAIN SCHOOL (VMS) > VMS Newsletter 2011
VMS Newsletter 2011 |  | |
Greetings to you all, and welcome back to the world of Vhutshilo!
2011 started with more than the usual chaos of enrolling new children, sorting out transport to remote villages, and juggling space to fit in our Grades 1, 2 and 3, and the ever-expanding numbers of toddlers and pre-schoolers. Due to heavy rains the main tar road between my house and the school was washed away. At first we could walk on the part of the road still standing, and catch a bus/taxi on the other side. But when the remainder of the road collapsed, a sand detour was built which became a quagmire with big trucks and busses stuck in the mud and other traffic slipping and sliding to get past. Alternative routes through the forest were time consuming and congested with other hopeful 4x4-want-to-be drivers, so I was forced to spend days working at home while my child stayed with Eunice who lives next to VMS and is on a taxi route so she was able to get to school. Although I managed to get a lot of work done, I missed the buzz and bustle, the morning "huga-huga" routine with the children and even the constant interruptions that are inevitable with our open office door policy !!!
As usual the rest of the year had its ups and downs, rewards and disappointments. The devastating news of the death of our architect and building supervisor, Eric Giradin, affected not only VMS, but also the local artisans who had worked with him on all of the building projects. I personally miss his friendship and the impromptu meetings for coffee and a chat when we planned the future of our school. At a celebration of his life held on the banks of the dam at his Shiluvari Lodge, I was amazed at the other community projects that this small man with the big heart had instigated and been involved with. Rest in peace, Eric, your spirit lives on, not only in the bricks and mortar but in our hearts as well..
A bit later in the year, the school was again stunned when our colleague, teacher Constance, was rushed to hospital having suffered a massive stroke. Her left side was seriously affected and she could not talk or walk properly and had very little sight in her left eye. Her fear and hopelessness was slightly alleviated when she was re-assured that we would not be hiring a teacher to take her place for the remaining 2 months of school, and the staff shuffled themselves around so that the toddlers had a minder, and we were still able to pay her salary until the end of the year. This was a huge relief as she is the sole breadwinner in her family of 3 children, an aging mom and dad and unemployed sisters and brothers. We are assisting her in accessing a disability grant and she will receive money from the unemployment fund that she has been contributing to since her employment. Staff members keep her in touch with her young students with letters and drawings, and they visit as often as they can with fresh vegetables and local gossip.
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The long battle with Dept of Education finally ended
with VMS eventually being registered in June, after a 5 year struggle. This only happened after some kind soul tipped-off SABC TV, and we were suddenly featured at the end of the main news one night! By time I arrived at school the next morning there was a delegate from the Premier's Office waiting. In June, we learned that our registration had been back-dated until January. However, on enquiring when we could expect to receive our subsidy, we were appalled to hear that, as we had missed the April budget deadline, and because a newly registered school has to operate for a year before the subsidy is paid out, we could only expect financial aid in the latter part of 2013. An emergency board meeting was held and a decision taken to suspend the grade 1, 2 and 3 classes, and to revert back to a creche/pre-school. A bitter blow, but also a huge relief as every month we scraped for salaries for my teaching staff, and the time and energy expended on incompetent and unsympathetic government officials would be put to better use in concentrating on our outreach projects. Attempts to get those outreach projects registered with the Dept of Social Development also failed as they now claim to "only fund drop-in centres" (after school care for orphans & vulnerable children) and HBC (home based care) projects. This is actually not true, but although on the one hand it is essential that our government meets it's constitutional mandate to at least fund some of these essential services, the past history with its constant frustrations make me wonder if we are not better off sourcing more funding, and trying to become more self sufficient.
Thanks to Oxfam the outreach programme forges ahead...
For me personally, the project closest to my heart is the ARV workshops for children. When my foster daughter went onto the ARV drugs at the tender age of 4, friends and family thought I was crazy as I insisted that she measure the dosage of syrup mixture herself in a syringe, and take it when the morning and evening news was on. From a silent, non responsive child with the huge distended tummy of the malnourished, she quickly became a talkative, laughing girl bubbling with health and vitality. The doctors started asking her to come in to the clinic to talk to children who were defaulting, and after a while we realised that if she could take responsibility for her own drug regime, then so could the other children. Hence the workshops to "empower" these youngsters began at VMS.
Our new outreach assistant, Takalani, (meaning "rejoice") visits 19 homes and monitors 46 children from 16 different villages every month!! Not only does she check the ARV medicines to see if the children are adhering properly to the strict drug regime, but she also keeps an eye out for possible abuse of the government foster grants. Food security is vitally important, and VMS helps with fresh vegetables from the school garden when needed and encourages the caregivers and the children to start their own gardens. Seedlings were given to some of the children and caregivers, and in 2012 we will hold a workshop for them involving all aspects of vegetable production. The workshops are well attended, and as the older children are now in their teens, other issues such as protected sex, teenage pregnancies etc are discussed. These older children attended two camping trips: one at Schoemansdal, an outdoor education centre where they hiked in the bush, scaled rock walls, and learnt about preserving our beautiful wilderness. The other trip was to "Keep the Dream" in a beautiful site near Tzaneen in Mpumalanga, which is run on scouting principles. The children learnt survival skills and participated in team building games. Janet Prest Talbot and her co-worker, Jackie from the Children's Rights Centre were contracted by SANAC (South Africa National AIDs council) and had asked our permission to join the children, and to get them to participate in a survey for the NSP (National Strategic Plan for HIV & AIDS). The children were asked questions regarding their hospital visits and how they could be improved. They said that they would like to have more doctors so that they don't spend the whole day waiting for the one doctor, and that they would also like to have their hospital visits on Saturdays and holidays so they don't miss school. A place to study or watch T.V. would also be good as they get very bored (yes, we are looking into this, donations welcomed!!). We joined the Yezingane Network (which deals with children's civil rights and policy making ) and their input was published in the "Children Say" Yezingane Child Participation newspaper. I find it astonishing and very exciting that our youngsters might be instrumental in changing government policy.
The older teenagers from the support group discussed the need for skills training to find a niche for them in the employment market. We have therefore begun investigating the possibility of getting local training centres involved in teaching our children basic courses in carpentry, confectionary, baking, sewing and so forth.
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VMS Children's Support Group attracted national interest
when a social study of a rural paediatric antiretroviral programme in S.A. was published by Dr. Patricia Henderson, an anthropologist based at the University of Cape Town. She had visited the school for a few days on two occasions, and spent time with the children and caregivers. I wanted to burst with pride when Oxfam gave us (and the other partners attending a workshop!!) hard copies of the case study, and I quote: " given the fact that most children in the programme have been on ARV treatment for 5 years, their continuing overall adherence is no mean achievement... They have seen the tangible results of sticking to one's medication in the noticeable recovery of their friends. This has had the important effect of turning many of the children into advocates for one another, encouraging one another and supporting one another, not only in the group meetings but in the broader community'' The full study can be seen on www.oxfam.org.
Dr. Henderson used drama to interact with the children and this enabled them to act out their experience of living with HIV in their villages. This taste for the theatre inspired the children to write and produce their own drama about a young girl who is diagnosed HIV+. Her grandfather doesn't want other people to know, and insists on sending her to a sangoma (traditional healer) and has to sell a cow before she will "throw the bones". When the child's health does not improve, the granny decides to take matters into her own hands, and asks advice from her granddaughter's school friends. They tell her about going to the clinic, taking the meds, and joining the VMS support group. It ends on a happy note with the child getting better, the grandfather discovering the subterfuge, and as he only has to pay half the fee to the sangoma, he organises a party to celebrate his granddaughters health.
A group of 10 young Glasgow University students from Volunteer Students Abroad stayed at the Halfway House for 2 months, and attended some of the workshops, particularly those involving the drama group. The children and students spent many happy hours painting simple but very effective backdrops for the different scenes in the drama, and learning some dance routines. Unfortunately their visit was spoilt by a burglary where some cash and cell phones were stolen, but thanks to a generous donation they gave to VMS we were able to install burglar bars and a palisade fence to ensure better security and privacy at the Halfway House. We all look forward to their stay again next year.
On World AIDs Day we partnered Phuluso clinic (The government Wellness Centre, i.e. Aids clinic, at our local district hospital) in a day of commemoration, and celebration of life. The VMS contingency of approx. 100 people made an impressive contribution as, dressed in bright red t-shirts, we all joined in the dancing and singing. The event was held in the hospital chapel and we were entertained with songs by the hospital choir and uplifting and positive speeches by members of other support groups. My daughter, Wavho told her story and encouraged her peers to take control of their lives, to eat nutritious food, and sent a strong message to pregnant mothers to take Nevirapene which prevents mother-to-child transmission. We participated in a moving candle lighting ceremony, and I wept with pride as our youngsters performed their drama to a very appreciative and receptive audience.
TVEP (Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Programme) who funded the first ARV workshop at VMS, are using these workshops as a prototype to roll out similar models at two other government Wellness Centres. Our children will play an important advocacy role by performing their drama, talking to their young peers, and by being such excellent examples of living positively with HIV.
|  | | | Volunteer Students Abroad at VMS |
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Halfway House becomes a place of healing..
Our dreams of using the Halfway House as a safe place for children when they are battling with the strict ARV drug regime, at last became a reality: Ridgeway College, a private school in Louis Trichardt has an outreach programme, Sumbandila ("showing the way") that awards scholarships to deserving youngsters from rural backgrounds. They asked for assistance as the sister of one of their scholars had been defaulting, and was very sickly. Wavho and I took the trip to a remote village and spoke to the caregiver and the 12 year old child, who was skinny and unresponsive. Part of the problem was lack of nutritious food, and we suspected that the caregiver, who was not even a family member, was misusing the grant. Wavho encouraged the child to take her meds regularly and to eat properly, and promised we would check up on her again.. A few weeks later we heard she had been admitted to the hospital and we went to visit. She was no sooner discharged when we heard she was back in the hospital again. It was then decided that she must stay at the Halfway House for a while to build up her strength, and join the other children at the workshops. Women from the support group took turns to stay with her at night, and during the day she was kept busy at VMS. My staff once again surpassed all expectations as they rallied around and made sure she ate properly, that she was kept busy with small chores, and given lots of love. When she went back to the hospital for her monthly checkup, the doctor and social worker were amazed at the change. She had put on weight, and smiled and talked more than anybody had seen over the past 4 years. We were not sure what to do with her over the long holidays, but Taki solved the problem by inviting her to stay at her home as her daughter is also a member of the ARV support group. During her stay, she joined in with all the ARV support group activities, and I could not believe my eyes when she stood in as the narrator for the drama on World AIDs Day. She told my daughter that she had never mixed with other HIV+ children, and that she had never heard people talk so openly about HIV/AIDS.
An unexpected and most welcome development was that 5 of the caregivers attended a 3 day HBC (Home Based Care) course so that they are better equipped, not only to deal with their own young charges and others in the community, but also to help out at the Halfway House when needed.
Income generation projects begin to bear fruit...
The seedling nursery is becoming more viable as local farmers are buying our surplus plants, and our own garden, except for the very hot December, January and February months, is always a sight to behold with its neat rows of spinach, cabbage, carrots, green peppers etc. To see the youngsters tucking into meals supplemented with freshly cut vegetables, and the needier ones proudly struggling into their transport vehicles with a large cabbage or with bundles of spinach sticking out of their school bags to give to their goggos (grannies) is a great incentive for those involved in this labour intensive but very rewarding project.
The other successful income generating project is the making of beads from recycled glass. Thanks to Cheryl van der Vyfer from Unique Leather and Iona Thomas, owner of The Goose and Labrador B & B, the 4 support group women involved in this project were shown how to make different pieces of jewellery. Beautiful display boards were made and one was placed at Shiluvari Lodge, courtesy of Clare Giradin, Eric's daughter-in-law, and one at the school where they are starting to make a profit from visitors. Next year we hope to display our "Positive Beads" jewellery at other lodges in the area.
|  | | | VMS Seedling Nursery |
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|  | | | Nestle Community Nutrition Award |
Highlights this year were plentiful...
and considering our dire financial status, particularly heart-warming!
VMS was shortlisted for the Shoprite Community Project of the year, and we were ecstatic to learn that we had won!!! Our prize was a video camera, a jungle gym for toddlers and a box of toys. This did much to boost the spirits of the staff, and to alleviate some of the heartache, and frustrations that these under paid and dedicated women face on a daily basis.
On one of their visits to the school, the Dept of Agriculture brought an application form to fill in for the Nestle Community Nutrition Award, and a few weeks later we were visited by a representative who came to meet our two gardeners, and to see and photograph the vegetable garden. The months passed and I thought we must have been eliminated, so it was a great surprise when Evelyn and Thendi received an invitation to attend the award winning ceremony in Pretoria. This generated much excitement as the staff discussed what they should wear, and who would look after their children while they were away for the 2 nights. I received a panic stricken and teary phone call when they arrived after a long bus trip and found that they were not booked into the hotel, which luckily was speedily resolved. This was followed the next day by an exuberant and joyful call to say that they had been awarded one of the runner-up prices. They arrived back at school with a huge cardboard check which they had carried on the bus much to the amazement of, and with much teasing from, the other passengers. This amount of R10,000.00 was deposited into the school account to be used on the garden project, and they were also given a framed certificate "in recognition for an outstanding contribution to the improved nutritional status of communities." After consultation with board members it was decided to give each of them a thousand rand (almost double their monthly stipends!) as a reward for all their hard work. I wish you could have been here to share the moment as their faces lit up with disbelief and happiness at the unexpected windfall..
The Scots continue to dig deep into already over extended pockets
Where would we be without them, our loyal supporters since VMS still operated from my mobile home! They held a fundraising dinner to raise money for the new classrooms, instigated and organised by Ian McCorie, a legend in Tshikombani village since he joined in the festivities at the opening of Vhutshilo in 2005. The villagers still talk about the white man who wore a "skirt" (kilt) and joined the women in a traditional dance. An amazing amount of money was raised but we had to ask to use it for running costs as we were battling to keep the school going. Last year members of these Inverclyde Churches of Scotland sponsored a total of 18 children, some of them from when the child started at VMS until they left 7 years later. An amazing feat, and special thanks to Monica McNeill for taking care of the logistics of getting these individual monthly donations to us safely. Also thanks to Peter Nimmo for spending time at the school, taking photos and doing his bit in contributing to the building fund.
The children from Sheuchan Primary School once again donated blue and purple tops, t-shirts and even school uniforms which we gave to older siblings. It's thanks to this school that we decided the VMS colours should be purple as, not only is it easy to spot our children when they stand on the road waiting for transport, but as it is the colour of happiness it seemed appropriate for our school that brings delight and joy to so many orphans and vulnerable children. Sheuchan School has a "Venda" garden with carved wild African animals, and they sent us a DVD of all the pre-schoolers playing African drums, and singing popular songs but with words relevant to VMS and the work we do. What a wonderful way to teach children about a different culture and about the gift of giving to those less fortunate than themselves.
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HFL Website bridges the gap
between a grassroots, rural programme and the world of cyberspace. Hope for Limpopo, a USA based, non profit organisation, has become extremely important to VMS over the past few years. It was created in 2005 specifically for the purpose of assisting VMS and TVEP with our crusades to help the impoverished women and children in the Limpopo Province. My friends Vaughn and Jo Ann Churchill, two former Peace Corps volunteers, and their friend Nancy Amanti initiated this organisation, but sadly, Vaughn passed away before he was able to see HFL in full operation. His legacy, though, lives on, not only in immediate technical and financial aid but in emotional support and friendship when needed. Please visit their website, www.hopeforlimpopo.org as well as their latest site, www.hopeforlimpopo.ning.com where you can discover several of VMS's current causes which need funding. Jo and Nancy continue to astonish us with their energy and tireless work in "persuading" people to part with their cash to help VMS. The number of sponsors they have sourced for the children grows monthly, and individual donations included money for the roof of the new classrooms which obviously has been put on hold 'til we can build the walls!!, and the purchase of a Pastel bookkeeping computer programme especially designed for NGO's to help Khathu present a better set of financials for the auditors. Thanks to a kind donor we were also able to pay transport costs for Constance so that she could have more frequent visits to the therapists at the local hospital, and for the installation of walking rails outside her home so that she can exercise her limbs. Jo, Nancy and friend Tricia spent a few weeks at VMS participating and assisting wherever possible. Nancy's daughter who is a Special Education teacher in the US and son Cristopher who is a doctor also brought supplies and lent a helping hand where needed. My teachers had great fun, learned a lot, and were spoilt with educational aids from the USA.
HFL was also instrumental in highlighting the important role of children in giving to the less fortunate. Two sisters from Springfield in the USA, eight-year-old Julia and six-year-old Sabrina Callini, were taught by their grandmother to make simple dresses from pillow cases and discarded fabric remnants. A chance remark to Nancy led to the making and transporting of brightly coloured dresses, pants and knitted caps to the children of VMS. I wish these girls could have been here to see the joy and disbelief when the children put on their new clothes, and discovered the thoughtful gifts and notes that the girls had put in the pockets. Through HFL I was also able to remake contact with an old friend: award winning children's author, Cristina Kessler, who donated an autographed set of her wonderful books for the children at VMS to enjoy.
|  | | | Special Education Teacher Amy at VMS |
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The spirit of Christmas was personified once again
when Arlene Wolpert and her two daughters, Stacey and Jessica donated 104 gifts, each individually labelled for a child at the school as well as for those in the outreach programme. These included a set of clothes (shorts, t-shirts and caps, or skirts/dresses) with a toy, body lotion, lip gloss etc and a packet of sweets. Even more amazing was that when they heard that Netcare who had helped in previous years with a truck load of tinned and dry goods for the outreach parcels could not help us this year, they somehow managed to get private donations (some from as far afield as Hong Kong where Stacey works) to the tune of R30,000,00 for us to spend on food for the needier families over the festive season. A note of gratitude to Amelia Holl for getting our wish list published in YOU magazine in 2006 and thus getting these wonderful Wolpert women to assist us every year since. The magazine kindly transports these Xmas goodies up to Venda every December. It was a special privilege to meet the Wolperts when my daughter and I were visiting Johannesburg over the Xmas season, and to put faces to names after such a long period of corresponding and to thank them personally for a magnificent ongoing effort.
|  | | | Christmas Gifts from the Wolpert's |
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Beneficiaries begin to take ownership and by their emerging needs show the way forward...
Caregivers shared their concerns that their young charges were battling with their school work, and becoming "lost" in the overcrowded classes, and because of constant taunting and teasing were in some cases loathe to attend school. Many of them fail grades repeatedly due to illness and absenteeism, and need help with home work, maths and most importantly English. As a solution we need to start extra school classes on Saturdays and during the school holidays, and this will take some of the responsibility off the shoulders of the aging and often illiterate carers.
Another facet of our "caring for the caregivers" policy is an income generating project run on a 'carry over" principle: we will supply a milk goat to a caregiver and the first offspring has to be passed on to another caregiver, and so on. HIV+ women have to either exclusively feed their babies on breast milk for the first 6 months, or if they are unable due to work or other commitments, they cannot breast feed at all but have to rely on tinned milk formula, which is supposed to be given out by the clinics but is often unavailable. Goats milk is the best natural alternative to mother's milk, and yet scarcely used in our area which is well-populated with goats! The caregivers will ultimately be able to sell the surplus milk and therefore make a small income. Training the caregivers and sourcing good stock goats are already in the pipeline and early 2012 we will start to build a small goat house at a few of their homes. This project will also be monitored by Taki during her monthly visits, and the Dept of Agriculture have pledged their support on the issues of vaccines, deworming and other relevant concerns..
Local business became more involved ...
The Aum group from the Indian community in Louis Trichardt donated blankets to 40 children to ward off the winter chills, and Leach printers once again printed all our school progress reports and certificates. The Rotary club donated boxes of "survival" packages for our outreach program, and The Bedshop gave much needed mattress covers for the bunk beds in the Halfway House. Leigh Bristow (the Principal of Ridgeway College ) suggested that we apply for a grant from the G.M. Murray Trust, and attached a note of recommendation. We were successful, and this small grant helps with some of the running costs of our pre-school. From the new year, Ridgeway will partner VMS in some of our outreach projects which will be of great benefit to both parties.
Space becoming a massive problem
so the building of the new classrooms is still a top priority: at the time I write this we have 51 children in the pre-school and 85 children in the outreach programme. The original plan drawn up by Eric is for the two classrooms to be divided by a partition which can be opened when needed so that we can have a large hall for concerts, workshops etc and for the community to use. The toddlers need to move out of the Halfway House, and the adjoining room, which is presently being used as the "caring" room, can then be used for its original purpose: to accommodate visitors who can help to transfer much needed skills, help with the extra classes or to just spend time in a place filled with laughter and love.
A HUGE apology for the fact that we do not have a group photo this year, which is extremely disappointing as it's the first time since I started the school at my mobile home in 2002 that we do not have a yearly record of the children and staff. My fault as I left it 'til the final day of school, and the photographers' who used the wrong settings.
Once again I want to apologize to any donors I may have omitted to thank, attachments that never seem to "attach", sponsor envelopes that are always late, and this newsletter which always gets sent out after a few months in the next year!! I want to try and write more frequent letters during the year, which will be easier for me as the events are fresh, and readers will be kept up to date on the progress of this amazing community project that I have the privilege to be part of. As usual, thanks to my staff who continue to astound me with their dedication and loyalty, and my Board of Directors for their invaluable input and commitment.
Warm regards
Susie
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