Phakamisa

Country: South Africa
Advance #14154A DONATE NOW
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Project Information

Uplifting women and children through training in early childhood education and caregiving.

Describe the need affecting community

Phakamisa operates in the rural, semi rural, urban areas. They are from the low income groups, and the communities that Phakamisa services are poverty stricken. The mostly-Zulu men and women who act as caregivers live with the legacy of apartheid, and its resultant lack of development and skills in both the urban and rural areas. Extreme poverty and 45% plus unemployment in many areas continue to negatively impact lives in these areas. The ravages of HIV/AIDS in South Africa are a daily experience of the people we serve. The needs have been identified by the beneficiaries. This was done through needs-analysis research. Which was done in groups interviews as Phakamisa operates with groups that are formed by beneficiaries coming from same area / community therefore information was collected from them.

How will this Advance project help to address the need?

Training in organic vegetable gardening will be offered in order to build skills that result in care givers being able to provide more and better diets to those in their care. Care giver group leaders will attend the workshops every two weeks. During these workshops the caregivers will be given a practical demonstration. The beneficiaries will also be able to raise some money for themselves by selling their produce to their communities. The care givers are being divided into groups according to their areas they represent. Each group is having a plot of small garden where they do practical training, provided by their monitors and group leaders. They will also get training on how to prepare and cook nutritious meals in their cooking lessons. As the training is only given to the group leaders who are the representatives of the community groups. Phakamisa will make sure that proper monitoring is done by our care giver monitor staff. Phakamisa care giver monitors will do fieldwork by visiting each and every group that receives training. To ensure that the skills are being carried or continue to the community at large. The field work visit will be done twice in a month for each and every group.

Describe the primary goal of the project

Phakamisa offers spiritual, emotional and practical support through variety of initiatives for the benefit of the local, disadvantaged communities. We aim to equip women, and through them the children, and youth whom they educate or for whom they cared for. Transformation through health, education, skills training and economic development. We provide a hand UP, not a hand OUT approach that strives to make people independent, moving them from a place of mere survival to one of relative independence. The care givers will be empowered with skills that will help them to be independent and self-sufficient. The skills received will not only benefit the individual but also the society and the nation as it will reduce the issues of poverty. The beneficiaries will be less dependent to Phakamisa as they will be able to sustain themselves.

Describe the change you would like to see in the community as a result of this Advance project

Care givers that have been empowered with skills and able to help themselves to become independent and self-sufficient. The skills that have been imparted being able to not only benefit the individual, but also the society and the nation, and also reduce the issues of poverty. The less dependent beneficiaries to Phakamisa as they will be able to sustain themselves.

Contact Information

Global Ministries Contact
Ms. Ntombizethu Kuzwayo
director@phakamisa.org