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African Friends is an international group of non-paid volunteers raising funds for children in South Africa who, as a result of Aids/HIV, live in wretched circumstances.

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One of our methods for generating the required funds is by selling ornaments which are made in South Africa.

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News

Africa Day 21st January

On 21 January the African  Friends stand was at the AFRIKA day in Stay Okay Amsterdam, organised by Wereldwijzer.(www.wereldwijzer.nl)

Travel agencies and volunteer organisations got the chance to show their products to the public.

There were luxury and adventure vacations with also the chance to volunteer to do work in orphanages, schools, agricultural projects and to work with wild animals.

With so many people who love Africa there had to be an African market and African Friends was there with the beautiful bead work and good luck dolls(brooches). As well as the sales we were also able to spread the word about our project and make contact with others who shared their experiences of voluntary work in Africa.  

This Africa Day is held every year (in February 2013) and for anyone interested in Africa this day is an absolute must!

Newsletter South Africa november 2011

Dear African Friends,

Before 2011 comes to an end a short update from  South Africa.
All the children from Thokomala and Kwamzamo were found to be healthy after being checked over by Doctor Julia  from Big Shoes(see www.bigshoes.org.za) She mailed me to say how impressed she was with their progress.

The results from school have also been good. The school year here ends in December and starts in January with new classes. The children are growing fast and that means new school uniforms and shoes are needed which is an expensive proposition.

That was a good reason for me to take part in the Christmas Market at the school of my grandchildren. We had the local bead work on sale and also Christmas cards. (Photos below).

We are still in the “race” trying to satisfy the conditions to be part of the ‘’Chicken Project”’ and we hope to reach the final round. There are so many organisations interested in this project and in the end it will be Social Welfare who decide the ones that will get the subsidy to start a chicken farm. Starting with a few chickens that will lay the eggs ,of which some will be sold and the remainder hatched , the project will grow and become a source of income. For the local people chicken is an important food ,but of course there is so much involved regarding hygiene and management to get the project up and running.

Several organisations and personal initiatives mean that the children from both homes will be spoilt at Christmas with trips out and presents. We are busy organising this and deciding what will be the surprise for them all this year.(last year they all went to the coast for a few days holiday!).

Thank you for all your support in 2011, dear African Friends. Rest assured that all the hard work , the small or large donations which are very welcome are accepted with thanks and spent in a responsible way .
Special thanks go again to the fantastic team  of Ellen Daams, Ineke van der Gugten and Maureen van Trappe without whose input and perseverance there would be no African Friends!

So, until the next newsletter, we wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012 from South Africa,
On behalf of all the children and mothers of Kwamzomo & Thokomala,

Ngyyabonga e salagathli (thank you and keep well)

Roger and Frederike Macquet

 

 

AFRICAN FRIENDS AT HAARLEM BOOK MARKET

On November 12 2011, African Friends had a stall at the book market in the St. Bavo Cathedral in Haarlem. This was our second book market this year. On a beautiful sunny day in August our stall was in the quaint old district of Vijfhoek, also in Haarlem; this time we were in a fairly chilly church. But that didn’t spoil the fun because, if you felt really cold, you could take a stroll around this huge, glorious church and enjoy the lovely ceilings and stained glass windows.

Visitors could choose the book that caught their eye with the music of the Haarlem Wind Ensemble in the background. The stalls were nicely illuminated and the atmosphere very pleasant.

This market was organised for the 11th time by ‘Kollektorsitem’.

Apart from the books, we were also able to sell the well-known African Friends beadwork, and the total takings were 255 euro, once again a nice sum for the childrens’ homes in South Africa. We also had the opportunity to spread the word about African Friends and the projects it supports.

The books were generously donated to us by friends and acquaintances, so many thanks to all of them. Our ‘sales’ team was reinforced by some expert help from a good friend and Dutch specialist, Hans Wilmink.

Following our reasonably successful efforts at these book markets, we don’t want to stop here and will look for further opportunities. The book acquisition is obviously no problem, but they have to be stored somewhere. If anyone has space available for this we would like to hear from them.

Our next activity will be at the ‘Maternity market’ in the Kennemer Gasthuis (hospital), also in Haarlem.

Bye for now and regards from,

Ellen, Maureen, and Ineke

 

 

 

Newsletter March 2011

Dear All,

Let me begin with apologies that there has not been an update for some time due to our busy lives. Nevertheless there is not a day goes by that Roger and I are not busy with the orphanages, even though we don’t go there on a daily basis. That would not be possible but in connection with leadership and problems we support  them for one hundred per cent. The Financial Year Report is due shortly as soon as Roger has completed those of his companies, and we have regular contact with the managers Linda and Mlungisi.

All the children have been medically checked again by Big Shoes, the organisation that does this for us without any cost. We found out about them when Anele, the small 3 week old baby, lived with us for 6 months. He is very well and has been adopted by very responsible parents. The First Aid kits in Thokomala and Kwamzamo have been checked again together with a hygiene check and other health checks such as dentist etc have been followed up. Everything was in order.

The children are doing well. Cindy, the oldest  girl of 19 has left Thokomala to live with a friend and Thandeka, a 17 year old girl is going to live with her mother who at first was homeless but who now has a friend with a house. There is also a girl of 16 ( I forget her name for the moment)and she is going to live in a house left by her parents who died. There was a family living there but the Chief decided that the children will live there. The oldest child will be the head of the family and the brothers and sisters will live there with her.  These small families are called “child headed households” and when all is in place they will receive benefit or be supported by the community. This is such a different situation compared to European standards but  one gets used to it. (one has to!)

At this time there are 32,000 overdue requests for new benefits. One hundred thousand children are without benefits. One of the reasons is that every 2 years the benefits have to be renewed(the children have to be checked by the social worker who has to send her results to the court to be processed further). But there is no time because there is such a huge backlog. So children who had benefits and desperately need them, lose them and it is 2 years later when they get their turn again. So this explains why we have not received any benefits all those years—a question of the social worker passing the ball to the court and then back to the social worker. The newspapers are full of this topic!

Fortunately we do have 4 children who are fully screened in Thokomala and receive benefit. So there is a start and this gives us a little more breathing space. An official foster mother has been chosen for them and she has to comply with all conditions for this post. Her name is Nomusa and she is connected to these children for life as their foster mother.
In the meantime there is a trainee social worker chosen too, and her name is Samke who is supervised by an experienced social worker. She is going to occupy herself with all the necessary formalities in order to speed up the process of benefits. It costs us a lot because we have to pay her a salary and also transport and telephone costs but we trust that is a worthwhile investment. Cluster Foster Homes are the only communities who receive benefits(cluster foster homes are homes for 6 children with 1 mother). The alterations we made to the houses were the right decision and had we not made the investment, we would have now been far behind in the whole process.

An accountants firm, CCA, has sponsored us for years for Thokomala and have again renewed their sponsorship for a year and also increased the amount. This was so necessary and in spite of their tremendous loyalty we are still short of funds.

There is some good news about a new project which is still very much in its infancy. The orphanages, mothers and managers are going to start a “chicken project” subsidised by the government. They will look after quite a large number of small chickens and sell them when they are bigger. Of course it is hoped that there will be a healthy ‘’chicken family expansion” to increase the numbers. In short, an income generating project! We have passed all the formalities to start this project as soon as we have found suitable land because of course, understandably, it  can not be on the land next to the orphanages due  to health restrictions.

As soon as everything is organised I will of course let you all know. It will be a fantastic financial support  to our projects, and what is most important, a continuing independency financially. But we still have to carry on fundraising ourselves even though the plan is to start the project this year.( ho ho ho,cock- a- doodle- doo, patience, this is Africa!)

Kwamzamo

is a home for Aids-affected children, to the south of Durban. It was started by Raymond Madondo and a local committee in response to the traditional and local leaders’ request to enable these children to be cared for within their community rather than be sent away from their areas to formal children’s homes. There are no homes in their direct areas.

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