Run 10km in London and help children in Munsieville

Join the “RUNNING for HOPE” team in the 2011 British 10K London Run and you can have a guaranteed place in the same event in 2012, just days before the opening ceremony of the LONDON 2012 OLYMPICS!
With 25,000 runners, the British 10K London Run is one of the nation’s greatest annual running events. The 2012 event will be heavily oversubscribed, but your opportunity to run through one of the world’s most iconic race routes, festooned with flags in preparation for the “biggest show on earth” is assured by participating in 2011, as part of the 102-strong team supporting Project HOPE UK’s signature programme, The Thoughtful Path: Munsieville.
The 2011 event takes place on Sunday 10 July and you can reserve your place now, to avoid the scramble for places over the next few weeks.
Download the application form here but DON’T WAIT to register – you can also book your place today by emailing your request and contact details to ehiggins@projecthopeuk.org

Thank you for your support.

Michelle's last few weeks in Munsieville

The second of our reports from Munsieville features Michelle Webb, who gives us an insight into her last few weeks as a GSK PULSE volunteer with Project HOPE UK:
'Even with the Charity Fundraiser postponed, last week was a busy one. We met with the Executive Mayor of West Rand about what we are doing in Munsieville and his Green IQ plan. He is very invested in making the West Rand District more sustainable with potential for solar, more parks and cleaning up the area as it was a huge gold mining area and there are tailings everywhere. They look like mountains with snow on them. We told him about our community clean up projects and he was very interested so we are going to send him our plan. I also mentioned the potential for children to do a play that my daughter Caroline did in 3rd grade called the "Dump Monster" that was all about the environment and make it a contest for children to see which school did the best play and then they could perform throughout the district and potentially the province. It really all starts with the children - it's difficult to influence the 30-50 year olds but the children can be taught not to litter and to take care of their environment. The mayor also wanted to give each child a tree to grow and take care of and then buy that tree from them a year or two later for his Green IQ. This will teach children responsibility to take care of a tree, and also teach them about business since they would be earning money and they would have to decide if they were going to buy another tree to sell or spend the money.'
'After that meeting we had another one with the West Rand District about our community clean up scheduled for March 26th. We asked for more garbage bags, gloves and snacks and water for the children. Along with that we were also trying to get some seedlings for some vegetable gardens for some of the women would like to help out children with a soup kitchen of sorts.'
'On Friday we gave out the letters from America that my friend Gail brought over from Caroline’s school. It was fantastic. They were so excited and we split the letters up so every class got some to write back - see the video of the children singing and thanking Ishikawa again.'
'Project HOPE UK is really getting to be known and that is so exciting. We still have a Community Clean Up left the last Saturday this month, a small fundraiser on Sunday at a local lodge that sponsors a market the last Sunday of the month and invited us to be the sponsored charity. They also allowed us to showcase the children that won at the Munsieville’s Got Talent (MGT) contest. Then on Sunday night there is a Fundraiser at Silverstar Casino that was kind enough to allow our MGT winner to perform since we had to postpone our fundraiser.'
'So there is no rest for the weary or the Project HOPE UK volunteers! Neil and I feel so fortunate to have had a chance to have this experience - if you would like to get involved in The Thoughtful Path, check out our Web site for details of our volunteering scheme.'
Thanks for reading!

Project HOPE UK volunteers final report from Munsieville

Early March sees the end of their six month assignment for Michelle Webb and Neil Davidson, GSK PULSE volunteers with Project HOPE UK. The last few weeks have been very hectic as they tie up loose ends and make sure that all the initiatives started during their time in Munsieville are left in good hands to continue after their departure. Neil shares a few of his thoughts here (and a report from Michelle will follow soon).
'In all my other jobs I've always been fortunate enough to be able to step back a bit before the end so that the handover runs smoothly. Not so in Munsieville! The last few weeks have probably been the busiest and most exciting yet.'
'The Munsieville's Got Talent Final took place on the 18th Feb. It was supposed to start at 4pm but with no judges, no sound system, and no performers in sight, African time was in full force. The event finally got going around 5.30pm and given the tensions in the build-up to the final, all the acts showed up bar one, and performed brilliantly, raising their performances another notch. The winners, BCC, a teenage dance group dressed as geeks, were worthy champions. All in all, despite the hiccoughs, it was a fantastic event, the children enjoyed it thoroughly, and bizarrely may be one of the most significant events yet in terms of cementing Project HOPE UK's place in the community.'
'The students from the Youth Voice Journalism Academy have now started their first assignment in film, and we had the first visit from a professional mentor, who came in to teach them about working in the medium. It's been great to see the enthusiasm and energy from the 50 or so participants, and some great quotes emerged around "I'm going to change my career now based on what I've heard today". It has also been great to see the project leads Zeblon, Paul and Elaine, really blossoming into their leadership roles. Quite a change from the shy and retiring kids I met back in September! My biggest challenge now is letting go but I feel confident that the project's foundation is really strong and can only build from here. Likewise with the Connecting Continents programme, the website is looking really nice now and I am hoping to do a link up between two of the schools this week. Paul, one the journalism leads, is going to take it on as a side project, to make sure that the content is refreshed regularly, with the help of three representatives from each school.'
'As if these projects weren't enough, this weekend was our second Community Clean Up. This was going to be a real test to see if the community can ever run some of the Thoughtful Path events by themselves. Handing over this event to the community meant again letting go of the control, and just making small interventions on the periphery to keep it on track. It was a different event as we teamed up with the Community Works Programme (CWP), which is a paid employment scheme for community members to keep the township clean. The support from all levels of the council is also now in place for the future, and I think this can now be a community event, which can builder larger participation next month.'
'After the clean up, to give five of the journalists a bit of a treat for all the effort and commitment they have put in, I took them ten-pin bowling. For all of them it was their first time in a bowling alley and I was pleased to be able to give the guys a brief moment of respite from the daily challenges of their lives.'
'During all of our work here, both Michelle and I have been really lucky to have had such a welcome from everybody, and now when we drive around it's rare for us not to get a smile and a wave from many of the passers-by. Thanks again for reading over the last few months!
Neil Davidson, GSK PULSE volunteer with Project HOPE UK

Cleaning up in Munsieville

How hard can it be to say "Keep Munsieville Clean"? Thankfully picking up the rubbish was more straightforward as the Thoughtful Path volunteers and adults and children from Munsieville worked together recently to remove nearly 1400 bags of waste in a single morning. Unlike cities in Western Europe, there is no regular rubbish collection so waste just gets left around the township, leading to large piles of smelly, unhealthy rubbish everywhere.
However, it was songs and high spirits all round as the Thoughtful Path and the Community Works Programme teamed up to tackle the problem of litter and rubbish in the township, to create a clean and safe environment for children. The community are hoping to turn this into a regular event, and encourage everyone to play their part in keeping the streets clean.

Story time in Munsieville - are you sitting comfortably?

Last week, The Thoughtful Path project launched an initiative for grannies in the Munsieville township to read stories to the youngest members of the community, to stimulate the children and help them to develop.
Often pre-school children in Munsieville attend a creche for 10 to 12 hours a day, usually in a tin shack with a dirt floor and few, if any, toys, books or play equipment. The Early Childhood Development service unit of the Thoughtful Path is working to transform pre-school care for these children by training carers and setting up new ECD centres with improved facilities. This new story-telling initiative will use the experiences of the older members of the community to help entertain the children and build links between the generations.
Read more here about the Thoughtful Path and how you can partner with us to establish new ECD centres and change the lives of children in Munsieville forever.