We have officially completed our first three years of upliftment and upskilling programs with our original 27 households. Now we are embarking on a journey with a new group of households in Thembalethu.
These families are unemployed and without hope. As we reach out to them, we continue with our vision of not giving handouts but rather assisting them to discover who they are, and what they are capable of. We believe that each person in the family has potential and so we commenced with building relationships, surveying their households and then implementing basic programs to “teach them to fish”.
Their response has been overwhelming. They are hungry to learn and to change, and we are already witnessing transformation in our streets.
Our first step was to invite them all to Bible study, where they started with the Alpha course, fellowshipping together and sharing a meal. Their children and teens were invited to join the Education Centre at a local church.
Recently we presented a Food Garden workshop, where we taught the adults to make compost, plant seedlings, and care for their own food gardens at home. We also explained the importance of upcycling and recycling their ‘good’ waste, and planting food, flowers and herbs in anything that might be available. This includes cardboard boxes, paint buckets, yoghurt containers and recycled car tyres. This is part of caring for the environment and their community.
The families committed to being part of the programs presented through Usapho Indlu and our partners, as they learn together and start to serve and support one another. On an individual level, the household members are taught to work together to achieve their goals on their identified pathways out of poverty.
We are excited to see how this next season in Thembalethu unfolds!
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