soul of africa presentasjon

OUR AIMS…

Soul of Africa achieves two aims: •Provides jobs for previously destitute women in an area of 50% unemployment 1.Provides for African Aid Orphans. SOA has helped 10,000 orphans.

By successfully selling Soul of Africa products worldwide, SOA has raised more than $2 million to help the orphans.

WHAT WE DO…

• Soul of Africa was started 9 years ago by Lance Clark and Mike Gedye • A hand sewn shoe was designed, women were taught to make it and the shoes sold initially in the USA and UK.

THE BACKGROUND…

• 7 million South Africans are unemployed • 70% of those are unemployed for a year or longer

EMPLOYMENT

Octavaia Msani (An example of one of the ladies now earning a sustainable income)

Octavia Msani (42-years of age) has been struggling to raise her three children as well as two sisters who died of AIDS says: ‘Thanks to the Soul Of Africa Project, I can now make my way in life. I am feeling happy because the shoes make our lives more possible, now I know that if I die from AIDS my children will have good care and a good education.’

• The Soul Of Africa hand stitchers are earning double the average urban monthly income in South Africa of approx $157.37 (£106.55) per month, earned by domestic workers.

CHANGING LIVES…

• There are 3.7 million orphans in South Africa (an orphan is classified as having one or more parent deceased.

• Here are some of the ways Soul of Africa has helped 10,000 orphans through our varied projects

CHANGING LIVES…

• Soul of Africa has been working with 3 schools in the Lower Molweni Valley which all extend their reach to the overall community.

• We have built a number of buildings, including a new science lab, a computer room, Toilets and a new classroom for the Grade R children.

•We have also levelled out 3 soccer pitches and are just raising money for goal posts and pitch marking machines.

PROJECT: KETHOKULE CRECHE

Rotary and Soul Of Africa were approached by the Molweni community to assist them with a problem being experienced in the area. The Kethokuhle crèche (meaning ‘To look after well’), which looks after children from three months to five years old, was ill-equipped to tend to the children’s needs and required assistance.

The crèche provides a vital service to the community where unemployment is rife and mothers who have jobs need somewhere safe to leave their children when they go to work. Sexual and physical abuse is commonly experienced by children who are left to roam around with no supervision. Apart from scarring the children psychologically, this adds to the already severe AIDS situation.

Beauty the lady who runs the facility has been sent on government approved teacher training courses by Soul of Africa and now runs the facility as a proper pre school facility with organised classroom learning lessons.

BEFORE AND AFTER

KETHOKHULE CHILD CARE DEVELOPMENT CENTRE… Soul Of Africa stepped in and spent $18,428 (£10,562) building a new Child Care Development Centre for the children and Rotary donated $25,445 (£14,412) toward the building of toilets and supplying water tanks, fencing, carpeting, furniture, mattresses as well as educational material and teaching aids.

Beauty Memela, 36, a local mother who runs the centr.

“He’s left here by his sister of 14. They must walk four kilometers from where they stay with relatives, and often there is no food. We give our little ones breakfast and lunch, but it would be wonderful to feed the older siblings too, and have facilities here for them to do homework and play a bit.”

Soul Of Africa are currently focusing on spending more money in the Molweni area to make a real difference in the lives of the children who live there. We are looking at funding a Grade R building, training staff and upgrading the local school. Upgrades and a sports field is being considered for the Senior School too.

PROJECT: GRANNY NGUBANE

• Granny Ngubane is 65 and blind in one eye.

• She is bringing up three children of her late son, the oldest being 13.

• She has electricity and a $2.85 card provided monthly by a friend of her son. Her sole income is an OAP which she collects and does her grocery shopping at the same time.

• Free water is available, but she cannot afford the $42.85 installation cost.

• Soul Of Africa together with Rotary stepped in and completely upgraded Granny Ngubane’s Cottage.

• The water installation costs were paid as well as school fees and an increase in her electricity card to allow for a hotplate instead of the dangerous and unhealthy paraffin stoves which were being used.

Food parcels are also delivered twice a week.

BEFORE AND AFTER

PROJECT: SHEPHERDS KEEP Shepherds Keep was founded in 1998 and is a home for abandoned babies.

Babies from every conceivable situation are received – abandoned in hospitals, public toilets, public parks, left on busses, in the bush – one of the newest arrivals was covered in blisters for days after her arrival due to being left in the bush under the watchful eye of the unrelenting African sun.

Shepherds Keep works to restore the babies health through optimum nutrition, individual nursing plans and lots of love until the adoption process can begin.

One of the challenges facing Shepherds Keep today is the increasing number of special needs babies – often due to abortions that have gone wrong and difficult births.

Michelle Potgieter of Shepherds Keep says, “One of our current newborns was delivered with forceps and the nurse used such force that she caused brain hemorrhaging and she left him brain damaged.”

Michelle says, “Shepherds Keep management are really grateful to Soul Of Africa for the assistance they give us –

SCHOOL FEE PROJECTS

In response to a newspaper article which referred to a study regarding the educational needs of orphaned learners, it came to light that a lack of school fees, stationary and inadequate school uniforms was a crucial element for many of these children.

In order to improve the situation, a part time social worker was employed to assess the needs of children in high need areas such as informal settlements.

In 2007, 59 learners from six different schools met the criteria set for financial aid by Soul Of Africa for the payment of school fees for the year as well as $53.19

VALLEY OF 1000 HILLS COMMUNITY HELPERS • The 1000 Hills Community Helpers was founded by Dawn Leppan, who believes it was her grandmother’s never-ending compassion toward the impoverished local community which inspired her to dedicate her life to improving the lives of those in the area less fortunate than she was.

• Dawn was raised by her grandparents who owned a restaurant situated en route to Durban. As she grew up, Dawn saw that many children in the area were dying in poverty, hunger and without dignity.

This was unacceptable to her and she set out to provide these children with the structured assistance necessary to improve their lives.

• Together with Alan Paton, the author of ‘Cry The Beloved Country”, the first soup kitchen was established at St Theresa’s Church, to provide nourishment to some of the people in the community.

• The 1000 Hills Community Helpers Organization was established in 1995 and has since been registered as a non-profit organization with the Department of Social

PRODUCTS

All Products have an element of hand work in them.

The majority of our shoe styles are made in the moccasin construction.

PRODUCTS

Ginger Men Hand Sewn leather accessories , works with and supports Soul of Africa.

Making iPad and iPad Mini Covers, Kindle covers, Phone covers and hand bags, all with handwork in them.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT