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A Caring COMMUNITY

Love to Give NEWSLETTER | March 2023

Pictured above: Sibulele Sotondoshe who graduated from the Year Beyond programme in 2022, in the Love to Give vegetable garden.

Growing our YearBeyond Partnership

We will have 50 new YeBoneers starting work at Love to Give this year and are pleased to be extending our partnership with YearBeyond to introduce their Academic Programme in addition to the @homelearning programme that we have been running for the last few years.

YearBeyond’s Academic Programme is designed to help struggling Grade 3 and 4 learners in low and no-fee schools who are no longer being taught in their mother tongue. Our YeBoneers will support the teachers in the two primary schools in Kayamandi during the day, as well as provide one on one paired reading support to the learners who have been referred to the programme. After formal school hours, YeBoneers will be running an After School Programme that incorporates literacy, numeracy and homework support.

We are delighted that Sibulele Sotondoshe who was one of our Yeboneers in 2022 has been accepted into the YearBeyond Academy this year and will be training to become a YearBeyond mentor. She was selected from 135 applicants to be one of 28 trainee mentors in the academy. She will be based at Love to Give while doing her training. Sibulele loved her time as a YeBoneer – she found it stimulating to meet and make friends with fellow YeBoneers from the same neighbourhood but with diverse backgrounds and circumstances. She loved the children’s enthusiasm and enjoyment of the activities – it brought her joy!

Pictured above: Isaac starting school at De La Bat.

Collaborating to change lives

In early 2021 one of our YeBoneers found a young boy spending his days alone at home in his shack and unable to communicate. Young Isaac, a sweet, smiley little boy came to our centre to join in with the after school programme that the YeBoneers run each afternoon. It soon became clear during the activities that Isaac couldn’t hear.

We knew we had to help him and with the support of Barbara Proudfoot of the Kavod Trust we arranged for Isaac to be tested and assessed in order to find the best way forward for him. Barbara referred us to Hi Hopes an organisation which strives to achieve “Language, learning and connection for every deaf child.” Darlene from Hi Hopes came to our centre to meet Isaac, his mother and everyone at the centre who had been working with him. At Isaac’s stage of life a cochlear implant would be ineffective and the recommendation was for him to learn sign language and become part of the deaf community. Hi Hopes offered free counselling and mentorship to Isaac and his family which was invaluable.

We are delighted that in January last year Isaac started as a weekly boarder at De La Bat school for the deaf in Worcester. He has settled in, likes interacting with the other children and is doing very well. We sponsor his transport to and from school every weekend, and follow his progress closely. It has been amazing to track this one little boy amongst the hundreds of others we help in a more general way. We are so grateful for the support of the Kavod Trust one of our most generous donors, for the aid of Hi Hopes and the wonderful staff and community at De La Bat School who are helping us to change Isaac’s life for the better.

SHOP DONATION:

Do you ever shop online (for example at Booking.com, Cotton On, Faithful to Nature)? Then you can donate for free to Love to Give.

Before your next online shop, click and start your purchase process from here: shopdonation.co.za/lovetogive.

A percentage of your purchase will be donated to Love to Give at no cost to you!

DONATE NOW

Love to Give is a non-profit organisation and issues Section 18A tax certificates for all donations received. As a Public Benefit Organisation, donations are tax-deductible in South Africa.

Donate via EFT

Bank: ABSA
Acc. Name: Stellenbosch Community Development Programme
Acc. No: 406 384 1099

Donate via Given Gain
Donate via PayFast

Thank you for your interest and your support.

With warm regards and many thanks

Annabel and the team at Love to Give