Ndlovini is one of the largest and poorest areas of Khayelitsha, in Cape Town, South Africa. Residents mostly live in shacks made of corrugated iron. There are hardly any basic services such as water, electricity or rubbish removal. Unemployment and crime are both high.
Despite the challenges, however, there are people who make the best of what they have. In 2011 Mildred Ntsila started using two bedrooms in her home to look after children. “When ForAfrika started with the feeding in my centre, we got some [financial] relief and the porridge made such a difference to the children,” said Mildred. “I got so many children coming because of the porridge! “I was so happy when the Run Forest Run crew came to visit my centre, they left me with hope that this will continue.”
The visit was inspirational as it shows the human spirit is one that is able to overcome any hardship, but it was heart-breaking as there shouldn’t even be such a thing as a ‘refugee camp’ – there shouldn’t be children separated from their parents through conflict and having to live in temporary settlements.”
ForAfrika is responsible for the sanitation and hygiene at the refugee camp. A thankless undertaking, but of utmost importance if you think that around 30,000 refugees are living in a temporary settlement, each there for around three months.
The volunteers and employees take so much pride in what they are doing. You can see that it isn’t just about the “what they do”, but about the “why” they do what they do. And that is inspirational!
During his South African triathlon, Rehan visited several Early Development Centres on his route that ForAfrika supports. Rehan interacted with the teachers and children and presented them with small medals!
This also served as a little break while Rehan found out more about the needs in these communities and how ForAfrika is making a difference.
Rehan said he was so inspired by the faithful resilience and determination of the ECD teachers to give these children a good education.
That is the best way to describe our visit to the ForAfrika (previously JAM) Cape Town offices and three local Early Childhood Development centres (ECDs) in #Mfuleni, Kuilsriver.
Six years ago we were inspired by the story of how ForAfrika (then JAM) was birthed and how they go about uplifting and empowering communities throughout Africa. While RunForestRun has been driven to raise funds for this amazing charity, it is so easy to put distance between pound (£) and cause.
But with every minute of our visit, that gap closed. Before only seeing the main storyline, the visit coloured our understanding with the full vibrance, the nuance and the background rhythms that makes ForAfrika and the communities it serves so special.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Proverbs 31 women. Adel and Thabile from ForAfrika Cape Town and the three Headmasters of the #ECD centres are wise, passionate, caring and move with strength and dignity
Kids are kids, no matter the background. They play, they love, and they have a crazy amount of energy 🤪
Excellence. All noses are wiped and clean. On searching for nurseries for my own children, I have seen many crusts on cheeks, but not here. All school uniforms are crisp and clean and worn with pride – putting my personal stain removing and ironing abilities to shame 🤣.
It starts with one. One woman deciding that a nursery is needed, starting it in the middle of a scrap yard with no government funding that has now grown into a ECD for more than 80 children between the ages of 0 and 5 years.
What I learnt about ForAfrika:
The ForAfrika porridge truly impacts the next generation. Hearing headmasters excited about weighing new starters, and physically seeing the difference between new children and children having their @ForAfrika bowl a day for a while is amazing.
You can physically see where the money goes.
We are so grateful that our family got to spend a day with the inspiring ForAfrika family. Our hearts are full and the WHY is strong. Every donation that is equal to a coffee (£5) can truly feed a child for a month.
We are aiming to raise £100,000 to support vulnerable communities and feed malnourished children in the remotest parts of Africa. We have to get more people involved.
