Ubuntu

Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. (A person is only a person through other people). -Zulu proverb

“Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language…It is to say. ‘My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours.’” -Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness

Projects:

The Silindile Trust
Pastoral Centre Preschool and Creche

The Silindile Trust

Who is Silindile?

I created the Silindile Trust, registered and established according to law in South Africa, in 2006. The Trust’s main purpose is to provide for the education and future of a little girl who is profoundly deaf in both ears and lives in an informal settlement in Soweto, South Africa.

I met Silindile while on the board of the Pastoral Centre Preschool and Creche. Thanks to the commitment of the trustees, Silindi attends the St. Vincent’s School for the Deaf in Rosebank, Johannesburg, a learning community that also helps her mother to learn sign language and makes sure the family gets enough to eat.

How is the Trust funded?

In December 2007 Highveldt Stereo, a Johannesburg radio station, granted a Christmas wish in memory of my late partner Eric “tonto” Stephenson and arranged for Aon, an international company with local offices in Joburg, to pay Silindi’s school fees until she graduates high school. In addition, friends and skydivers from all over the world have contributed to the Trust. Because of them, Silindile and her family are able to eat healthier food and afford clothing and personal items that would otherwise be out of reach.

Why Contribute Now?

The Silindile Trust offers an opportunity to become involved in a very personal project with strong oversight and direct, tangible results. As one donor put it, “It’s so easy to just throw your hands up in the face of poverty – to feel helpless. But it feels good to say, although I can’t help all of South Africa’s children, I can help this one, so I will. It’s a step in the right direction and it’s all about caring for each other as human beings on a personal level.”

Current Projects:

1. Hearing aids. Silindile needs new hearing aids, as her current ones are now both old and difficult to maintain. Donations over this holiday season will be used towards this goal. The total cost is R30,000, or approximately $4,250.

2. Housing Contingency Fund. Because there is no boarding facility at St. Vincent’s, we need to make sure Silindile can continue coming to school if there is a disruption in the family’s housing situation. Sometime in the next several years, the Kliptown informal settlement where they live will be cleared for new development and the residents will be relocated. We want to make sure we can help if the family needs to start over in finding a place to live. Silindile’s mom recently completed a job training in beauty salon services, but still needs more mentoring, training, and English language proficiency to gain employment (her first language is Zulu and she comes from a rural area where she was not exposed to English growing up).

3. Nutritious meals. We supplement Silindile’s school lunches made by her mother to make sure she is getting the nutrition she needs. We also work with St. Vincent’s School to make sure Silindile, her mother, and her little brother all have enough to eat at home.

To Contribute:

Bank Name: Standard Bank
Account Holder: Tracy Lee Nagle Trust Account
Branch Name: Killarney
Branch Code: 007205
Account Number: 001645501
REFERENCE: Silindile Trust
SWIFT Code: SBZAZAJJ

Pastoral Centre Preschool and Creche

To volunteer or donate in-kind goods and food, contact Pam Mfaxa, the Principal, via email: pam_pastoralcreche@yahoo.com. Pick-ups from the greater Johannesburg area can be arranged.

What is the Pastoral Centre?

The Pastoral Centre Preschool and Crèche is a registered non-profit, secular organization that provides a safe haven and early childhood education for 250 of the most vulnerable children from Freedom Charter Square, Kliptown, Soweto. It is situated in the middle of the informal settlement, surrounded by closely-built shacks separated by narrow dirt tracks. At least half of the children come from families that are too poor to pay school fees; some of the parents do volunteer work in exchange for their children’s attendance.

Many children have lost one or both parents to AIDS, or have parents who are dying of AIDS. The crèche engages in community outreach to help grandparents who are raising orphaned children, to create self-help projects for poor parents, and to assist child-headed households. The crèche has 9 full-time staff: Pam Mfaxa, the principal for 20 years, 5 teachers, two cooks, and a handyman. They work for very little salary.

What you can contribute:

The Pastoral Centre welcomes donations both in cash and kind from foundations, corporate entities, and concerned individuals. The following are needed:

1. Financial donations are used:

• To cover the large budget gap created by the number of children attending school who cannot pay fees.
• To help individual children and families on the “most needy list,” those who need additional food parcels, and to assist families affected by HIV/AIDS with basic necessities.
• For improving the small playground.
• To send a staff member on a relevant course (First Aid; dealing with child abuse; teaching techniques).

2. Children’s clothes and shoes for age 3 months to 6 years: undamaged, good quality play clothes and comfortable shoes. In winter we appreciate donations of warm jackets, hats, gloves/mittens, and jerseys. Adult clothing is distributed to parents.

3. Food and kitchen items.

4. Educational toys and games, especially large-sized illustrated picture books for story time; puzzles and blocks for children 4-6 years; and art supplies such as paper and paints, crayons, magic markers, and coloring books.

To Contribute:

Bank Name: First National Bank
Account Holder: Pastoral Centre Preschool & Creche
Account Number: 55610020378
Branch Name: Industria
Branch Code: 252805
SWIFT Code: FIRNZAJJ