Crèche
The Creche is its own Non-Profit Organization and is registered with the Department of Social Development.
Siyaphambili crèche, is situated in the heart of the informal settlement of the Masinenge community. This little crèche is a beacon of hope for young children aged 2-6 years, empowering them to grow, learn and thrive.
Abounding hope facilitated the registration of the partial care facility with the Department of Social Development in 2018.
The Department of Development handed over the management all the South African crèche’s to the Department of Education in 2022 and our organization continue’s the partnership with them.
This vibrant and dedicated early childhood crèche is facilitated by a team of 4 passionate trained ECD teachers, and they foster a sense of community, inclusivity and belonging.
One of those teachers is Nokuthula Mosea, a woman filled with genuine compassion and concern, who has trained as a social worker, but faced no job opportunities on the South Coast, sought to help those less fortunate and came across the day care facility in Masinenge with no qualified teacher.
She volunteered her services freely, day after day, until together with Shirley Oosthuizen, whom she met working in the community, embarked on registering the day care facility as Siyaphambili crèche.
Siyaphambili crèche together with Abounding Hope’s mission has been to bridge the gap in early childhood education, offering, care and education, 2 nutritious meals and a snack daily, socialization and play based learning as well as emotional support and guidance for 92 children this year.
Our love and care for these children has impacted the parents and the community and brought lasting change to many households over the last 6 years.
Our children have been equipped with essential skills for future success and we have seen over 150 children enter the Grade R phase into mainstream schools.
We provide a stable and loving environment for the vulnerable children to learn and grow despite the hardship of growing up in an informal settlement in South Africa.
We support the parents and caregivers through training and resources to build a stronger and more resilient community.
We face daily challenges with limited resources and funding, overcrowding and inadequate infrastructure but despite these challenges, Siyaphambili crèche remains a shining example of dedication and resilience, with children full of laughter and love.
Join us in supporting our initiative to empower young minds and shape a brighter future for Masinenge children.
Meal Centre
Intrinsically, a Meal Centre does just that – it provides soup and generally bread, or a bread roll, to create a stop-gap hot meal for those who have very little, if anything to eat.
Our Meal Centre, situated in Masinenge (an informal settlement just outside Margate, KZN) was originally created with a somewhat different intent.
Way back when anti-retro viral drugs were just beginning to make their mark on the HIV/AIDS illness, our founder, Shirley Oosthuizen, realised that the people in Masinenge were unlikely to benefit as this particular medication causes extreme nausea when taken upon an empty stomach.
Thus a decision was made to provide an “assured meal-a-day” for only those suffering from immune-suppressed illness.
Tuberculosis too, was and is still prevalent in the area, due to the generally poor living conditions, and these sufferers, were also added to the ever increasing list of people needing the “Meal Centre”.
Some years had passed since the start of the programme, and when the terrible effects of the Covid-19 lockdown struck, the number of people unable to find a meal – both adults and children – grew exponentially.
Since 2020, the still reeling economy and rampant unemployment, have meant that the loyal, local ladies who cook continually, have started to provide even more daily hot lunch meals to those who come for no other reason than simple hunger… and they are not turned away.
Currently Abounding Hope serves a hot lunch meal to between 55 and 60 people daily from Monday to Friday of each week.
The menu is varied, taking into account seasonal fruit and veg, so as to achieve the best nutritional requirements.
The list of servings expands to nearer 80 meals per day during school holidays and contracts somewhat during December, when most of the working age community travel home to the rural areas for the Christmas period.
Being the only such facility within Masinenge, both Shirley and her dedicated small team are well known in the area.
Our meal centre has become a vital lifeline and a beacon of hope for individuals living with HIV, as access to nutritious food is crucial in managing their conditions.
A warm daily meal can be the difference between health and hospitalization. The right nutrients help maintain their strength, support their medication regimen and prevent opportunistic infections. Our program has provided close to 21468 meals in 2022 and 25 994 meals in 2023.
Beyond the physical benefits, the meal centre provides emotional support and a sense of community. In a world where stigma and isolation often accompany an HIV diagnosis, these meals offer a chance to connect with others who understand their struggles.
We have two dedicated and passionate women who cook for the masses daily, and offer so much more than their time.
They offer love, support and a wonderful sense of Ubuntu.
Youth Programme
Our Youth mentorship program began as an outreach, in collaboration with the Freedom Gate church youth team.
Together with these dynamic and dedicated young people, Abounding Hope community Development has worked with over 30 youths, aged between13 to 18, from Masinenge, for the past 4 years. They currently meet every Friday afternoon at a venue, kindly provided by a local business in Margate, which is a short distance from the informal settlement.
The devastating reality of youth fatherlessness is a growing concern among youth and has become a pervasive issue, affecting millions of young people worldwide. The absence of a father figure can have profound consequences on a child's emotional, psychological, and social development. The team have to deal with children that come from backgrounds of divorce and separation, single parents, violence, substance abuse and abandonment amongst many other social ills.
Our faith-based life skills training (focused on leadership, communication, goal setting and positive role models) has brought about positive change in the lives of these young people. The incredible youth team strive passionately to work with them.
They proactively address many of the struggles facing them and even have gone to their shelters to meet their parents in order to listen and provide support for their continued emotional development, and to assist in any social challenges that they face within the poverty-stricken community.
We are a small team yet are determined to bring about change and work at addressing matters like teen pregnancies, abuse and many other traumas.
With a strong Christian based mentorship program, we aim to break the cycle of poverty and pair young people with positive role models, providing guidance and support whilst developing a stronger sense of community and social connections.
The feedback on our impact has been voiced by the children’s parents or carers as highly positive. Children display improved self-esteem and increased confidence and are taking initiatives to improve their schoolwork and attendance as well. These seeds we are sowing of changed attitudes and behavior will later reap the harvest of an established constructive and productive lifestyle for each of them.
Abounding Hope Community Development is planning to foster close relationships connection with local schools and aims to set up a support group for those that are requiring after school assistance. Once or twice a year they are taken on special outings to expose them to environments they would normally not have the opportunity to experience, and we also promote a monthly sanitary drive to assist them in maintaining personal hygiene and teach them to take pride in their appearance.
In spite of limited resources we are working towards understanding the causes, effects, and consequences of the challenges these young people face on a daily basis and continue to assist the young people in reaching their full potential.
Skills Training
We include character training (which is one of the most important factors to being employable), environmental awareness, personal health
and giving back to the community in the form of compulsory volunteering days and community service.
We also include a strong emotional intelligence aspect, and we have mentorship sessions twice a week focusing particularly on emotional wellness.
Our Work ready course is 4 weeks, 4 days in class and one volunteering day weekly. (16 class days and 4 volunteering days)
Level two classes are on offer,when their work ready course ends.
They can continue with skills development. Currently we offer: Office Admin, Retail, Computer Literacy, Home Based Care, Hospitality, Barista, Catering, and
Sewing.
(These courses all vary in length and requirements)
Work-Ready Course
- 2 week programme
- Teaches:
- How to find a job
- How to keep a job
- How to be promoted
- How to work to a standard of excellence
- Financial literacy
- Principles of how to start & run a business
- Addresses ideological barriers:
- Poverty mindset
- Spirit of entitlement
- Dependency syndrome
- Morals & ethics
Community Care
At the heart of our organisation lies a deep commitment to community care. We believe that every individual deserves access to basic necessities like food, water, shelter, and healthcare. In the informal settlement of Masinenge, we've witnessed firsthand the struggles of poverty, hunger, and limited resources.
Our community care initiatives are designed to address these challenges, providing regular shelter to shelter visitations, where we get to meet the most amazing residents, many without hope or the means to change their circumstances.
We, together with the community care givers from the Department of Health, assess the individual needs of each case, and then determine how best we can assist them.
If the situation is unemployment or they have been defaulting on medication, we will encourage each person to partake of the daily meals through our meal centre program and food distribution parcels.
In 2023 alone, our reach impacted well over 200 people with over 36 food parcels/ food vouchers being distributed. One food parcel will feed a family of 5, for approximately 10 days.
We assist people not only living in the shelters, but together with the community care givers, our reach extends into the broader community, assisting with funerals and youth events.
If there are any health or sanitation issues, we work together with the CCG’s (Community Care Givers) and Department of Social Development to support them with any over the counter medicines, bandages and baby care products if needed.
In crisis situations, involving children, we have access to social workers that will step in to assist as well as with other likeminded NGO’s equipped to handle sensitive cases.
But community care goes beyond just meeting physical needs. We also focus on: emotional support through prayer and counseling, community building through social events and activities like, women’s day events, parental, first aid and skills courses.
By placing community care at the heart of our organization as well as will the support of our other projects, we've seen transformation in the lives of Masinenge residents. We've witnessed:
Improved health and wellbeing
Increased access to education and economic opportunities
A stronger, and more resilient community
