Besides rural communities facing problems like HIV/Aids, unemployment and poverty in their everyday lives, parents who do find jobs have to worry about the safety of their little ones when they're out working. But for the nearby community of Glenmore, this is no longer an issue thanks to the idea and dedication of a women's self-help group, volunteers and support from the Angus Gillis Foundation in Grahamstown.
Besides rural communities facing problems like HIV/Aids, unemployment and poverty in their everyday lives, parents who do find jobs have to worry about the safety of their little ones when they're out working. But for the nearby community of Glenmore, this is no longer an issue thanks to the idea and dedication of a women's self-help group, volunteers and support from the Angus Gillis Foundation in Grahamstown.
Glenmore is a rural area off the Fort Beaufort road, about 25km east of Kwandwe Game Reserve. In 2009 a motivated women's group there decided to address their community's need for a safe, warm, and caring environment for local children to go to while their parents worked.
This produced the Masivuye Safe Park, an early childhood development centre at the home of one of the group's members, that provided a stimulating, safe place for children too young for school as well as after-school care. “Angus Gillis provided some toys and basic early childhood development training,” said Angus Gillis director Lucy O’Keeffe.
The foundation is an independent non-profit trust that's all about empowerment, encouraging self-reliance, creating genuine and lasting change and putting the community in the driver’s seat. “We saw their dedication, and realised they needed their own site,” O’Keeffe said.
Since then the foundation began to build the safe park and “we finished the building with funding from the Robert Niven Trust, and materials donated by Penny Pinchers,” she said.
A day was organised last month when volunteers could help complete it by painting walls, erecting a fence and planting a vegetable garden. O’Keeffe said their long-term aim is to assist self-help groups to register with the Department of Social Development in order to be able to access funding for child nutrition and teacher’s salaries.
The foundation has recently launched a sponsorship appeal and is looking for individuals who would be willing to sponsor R50-R100 per month to provide a basic stipend for the teachers as an interim measure.
The principle behind this unique and empowering foundation is that instead of beginning with the needs and problems of a community, people are encouraged to recognise the value of their existing knowledge, assets, skills, and resources and how they can build on these.
The organisation is hoping to set up more volunteer days. Anyone interested can get in touch with O’Keeffe at 046 622 7896. Donations of blankets and mattresses are also always needed, she said.
