Homeless in Munsieville

This report is from our South African Operations Manager, Betty Nkoana and describes many of the issues faced by the residents of Munsieville - crowded living conditions, extended families, poverty and vulnerable children:
Silently a family is enjoying its sleep on a winter morning at around 12.45 a.m. and suddenly there’s someone screaming in the shack…HELP, HELP THE SHACK IS BURNING!!!. The owner thought he was dreaming, but his wife woke him up aggressively and said, "Help the kids, the shack is burning….." "

The owner thought he was dreaming, but his wife woke him up aggressively and said, "Help the kids, the shack is burning….." And immediately he remembered, that earlier that night someone said to him, "I WILL BURN YOUR SHACK AND WLL KILL YOUR FAMILY…..ALL OF THEM! This family consists of granddad, grandma and the three grandsons. One of the grandsons is an orphan. All these boys lost their clothes, books and everything they had, while the grandparents lost their identity documents, furniture, etc. Their shack was burned to ashes and the council provided them with a tent for temporary shelter. Unfortunately winter has just started here in South Africa and this morning it was 9 ̐с and it was windy. Imagine having three children in such circumstances. I interviewed these boys this afternoon and I couldn’t hold my tears as they were talking on camera pleading for help. Their main request was please somebody, help us to get a shack again and also to get our school uniform and books.

I tried to find out what happened and here's the story from the family: "We accommodated one of our friends because this guy comes from our village back home. He came to Munsieville and he didn’t have a place to stay. This is the fifth month he has been staying with us but now he started to come back home very late at night and drunk. The old man tried several times to ask him not to come late because he is sending a bad message to the boys and also he doesn’t show any respect. He kept on doing it and so today, the old man decided not to open the door for him. He went away, but unfortunately he came back and burned the shack. The police are still looking for him."
The community is now working to support this family and help them to rebuild their home.

Thuli's thoughts on working with The House of Young Ambassadors

My story of being a facilitator for House of Young Ambassadors (Thulisiwe Mpanza): Since I started working for Life line West Rand I‘ve been participating on different activities around the community of Mogale City. Working with Project Hope on the project called HYA (House of Young Ambassadors) gave me a great experience especially because we work with children from different backgrounds. I learned a lot hosting their workshops.

I used to educate elderly people and not children so at first it wasn’t easy to cope but I learned that I must go at their pace. One of the things I realized is that it is important to ask the children questions about their feelings and their lives, especially since not all children tell you everything themselves and by also looking at their non-verbal behavior I could tell a lot about how they feel. I really enjoyed listening to them and learned to be patient and do everything passionately. The children are very different and come from different homes and in the future I will try to spend more time with them, since I can learn a lot from working with them. Unfortunately we had only limited time, but sometimes the kids were so engaged in a topic that they did not want to leave. What surprised me is that a lot of the children, when they are not able to make it to a workshop, are not used to sending their apologies, they don’t even know that this is a good habit!

Karina from Lifeline on The House of Young Ambassadors

My personal story with the House of Young Ambassadors and Project Hope: as seen through the eyes of Karina Swart (Lifeline): Since the end of 2008, I and the LifeLine team worked closely with the community members within Munsieville. Munsieville is like a second home to us all. It was very refreshing to work with the House of Young Ambassadors, since the children are open to change and give one a new perspective on life.

One of the highlights whilst engaging with this group was to see the personal growth that each individual experienced. In the first session, the youngsters were reserved and shy, but as they gained trust in us and the process they participated with ease. It was fun for us and the youngsters to work on the slogan, and I believe this action created a sense of unity amongst the group. I loved to see the creativity of the young people using clay to create a symbol that describes themselves and their qualities as a leader. It was wonderful to see their facial expression whilst sharing their qualities and the pride they felt as being part of representing Munsieville Youth. If I had to think of a funny moment, and to an extent also a bit of sadness; it was the fact that some of them were sent to the Embassy to “go and compile your homework” while others were passing by, and “wondered what was happening at this centre”. Overall I enjoyed working with the young people, and experiencing their “home” and community through their eyes.

New video talks about The Thoughtful Path

The Thoughtful Path is our flagship programme designed to enable whole communities to change the way that orphans and other vulnerable children are cared for in Africa.

Currently running in Munsieville, South Africa, the programme tackles all the elements which affect the lives of these children. By improving their health and total well-being, The Thoughtful Path allows children to break free from the cycle of poverty and lack of opportunities and increases their chances of becoming healthy, productive adults.

Watch this video to hear Project HOPE UK's Paul Brooks talking about The Thoughtful Path and see how it works to transform the communities where these children are living.

Fire destroys two shacks in Munsieville

A group of shacks in Munsieville burnt to the ground on 13 April, leaving two families homeless. The community tried to put out the flames but were unsuccessful. Fortunately, nobody was in the shacks at the time as the residents were at work or school. No-one knows what caused the fire which destroyed all the Motswoasele family's belongings including their Nissan 1400 bakkie. The fire spread to the neighbouring Bosman’s shack; they also lost everything. The fire brigade then extinguished the blaze, preventing the fire from spreading further to surrounding shacks in the township.

Four young Democratic Alliance councillors, Lawrence Shabalala, Victor Mhlari, Neo Magodielo and Lebo Moreby have helped by gathering donations from the Krugersdorp Rotary Club. Silverstar Casino and members of the community donated clothing and blankets. The families are now trying their best to get back to where they were before the fire broke out and are appealing to the the community to donate sheets of corrugated iron and wooden planks so they can rebuild their shacks. Presently they are sleeping in a tent provided by the West Rand Emergency Services. Although the cause of the fire is not yet known, it was possibly due to paraffin, commonly used for cooking and lighting in the shacks. If so, this unfortunate accident highlights the dangers of this fuel and the importance of the safety training and awareness programme The Thoughtful Path are running in Munsieville.

Project HOPE UK awarded Big Lottery Fund grant

Project HOPE UK’s flagship programme, The Thoughtful Path: Munsieville, has been awarded a grant by the Big Lottery Fund (a grant-making body of the UK National Lottery) to support important new components of the ten-year strategy to create a world-class model of excellence in sustainable, community-based care of orphans and other vulnerable children.
The entire project is focussed on local community mobilisation through which the people of Munsieville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, introduce far-reaching changes to their lifestyle and to the structures of their community in a bid to make it the best possible environment in which vulnerable children can be raised, reversing the low life-expectancy and attainment that is endemic within Africa’s slum settlements. The award from the Big Lottery Fund will cover the costs of a new Health Promotion Unit – a team of professionals who will assist the programme’s seven “Hubs” (action groups) to develop and deliver health strategies impacting every phase of child development from birth to adulthood.
The grant will also see the launch of a 24 hour emergency response service in the township accessible by any child who feels vulnerable, threatened or in need of support. Project HOPE UK will also be able to double the number of places on its Early Childhood Development training programme – in partnership with Safe & Sound Learning Association – to equip community members to give the very best support to pre-school children across Munsieville.
Executive Director, Paul Brooks, said, “This grant is as a tremendous breakthrough for this project, and a major endorsement for Project HOPE UK’s sustainability strategy. This programme is about empowering the community to do things for itself, so the benefits continue long after we have withdrawn. Every penny of this grant will be used in that process – training, equipping, mentoring, and leaving a strong community that is an example and inspiration to others”.

Brunel University project to help House of Young Ambassadors' development

Fauzia Rehman, a student from Brunel University has just started an assignment with Project HOPE UK, as part of her Masters degree in Children, Youth and International Development. She will help to develop a position paper and operational guidelines to encourage the participation of the children in Munsieville in the planning of the services provided for them. Her assignment will focus on the work of The House of Young Ambassadors, based at the Children's Embassy in Munsieville.
Fauzia's project will look at how the core beliefs of Project HOPE UK in the role of children in driving change in their community can be embedded in the work of The Thoughtful Path. She will also develop guidelines on the ways to track changes in The Young Ambassadors themselves and evaluate their effectiveness in inspiring change amongst their peers.
Project HOPE UK welcomes Faustia and looks forward to her report and recommendations in April.