You can go on a fascinating photo journey, meet some extraordinary local characters and follow the entire construction process by clicking through HAPPI’s album.  Photo by Malcolm Worby.

Njijini, with the walls on their way and the windows and door frames in place.

By setting up a broad-based alliance structure (NGOs, churches, service providers and government representations) ACESS has championed the rights of the child since March 2001, promoting grants and rights awareness, service delivery, birth registration, and improved communications between government departments.  And, when the necessity arose, has even taken the government to task legally for failure to honour its commitments.

Beyond building and managing a strategic alliance, ACESS is currently engaged in four projects, each of which significantly impact upon ASAP’s work.  These are:

Promoting comprehensive social security, Widening the reach of social assistance, Challenging the barriers to service delivery, and Ensuring access to education for all.

We look forward to taking shade beneath the ACESS umbrella, and venturing forth shoulder to shoulder with some fantastic organisations and people to engage collectively and further champion the rights of children here in South Africa.

In the meantime, put a note in your diary for this year’s ‘Child Protection Week’ (30 May to 4 June) and expect some wonderful and positive events.

For more information, check out the ACESS website.

"Opening doors for children."

Chris made the video for our recent New York fundraiser.

He also recorded an number of recitals in the recent Itekeng – Mamohau Poetry Competition, including the winning poem ‘Dead be not proud’ by Nonceba, a teenager from Itekeng.

“I am taking a community development approach involving the communities themselves as much as possible in the scripting, shooting and editing of the videos,”  Says Chris.  “I will be training young people in video production skills, and I will be spending quality time with the home based carers, shadowing their work and getting a deeper appreciation of their work.”

But the best is still to come and we can’t wait to see the finished products coming from South Africa’s newest and probably most remote film studios.  Why not follow Chris’s fascinating blog ‘On the road with Chris’?

A wonderful way to tell your story

This is a fantastic step forward, as in most of the rural communities where we work, school bookshelves are completely empty. Literacy among African children is a growing concern and 79% of South African public schools do not have libraries.

The campaign was supported by Professor Genevieve Hart, from the University of the Western Cape, who had this to say:  “If you want to help a school, help it with its library.  Research from across the world shows that good schools have libraries.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive building; it can be a cosy classroom corner.  It’s a space where children have a choice of attractive books, where they can lose themselves to find out about themselves – and the rest of the world.  Again, research shows that children who read well do well in all their subjects.  But to read well they have to read a lot.  To read a lot they must like reading. And to like reading they must have access to books they can enjoy and make sense of.  Books stretch their imaginations, their emotions and their intellects.  They are the way to improve our schools – and our future.” 

A whole new library on its way to the Eastern Cape.

“

With your help we can fill the shelves and give these children something real to celebrate this holiday. Every individual book, set, shelf, case, or crate of books you purchase in the name of a friend or loved one will go directly into the library of a rural school. It’s not just a monetary donation, these are actual books in English and local South African languages, both fiction and non-fiction, aligned with the National curriculum.

Donating books for orphans will make a wonderful and unique gift.

Here’s how it works

Once your order is completed through Google Checkout ($’s will reflect in the local currency of the account holder), ASAP will send a beautifully designed e-card with video — a heartwarming Thank You from South African children — to each recipient, informing them of the generous gift made, by you, in their name. And remember, the more books you buy, the more shelves we’ll fill, so please consider books for your entire shopping list! The campaign will be up and running from now until January 6th, with books en-route to the schools in January. Stay tuned for pictures of your generosity at work!

“If you want to help a school, help it with its library.  Research from across the world shows that good schools have libraries.  It doesn’t have to be an expensive building; it can be a cosy classroom corner.  It’s a space where children have a choice of attractive books, where they can lose themselves to find out about themselves – and the rest of the world.  Again, research shows that children who read well do well in all their subjects.  But to read well they have to read a lot.  To read a lot they must like reading. And to like reading they must have access to books they can enjoy and make sense of.  Books stretch their imaginations, their emotions and their intellects.  They are the way to improve our schools – and our future.” Professor Genevieve Hart, University of the Western Cape

Last year’s Fruit Tree campaign was a great success, and we are eager to share some of the highlights with you.

Over 200 fruit trees were delivered to rural drop in centers, thanks to your generous donations.  Apple, pears, plum, peach, plum, apricot and acacia trees were planted in early spring by the dedicated Child Care workers in rural communities–you should have heard them singing with joy as they put those trees into the ground! Though small at first, the trees have already begun to thrive and produce fruit.

Mrs. Mbedu and two local children stand proud behind their very own peach tree

Yummy peaches provide a healthy snack and shade

At last, the children are able to reap the nutritional benefits of delicious apples, pears, plums, peaches and apricots.  In addition, the trees provide much needed shade for the gardens, and offset our carbon footprints. Just imagine: when a child goes to his local drop in center after school, he may pluck a peach from the tree and eat it then and there–how sweet is that?

Thank you for supporting these wonderful and deserving children. And stay tuned for pictures and news from this year’s Book campaign!

NG: If you could just introduce yourself? Tell us who you are?

LD: My name is Linet Dube. I’m a thirty six year-old mother of one girl who’s thirteen this year. I’ve been with ASAP three years now, three years in March. I’m working on my fourth year now.

NG: And what is your role here?

LD: I’m the office administrator. But they like calling me the office manager.

NG: So there’s more responsibility than just admin?

LD: Yes, I get to do more. I interact with the women. I’m more than just an office administrator because I communicate mostly with the women in the CBO’s, the Community Based Organisations that we work with. I speak their language, so if Priscilla needs to communicate with them she will tell me what she needs to say to them, and I will relate the message to them and visa versa. Tell Priscilla what they need me to tell her.

NG: So that’s in what language?

LD: Xhosa.

NG: What’s your background to this work? Did you study?

LD: No I don’t have any training in office admin. I am a teacher by profession

NG: What’s the most enjoyable part of the work here?

LD: What I enjoy the most in my job is talking to the women and getting to know them, you know, getting to know how they work and what’s their passion, what is that that really drives them? So in the work that they do it’s not easy, it’s not any work that anyone can do. But it needs passion and commitment and for me to discover that all the time, you know, I grow. I’ve grown ever since I started working with ASAP, because I had no background whatsoever. But it’s like in-service training, by working with them I get a training as well. I like meeting other women and seeing what they do. Meeting the children, and working with the women in their offices. I like that as well.

NG: So there are lots of strong characters that you have to deal with?

LD: Yes, very strong characters, because you know they are older women, and most of the time they are older than I am, and I have to find my place, because for me to be able to work with them, for me to gain their respect, I have to find my place in their set-up. Because in my culture if you are younger it is very difficult to tell the other people what to do. But then I have made a way to work around that, so that at the end of the day we get the job done regardless of who’s old and who’s younger. And most of them, these women are prominent women within their community. They have those positions, they have started organisations, and a young girl going in there..

NG: Telling them what to do.

LD: Yeah [laughs]. I’d say that what we are trying to do now is give the organisations back to the women, to say, “You own this.” We’re trying to train them to own their organisations, because most of the time when they do the reports or when they collect statistics, it’s as if they are doing that for ASAP. It’s their organisation, their community, because one day ASAP won’t be there, but the women will be there, the organisation, because it’s in their community. Because we are really trying to instil ownership in them, so they own these organisations.

NG: And that’s one of the biggest challenges is it?

LD: Yes it’s a challenge. We always told them that they are not working for ASAP, they are working for themselves. We really impressed it on them that it is their organisation. For example, if they are reporting they are writing a report for the community and this report is going to be kept in the community and those are their records.

NG: How would you like to see ASAP in the future?

LD: As a Zimbabwean I would like to see ASAP go into Zimbabwe, because there are more needy people. With the current political situation in Zim they could really use an organisation like ASAP.

NG: Well maybe in the future you could set one up there.

LD: That would be nice.

NG: And any last words?

LD: Basically like what I’ve said before is that I’ve grown since I’ve been working with ASAP. It’s opened my world. You know I was living in this small world where what you have is what you have, or you didn’t care about anyone else. But since I’ve started working here.. There’s a lady who said to me when I started working at ASAP, “When you come to this job you stop being an employee and be a mother.” Now I realise what she meant because it’s more than just a job now. It’s like I live, this is my life, this is what I love to do and I find whatever I look at, the news or I hear people talking, it just comes back to my job.

NG: And how would you like to see yourself with ASAP in five years?

LD: What I would like to see in ASAP in five years time is that I’d work more closely with the women and travel and I’m more hands on. I’m mostly in the office but I’d like to go there and work with them and interact more with them, help them in whichever way I can assist them. Because I’ve learnt a lot from Priscilla, she’s very, very patient with me and I’m very grateful for that.