First of all we would like to thank all participants and friends that came to visit the Big Induna Mountain bike Race. The medals for meals initiative proved to be very successful. Induna Adventures donated R8000 at the end of the race to the Sizabantwana project, instead of handing out medals to all the finishers of the race.
Don’t hesitate to become a friend of Sizabantwana.
Sizabantwana has had a busy start to 2009. Well we have to take the good with the bad I suppose, lets start with the bad news. Well the first bit of bad news we received was that the shack we use, to cook all the food for the children in, was destroyed after a huge storm. There was so much damage done to the shack that we had to salvage what was left and temporarily move to another shack, we would like to thank the community for helping us. The other bit of bad news greatly saddens my heart. We have a store room in Hazyview where we keep various things for the children, and this store room was broken in to, the door was left open and with all the rain we have had of late it has resulted in the store room being flooded and everything inside destroyed. Well on a lighter, happier, more positive note, we would like to thank the Nelspruit Community Forum for the food parcels and shoes they so kindly donated to us. The local farmers have been so kind as to donate bakkie loads of bananas for the children, thank-you. The gifts that the Nelspruit Community Forum and the local farmers give us, means the world to so many children and their families.
Banannas from Local Farmers
They broke into our store room in Hazyview
Dishing up food for the children at Philisane project
Induna Adventures had the privilege of hosting 166 orphans from Sizabantwana, giving them one memorable day together with Avroy Slain. On the 5th of December 2008 a Christmas party was prepared for specially for them!!! They were picked up early in the morning and a day full of fun and surprises lay ahead of them.
The children were divided into eight groups where they rotated between events such as face painting, jumping castle, a super hero slide, slip-slide, quad biking, horse riding, river rafting and paddling on the dam.
By lunch time the children were a hungry bunch and we had delicious hamburgers provided by Avroy Slain. Tired but content after lunch, it was time for presents! Each child had his or her own gift. It was a great Christmas party capturing the hearts of everyone. Thank you to Induna Adventures and Avroy Slain, without whom this day would not have been possible.
On the 5th of December 2008 Induna Adventures has the privilege of hosting orphans from Sizabantwana. We have the opportunity, and so do you, to show these kids the magic of Christmas. This is a day where they can leave all their worries behind and enjoy a day filled with fun, laughter and surprises. We have organised loads of entertainment including: quad rides, slippery slides, jumping castles and much much more.
Delicious hamburgers and juice will await the kids at lunch time, after all, …playing hard works up quite an apatite!!!!. After lunch the kids will experience that warm, energetic feeling that Christmas morning brings when its time for presents. Each child will recieve a gift with their name on it, which has been specially made up for him or her.
We would like to give a shout out to anyone that can help us make this an extra special day by contributing in any way. We are looking for sponsors, donations and volunteers.
The first of eight life skills and adventure camps got underway on the 31st of October 2008, where 18 randomly selected orphan kids between the ages of 10 and 12 from the Sizabantwana Impilo project embarked on a three-day camp of a lifetime.
The kids arrived at Sabie River Adventures with great uncertainty but after being divided into three groups, with one volunteer in each group, their faces lit up with big smiles and the energy spread over everyone present.
The camp was a huge success as it empowered the kids using Adventure Activities such as river rafting, abseiling and water volleyball; Skills Development, such as beadwork; and Life Skills where the kids completed the ‘I matter’ course.
We asked the kids what the highlight of the camp was: “Making our own bangles”, “Painting”, “When they took pictures of us”, “showering”, “sleeping in a bed and having nice food”.
We would like to say a big thanx to Helanie from Sabie River Adventures for organising the camp, as well as four very special women from the Investec Private Bank in England for all their support and voluntary work.
Starfish Greathearts Foundation is an international development charity, aiming to bring life, hope and opportunity to orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa. We believe that everyone can make a very real difference to the lives of these children.
Starfish is the response of a global community of people on a passionate quest to change perspectives, beliefs and ultimately outcomes for the growing number of orphaned and vulnerable children in South Africa.
Starfish seeks to inspire individuals around the world to take positive action against the tragedy of children orphaned or made vulnerable by this crisis. In the last seven years, thousands of people across the globe have embraced the Starfish vision, contributing to the community based care that we’re now providing for 28,466 children in South Africa (as of end of second quarter 2008).
Starfish was founded by a group of young friends in a London coffee shop in 2001. The following year, a number of these individuals returned to South Africa and officially launched Starfish in its home country on Freedom Day 2002. The charity has been actively inspiring and mobilising individuals in various fields of influence ever since.
Their Role with Sizabantwana
Starfish has a respresentative in each province of South Africa. These representatives are looking for new charity projects and evaluate them for approval. Then Starfish will get foreign contributors for these projects and report to them often. The manager or representative of the project will then report to Starfish.
Philisani is a new project in development. At the moment we are busy with discussion to determine sustainibility for the future. There is an evergrowing need for places like Sizabantwana. In Shabalala there is more than 100 kids deprived from parents and a normal childhood, Nyongane and Sandriver (Majiga) also more than 100 kids and these are all in the surrounding areas of Hazyview. Once this project gets a green light a lot of donations will be needed, but most important the kids will have a chance for a bright future.
If you are interested in helping or donating, please visit the Getting involved page.
On the 22 of September Avroy Shlain hosted an event for Impilo and donated the following:
Thank you we appreciate your donation!
Sunbake gave R10 000 for the months of August and September as their monthly financial contribution to Sizabantwana. They also gave Siza a deep freaze, stove, 10 tables, 10 chairs, potts and some paint for the burglar bars.
