A Spring of Hope Centre Proposal Acornhoek, South Africa 2017
Executive Summary In the 10 years that A Spring of Hope (ASoH) has been working with 40 schools in the greater Acornhoek area of rural South Africa, we have witnessed what happens when the most basic of human needs, clean water, becomes available—children have clean water to drink which improves their health, schools have water to prepare meals and wash dishes, gardens bloom and thrive and fresh food is grown to supplement lunch meals, and to give orphans something to take home to eat at night. As a result, more than 14,235 students are now eating at least one nutritious meal every day. Hope springs, and depressed, barren schools become alive and inspired to offer a quality education to their learners. Increasingly, ASoH is getting requests from community members for permaculture workshops, for access to organic produce, and for economic opportunities for a sustainable livelihood. When we introduced permaculture gardening education into the schools, we saw a huge shift in the way people think and view the world; the gardens designed using the permaculture principles are flourishing! We see very clearly that our next step in supporting the people living in this area is to establish an “A Spring of Hope Centre” that will broaden the impact of our work at the community level. The Center will enhance our capacity to Inspire, Inform and Equip community leaders to go back to their villages and begin to change the landscape, one home at a time.
Statement of Need (or What is Special about this Area?)
The area where ASoH works is part of a UNESCO unique biosphere—a place on the planet where the biodiversity of both plants and animals is not found anywhere else. It is also home to the third largest canyon in the world, the Blyde River Canyon. It is a particularly beautiful area in very close proximity to the world famous Kruger National Park, where visitors can view a large variety of big game animals in five-star surroundings. However, very few of the people in the area live in even one-star homes. The Acornhoek region was one of the Apartheid era “homelands”, remote undeveloped areas where the majority of Blacks were moved to prevent them from living in the urban areas of South Africa. It remains a very challenging place for people to live. The Acornhoek region is a designated presidential “rural poverty node”, a “rural area in extreme poverty with a serious lack of skills and services”. Unemployment stands at 75%; there is an estimated HIV infection rate of 29%, and most people lack running water in their homes or villages. A Spring of Hope November 2017
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This poor infrastructure imperils people to be extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. People living in the area are already experiencing more hot days and dramatic changes in rainfall patterns. Last year was the third year of the worst drought in 30 years. 2015 was the driest year in recorded history, since 1904. The lack of rain has dramatically reduced agricultural production leading to soaring food prices and more than tripling the number of people who experience food insecurity. The necessity for people to grow their own food has never been more critical. Permaculture is designed to maximize people’s ability to adapt to changing weather. Permaculture is really about relationship—sun and soil-- water and air --plants and animalsothers-- and--ourselves our relationship as humans to the world around us. We believe that by teaching permaculture at the ASoH Center, we will build responsibility and capacity around unknown climate change for vulnerable people, already living on the edge, who are most greatly impacted by these events.
Operational Plan
Location and Description of Center: The ASoH Center will give the organization a tangible presence in the Acornhoek community. We have obtained 3 hectares (about 7 acres) of land from the tribal authorities. This site is easily accessible to community members, and will accommodate a structure with two classrooms, a resource center, a kitchen, ASoH offices, a caretaker’s cottage, a large community vegetable garden, and several orchards including moringa trees. Moringa is referred to as “nature’s perfect plant” and is an extremely potent high nutrient plant that is in great demand both in Africa and in Europe. The structure will be a model for sustainable building using rammed earth technology. We are working with Michael Beukes of Rammteck Buildings. Michael has been working with ASoH to build the Enviro-loo toilet buildings at our schools. We will also use the Enviro-Loos in the Center. Rammteck uses and trains local people to work on the building, which contributes to job creation and skills development, so critical for this community. Below is an architect’s rendering of the ASoH Center. It preserves the African style of design while incorporating sustainable building methodologies. We are hoping to begin construction in the spring of 2018.
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Architect’s rendering of the ASoH Centre What will happen at the A Spring of Hope Centre: Inspire! Through education, opportunities to network with other community members, and by providing essential resources to take steps toward real world solutions in their villages, we will inspire people to have the confidence and tools they need to improve the quality of life for their neighbors and families. Educate! We will be offering classes on best management practices in source water protection, conservation, organic gardening and nutrition as well as operation and management of the wells themselves. The focus will be on managing those environmental issues that are already affecting people’s lives. A Spring of Hope will also assist with instruction on how to build economical rainwater catching devices to be used during the dry season. We will offer free classes to individuals so they can establish small permaculture gardens at home. Once home gardens proliferate, fellow gardeners can share seeds and knowledge with other households. This sharing is exactly what is happening with our 40 partner schools. Our flagship school, Beretta Primary, is a perfect example: they have been offering permaculture classes to other schools and have been using their onsite garden as an outdoor classroom for the learners and for other schools. Because of the success of our work in 40 schools in the area, requests for providing A Spring of Hope November 2017
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clean water/gardens/sanitation to additional schools continually grows. We need a more centralized way to address these requests as well as provide enhanced assistance to the schools where we currently work. Schools will be able to apply for funding for boreholes, gardens and waterless toilet systems at the Permaculture Center. The Center will provide a central hub for our education, both for schools and the community. Create! We plan to create job opportunities for local people, who are knowledgeable in water related issues, permaculture gardening methods, and sanitation, to teach others. We plan to create small business enterprise opportunities for unemployed people. There are many products we can make from the moringa leaves and seeds. We will employ local people to assist in the business and share the profits with ASoH to continue bringing water and gardens to schools. There are many other products that could be the springboard for small eco-enterprises. As new technologies come on line for cleaning water, generating sustainable power, and enriching soil, we plan to be at the forefront of creating opportunities for local people to prosper. Staffing: Leanette Sithole, the former principal of our first project, Beretta Primary, is now working with ASoH as a permaculture educator, and will be the garden manager of the new A Spring of Hope Centre. In 2013 she was nominated as African “Woman of the Year”. She led Beretta Primary School to 1st place in the Province in the national Edu-Plant competition. Under her leadership, Beretta also won first place in the Department of Agriculture and Forests Eco-Competition. In 2014, she was a leading voice with the Department of Education’s “Greening of Schools” initiative, and successfully advocated for the Department to fund a gardener for every school. Recently she was selected to be a judge in the national Edu-Plant Competition. Her expertise in permaculture and water issues, and her deep community involvement will give the Center instant credibility and will set a solid foundation for our efforts.
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Trygive Nxumalo, another ASoH permaculture expert, will also be onsite providing permaculture education, overseeing the home garden initiative and offering classes to children and the community.
In addition, the Center will employ an admin clerk/operations supervisor, 2 gardeners, a person to clean and do the meal preparations, and a security guard.
Financing for the Center
The following table summarizes building and startup costs for the ASoH Center. The conversion to US dollars is at the rate of 13R to 1 USD. Building and Construction R 3,308,117 $254,150 Personnel 815,544 62,734 Cooking Fuel 2,400 185 Phone and Internet 24,400 1,846 Stationary and Printing 12,000 924 Utilities 14,400 1,108 Insurance 26,400 2,030 Equipment 250,000 19,231 R4,453,261 $342,208USD We are seeking support from individual donors, corporate partners, and government sources to fund the construction and initial operation costs of the Center. ASoH has a very strong track record with funders, often getting recurring donations from foundations and sponsors.
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Organizational Capacity Organization and Management Structure: A Spring of Hope was founded and registered in the state of Florida in 2007 as a 501(c) 3 non-profit. For the past 10 years ASoH has, by design, implemented the majority of its projects on a volunteer basis. Joanne Young, the Executive Director, has lead ASoH as a volunteer and has received technical, marketing, fundraising and administrative support from her daughter Brittany (President) and other Board Members.
In 2012 Joanne Young created a sister organization in South Africa, A Spring of Hope South Africa (ASoH/SA). A Spring of Hope SA is a Section 21 social enterprise registered with the Department of Welfare and the Public Benefits Department. ASoH/SA is also registered as a Section 18A and has exemption from taxes and duties as approved in terms of Section 18A. South African donors qualify for a tax reduction limited to a specific formula for any contributions made. We are also a Level 1 BB-BEE enterprise, qualifying corporate donors for the highest level of credit toward their community service requirement. Our Impact: According to UNICEF, 50% of South Africans experience hunger. Since its inception in 2007, ASoH has employed a multi-tiered approach to addressing hunger, starting with providing access to clean water. We brought clean water to 32 primary and secondary schools, 8 preschools (crèches), and 5 community projects, improving the lives of 14,235 children. With water comes the possibility for creating sustainable gardens that add nutritious food and improve the health of the children. We are providing education and support to every ASoH school to establish permaculture gardens. We are now deepening our work with the schools by addressing sanitation and hygiene concerns. Inadequate sanitation and poor hygiene together with unsafe drinking water are major causes of child deaths in South Africa. Children are particularly vulnerable in the provinces where ASoH works, as water and sanitation facilities are below the national average. To this end, ASoH has begun installing waterless, compostable toilet systems in our schools. We have completed Enviro-Loos at 13 schools and one community project. This enables significant improvement in the children’s health, increases regular school attendance, and gives the learners a much greater chance of being able to focus on their education and break the cycle of poverty.
Corporate Partners and Fund Raising History A Spring of Hope has the following corporate partners who contribute to the work of the organization through various means: A Spring of Hope November 2017
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Rand Water Foundation ERM Foundation Werksmans Attorneys Investec Bank South African Airways Chase Bank House of Mandela Rotary Clubs Google Over the past 10 years A Spring of Hope has raised over $1, 419,000 that has benefitted 14,235 learners. The fundraising began with U.S. students supporting South African students, raising sufficient monies to provide assistance to one school. Once ASoH became a 501(c) 3 it began to reach out to other organizations and individuals to increase its financial support in order to provide assistance to additional schools. Conclusion: From the outset, A Spring of Hope (ASoH) was created out of passion—the passion and deep caring of a mother and her daughter-- that grew into a vital, high impact non-profit organization. A Spring of Hope Centre will be a highly visible expression of our passion. It will elevate our impact and change lives in rural South African communities by enabling people to learn sustainable gardening methods, gain confidence in themselves, and have new knowledge that translates immediately into more resources for their lives. We hope you will invest in this critical next step for our organization. If you have further questions, please contact Joanne Young at joanne@aspringofhope.org . Thank you for your interest and your support.
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