Something very exciting started today, literally out of nothing. In this situation it would be truly appropriate to use the cliché: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!” Today as Alex, Rachel, and I were walking down the street to the market we kept finding 5 cent pieces strewn across the side of the road. We picked them up like we has been doing for some time, because we were told once you had enough of them you could take them to the bank and exchange them for Rand. People in Zonkizizwe just throw them away when they get them as change. The 5 cent piece is legal currency in South Africa, but for some reason people don’t want them. Anyways, I made the comment that I wished there was some way we could get the kids to save the 5 cent pieces, because they were not completely worthless and could add up quickly.
It was quiet for a moment, then Alex mentioned what a good idea it would be to have the kids collect 5 cent pieces and save them in an education fund. Rachel then came up with the idea that they could do it in their teams, to add a sense of competitiveness to it! We loved the idea from the start and began preparation that night. We took 4 milk jugs, rinsed them out, cut holes in the top, and placed them upside-down in a cardboard box. The idea is that the kids can put their 5 cent pieces in the hole on top, and when the time comes to empty the jars they can be pulled from the cardboard box and emptied from the bottom.
We’ve decided to call the education fund “Our Future is in Our Hands.” The money we collect will be used to help pay for school uniforms, school supplies, and a breakfast program for the time being. Someday it’s our goal to expand the fund to be able to offer the older youth scholarships after they graduate from secondary school and pass the Matric. Right now it’s a very small operation—literally just milk bottles full of chance—but I hope to make it bigger. It’s going to be my personal project to take this back to the United States and find bigger donors, to develop it, make it larger, and then make it something the center can sustain on it’s own someday. I guess all great ideas have to start small.
It is my dream to see all of the children and youth at VVOCF equipped with the tools and the confidence to get out of Zonke, become successful in any way that suits them, and then be able to come back to the place where they grew up and give back. I drafted the following letter tonight to try and send to people when I get back home:
To Whom It May Concern:
Vumundzuku-Bya Vana Our Children’s Future (VVOCF) is an after school drop-in center in Zonkizizwe, South Africa, for over 100 children and youth made vulnerable by HIV/AIDS. The center currently provides psycho-social support in the form of activities such as art, sports, English instruction, and information regarding HIV/AIDS, meals (dinner) three times a week, and assists with medical expenses for those attending the center. Though all the needs are great, one of the very important needs that VVOCF hopes to provide is educational support for the children and youth at the center. This year VVOCF has launched an education fund called Our Future is in Our Hands in order to deal with the growing need for educational support. At this time the children and youth at the center are collecting money as a way to invest in their own education. Funding will be used for school uniforms, school supplies, and food for a breakfast program.
Uniforms and school supplies are required for children to go to school, and can become quite costly. An entire uniform costs around $70, or about R500. Adding the cost of school supplies, around $20 - 25 or R 150 – 200 can make education nearly impossible to afford, as many families are struggling to deal with unemployment, health care costs, and the rising cost of food in addition to sending their kids to school. The breakfast program would provide children with food before school every day of the week. Many of them leave for school in the morning without eating and find it hard to concentrate while in school. By providing these materials and services to the children, we are ensuring that they are able to stay in school and take full advantage of their education. As the fund grows, we hope to someday be able to award scholarships to youth who plan to pursue higher education options in South Africa. Financial aid and scholarships are hard to come by, and because of this, many brilliant minds are denied the opportunity for higher education.
If you are interested in donating to the education fund, monetary donations are the most practical way to do so at this time. We appreciate the thought behind the donation of school supplies and other items, but in reality sending items from the United States to South Africa is to difficult and costly. Because of the high cost of international shipping, many times the cost of shipping outweighs the value of the objects inside. Also, the money spent on shipping could go towards much more in South Africa, as the Dollar is worth much more than the Rand (about $ .14 equals R1).
If you would like to donate to the education fund, you may send a check made out to MRULE to the following address:
Dr. Jeanne Gazel
348 Cowley
East Lansing, MI 48823
All donations will go toward the program the center believes is most in need of funding at that time, unless otherwise specified by the donor. We look forward to hearing from you soon!
Sincerely,
Nicole Iaquinto
Intern
US-VVOCF Education Fund Coordinator
Our Future is in Our Hands
Things look promising right now. We’ll see the success of the program in the next coming month here at the center.
Wednesday July 2, 2008
Today we had the first counting of the 5 cent pieces! Here’s how the teams are doing:
Team 1- R 17.10
Team 2- R 14.65
Team 3- R 10.05
Team 4- R 4.60
The kids got really excited about collecting the 5 cent pieces. The competitive atmosphere got intense at the end. Team 2 was all set to win, and then one of the kids brought a bucket worth of coins from Team 1. The winning team will get to pick their prize—a week off of cleaning (the children and youth at the center are in charge of doing weekly chores), some school supplies, or some sweets.
Saturday August 2, 2008
Team 1- R 14.90
Team 2- R 8.85
Team 3- R 7.90
Team 4- R 7.65
This month the kids didn’t bring as many 5 cent pieces, but we still managed to collect quite a bit. I read the results out loud at the VVOCF Birthday party and urged the kids to stay excited about collecting coins and reminded them of their prizes. Altogether we’ve raised R 85.70 in the last two months! Just think about how many Rand are just laying around in the streets of Zonkizizwe— in all the townships of South Africa! So far, so good. Let’s hope that they remember to bring them in during the next month—I’ll be at home in the US trying to raise money from businesses, student organizations, and private donors.
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