QUARTERLY NEWS
Global Girl Programme and Teboho Trust Teen Girls Making History
Four Teboho Trust teen girlswere participated in a broadcasting / journalism training programme; Global Girl Project during the World Cup here in South Africa. Lungi, Dudu, Tumi and Lesedi learnt a lot about the industry. Specifically, they acquired basic skills on how to use a video camera, how to interview and sound engineering. On the 7th of July 2010 the teen girls started a two weeks workshop that equipped them with necessary skills to interview and capture all the moments of an World Cup events and special stories from their perspective. A perspective rare (e.g., teen girls from Soweto covering stories on the World Cup). After the training they went on the ground to do what they were assigned to do; to cover the World Cup Tournament.
Lungile Shares Her Story of this Experience
When trying to brainstorm and write a summary on how the whole Global Girl experience, I struggled to get the correct adjectives to describe it. It was the most overwhelming and enlightening experience one could ever encounter.
In the cold, windy weather of June the 8th until the 13 of July, when most South African learners were suggesting ideas on how they would spend their holidays more especially where they were scheduled to watch soccer, four Teboho Trust learners were introduced to the project that equips young girls with journalism skills and ways of broadening so that young African female voices cantell the news stories. Everyone was indeed anxious but content with the fact that they had been chosen amongst a batch of applicants from Gauteng, Pretoria and Eastern Cape to take part in the project.
After meeting the other 21 participants, it had not been long when press cards with our names on them were given to me and the other teen girls. The press card symbolised that we were to work hard and tactfully. Our first assignment was based at the launch of the football training centre in Soweto were we had the opportunity to interview remarkable people in the society namely, the Minister of Health, Director of Nike International and former Brazilian player Patto (of course...with the help of a interpreter).After the first assignment, it became certain of the professional standard expected from us and how our voice could change one persons perception in life.
Minutes became hours and hours became days and in that time, we developed skills and new attitudes of media and broadcasting professionals.The project demanded that we pay a lot of attention to detail. There were many perks too. Some days, we would wake up at 3’o clock in the morning and on some occasions we would end the day at 11pm. Either way, we did not have the decency to complain as in numerous occasions we were introduced to astonishing places like: the new state-of-the-art SABC studio; the broadcasting centre in Nasrec were over 500 media companies were based for the World Cup; the M-net studios where we went live on television; and how can we forget the Chile vs Brazil game that still buzzes in my mind as you are reading this article.It was intriguing to see the different types of studios that were designed in bright colors and editing rooms that gave a glimpse of what would appear on television screens all over the world. Meeting prestigious people who came from different parts of the world and certainly engaging in stories that tended to change my view towards life added to this experience that I will never forget.
“Madiba Day” Celebration at Teboho Trust
On the 17th of July 2010 Teboho Trust really wanted to be part of the call to volunteerism in celebrating Mr. Nelson Madela’s birthday; 18th of July 2010. The call to volunteerism asked all to give 67 minutes of their time to community service. We called on volunteers to come and get involved at our Saturday Academy; from reading to our 4-6 year olds, to preparing lunch for over 400 children, to recreational and sports activitieswith out children / teens, offering motivational and career guidance talks, etc. Several people answered the call and gave of self for more than 67 minutes. It was a great day for both our children and volunteers. Some came to help in the classrooms with academics, some through storytelling and others participating in recreational activities. Also some assisted in the preparation of snacks and a hot nutritious lunchhelping to for our learners. This day brought a great deal of inner fulfillment to our volunteers and made our children feel loved and special in that people from different walks of life came and added value to their young lives. Thank you all for making this a memorable day for all!
Teboho Trust Teens Also Gave Back on Madiba Day
The grades 8 -12 learners had a life skills assignment; to give 67 minutes of their time on the following day - Madiba Day.
Below are some of our teens share their 67 minutes of giving:
“In those 67 minutes, I will be sitting with my family and praying for those who are suffering for us as Africans. I am also going to set good examples to the little ones. My prayer specifically will be that the Lord be with them on that day.”Simphiwe (Grade 8),
“I will be taking out my clothes that I don’t wear no more and giving them to the people who need them the most. I will also take children to church that have never been there and prepare a good breakfast for my parents, because I want to thank them for all the things they have done for me. Another thing I had in mind is to go to a nearby old age home to visit and help them out as best I can” – Nokuthula Grade 9
Rutgers University Makes Annual Visit To Teboho Trust
On the 24th of July 2010 the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education South African Initiative came once again to visit us at our new temporary venue in Orlando East – Herbert Mdingi Adult Centre. Each year, the delegates are new people guests; mostly alumni from the university. They came and led most of the academic tutorials at the Saturday Academy, provided life skills workshops and had fun playing with the children / teens in sports and recreational activities. Our Yellow Shirts (grades R-7) were very hyper with our visitors, especially as they overwhelmed delegates in the sports and recreation sessions. We want to thank Dr. Darren Clarke from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Education, South African Initiative for bringing another group of compassionate and competent professionals to stimulate our children in academics, life skills and just fun activities. We also like to thank the group for donating stationery and textbooks that will help our learners better their chances to a greater future. Thank you also for sponsoring the delicious lunch! The Teboho Trust family had a great experience with our new friends and we hope that they received as much as much as we did.
Financial Management Workshop at TebohoTrust
Thanks to the Global Fund for Children’s Capacity Building Initiative, the Teboho Trust staff went through a financial management workshop. We underwent an earlier workshop on how to better mobilise resources for our organization. The workshop was held on 23 July 2010. The workshop helped the staff to understand the basic concepts and components of financial management. It also helped us to develop financial management policies and systems. The workshop specifically equipped our financial manager with more knowledge on how to better record and manage our financial information. The workshop also helped us to develop draft policies for our board to consider and adopt. One of the key benefits of the workshop was that our staff felt more knowledgeable on the importance of financial management of public funds. As a result it has improved our communication and improved our ability to manage our petty cash and the importance of submitting receipts. We want to thank the Global Fund for Children for helping Teboho Trust with this capacity building. We will also like to extend or gratitude to Mr. Kagiso Mamabolo for facilitating the workshop from start to end.
Teboho Trust Hosts International Urban Youth Conference with eThree Labs
From 2nd to 11th of August 2010, Teboho Trust, in partnership with eThree Labs held a youth conference for grade 8-12 learners from Detroit, Michigan, USA and Soweto. The conference was driven by the teens and they presented their successful models. In general, the conference focused on empowering the youth and community by means of urban farming, building and installing solar module systems and entrepreneurship through African beadedproducts. In order to ensure a practical and relevant conference, eThree Labs invited the Catherine Ferguson Academy and the Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy,both located in Detroit, Michigan. The Catherine Ferguson Academy is one of only four schools that allow pregnant teenage mothers to raise their children and still continue with their education. The teen mums created anurban farm where they grow vegetables and sell them at the local farmers market, which allows them to sustain an income to support their high school and their children. In the Catherine Ferguson Academy’s presentation the teen mums showed the right methods for companion plantingof vegetables; how to make homemade compost, how to harvest as well as marketing the fresh produce. They also showed all how to build a green house. As a result the teens built a greenhouse and planted some vegetable seeds and seedlings in the community near the Teboho Trust office. With the new greenhouse, the learners and adults of Teboho Trust will work in collaboration with the primary school to grow the vegetableto feed the children of Teboho Trust and the primary school. We plan to expand the urban garden in order to participate in commercial farming on a small scare with other small-scale urban farmers in the community. The Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy presented their alternative energy model; the solar module system. The young peopleprovided an overview to the mechanics of solar power. They also demonstrated how to build a solar module system that could provide power in the house. The Blanche Kelso Bruce Academy also informed us that this alternative power source could dramatically cut down on electricity costs, especially with the rising costs of electricity here in South Africa. The Teboho Trust learners shared the art of African beading with the teens from America and how beaded products could bring money into the household as a business. Specifically they taught all how to design flags and key chains with the same methods, also how this was made into a business. The teens also gave presentations on their communities and learnt how similar both communities are. Specifically the Detroit teens explained how the recession had taken a toll on the city, as it was the heart of the auto manufacturing industry in America. With the loss of jobs in the auto manufacturing industry, the city experienced a rise in crime, poverty, teen pregnancies and many moved out of the city. The Teboho Trust teensshared how Apartheid oppressed the majority of South Africans and left the township full of poverty and social challenges. The American teens were amazed to witness the spirit of the Teboho Trust teens. They were in awe to see the Sowetan teens have so little, but the were hard working and valued their education. One American teen commented, “I was amazed with the level of determination of the Teboho Trust students under their circumstances and I will try and apply that as a part of my own life.” We would like to thank Mr. David Rantho, Mr. Bo Isaacs, Mr. J Bright for organising the conference logistics and assisting with the programme. We want to thank Mr. Matthew Marks for coordinating the successful teen models in Detroit to play a critical role in the conference. Moreover, we wish to thank the teens on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean for making it a huge success.
Benevolent Supporter Celebrates Birthday at Teboho Trust Saturday Academy
On the 14 of August 2010, Simi Siwisa celebrated her birthday at Teboho Trust Saturday Academy. Rather than have a party with family and friends, she encouraged all to come to our Saturday Academy and share the day with the children
The birthday guest came in and read to our younger children, played games with them and then gave them sweets, cake and a good time. .
Ms Simi Siwisa, thank you for making it a fun and exciting day for our younger children. It’s rare for them to have so much cake, sweets and other birthday party fun. Thank you also for opening the eyes of your guest on our good work and our growing needs to have resources to better serve the children. We are hopeful that those that came to celebrate your birthday will also see how they can help us to help the children. We are grateful that the guests were very excited to be part of the family of Teboho Trust, as they also shared their experiences with the older learners through dialogue sessions as the boys went into one class and the girls into another for a life skills session. It was a great day as learners felt the significance of the issues raised such as gender equality, better connection with family members, values vs. choices, etc. We would like to thank Ms Simi Siwisa for sharing her special day with us and extend our thanks to the guests that donated and shared a wonderful day at Teboho Trust.
200 Grannies Receive Blankets To Keep Warm This Winter
We are grateful to the IDC for donating 200 beautiful blankets to keep our grannies warm this winter. Every winter, we worry that our elderly are not warm when the harsh winter weather comes. Many of our children live with their grannies or great-grannies. We try hard to make life easier for our elders so that they may live longer for our children. When the blankets arrived, the grannies began ululating,praising and thanking Teboho Trust and the ICD.One of the grannies said, “I am truly grateful! I love Teboho Trust for what it is doing for our community.” In the new week, many of the grannies called the office with cries and prayers as they expressed how their new blankets are keeping them warm they are now and that they felt God listened to their prayers for small things like a blanket for the winter. Thank you again Tommy Mohojale from the IDC.
Teboho Trust Teen Girls Motivated to Discover their Inner Self to Achieve Success
On the 14th of August Ms Ntombikanina Malinga came to run a life skills workshop with our female teens. As a woman thathad a rough start in life, she did overcome most odds to become successful in life. She came to share her strategies, tools and experiences with the young teens females.
She was born in Voslorus, a small township in the east of Johannesburg. Sheearned her honors in politics. She describes herself as asocial, curious and courageous woman. She stated that she does not allow circumstances to destroy her potential. She introduced herself in a stupendous manner and conveyed a clear message for how girls can acquire enough skills to achieve the best results in life. Her whole lesson was focused on how learning and having values can determine one’s future. She repeatedly expressed herself in ways that the girls could giggle and smile as her presence allowed her message to flow in the young girls mind. She also said, “…always make sure your thinking space is unlocked,” which gave a huge lasting impression on all of the teen.Her primary theme was about letting the “inner self speak out.” Ms. Malinga, you have touched the souls of our teen girls and this will take them far in life. Thank you!
Global LinkagesDelegation Visits Teboho Trust
On the 14th of August 2010 we had 16 people from the USA visit us. They were part of a delegation of Global Linkages, Inc.; an organization in New Jersey that gets African Americans to visit the African continent and have a real experience. They came from New Jersey, Georgia and Florida. They were very friendly and curious about Teboho Trust’s successes. They introduced themselves,shared their backgrounds and the reasons for their visit to Teboho Trust. J Allyn, a 14-year-old teenage boy a part of the group raised awareness in his community about learning challengesour children face here in Soweto. As a result, J Allyn took the lead to have his church donateschool supplies / stationery, arts supplies, clothes for the childrenof Teboho Trust. We were extremely grateful as some of the kids dropped out from school because they don’t have learning materials or did not really have enough money for those tools. He did this because he wanted the Teboho Trust children to have all the necessary tools to be better their academic performance and life skills. We want to thank Ms Lorna Johnson for bringing the group to Teboho Trust. We know that the resources brought by the delegation will go a far way to motivate and empower our children. Thank you again!