Short description

Providing long-term support to rural children and youth in the West Coast District through a poverty programme with the overarching objective of alleviating generational poverty in farming and rural communities.

Need

The winelands of the Western Cape are characterised by underprivileged farm workers, low education levels, high levels of physical and alcohol abuse as well as high teenage pregnancy rates. South Africa has one of the highest incidences of Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) globally, with the greatest prevalence reported in the Western Cape. Schools in the Swartland Municipal area (where Malmesbury is located) achieved the lowest matric pass rate within the West Coast District in 2011. Furthermore, in the same year, the dropout rate for school-going children in the Swartland was a staggering 25%.

With the many challenges people face in rural areas, including access to health care, education and job opportunities, breaking out of the cycle of generational poverty is difficult. Holistic, long- term and targeted support in various aspects of a disadvantaged child’s life (including education, health and personal development) is necessary to successfully guide them out of poverty.

Overview

Goedgedacht Trust, established in 1993, is an organisation based in Malmesbury whose objective is addressing generational poverty through education and long- term development of rural children. Goedgedacht uses the self-created Path 0ut of Poverty (POP) model which has different child-focused projects that start before the child is born (i.e. working with young adults who are potential parents and expectant mothers) and continues creating safe spaces for children from four months old through childhood and adolescence into early adulthood until they are 25 years of age.

The POP programme is run from four centres in the Riebeeksrivier Valley and surrounding area, and there are currently 4000 children and youth from 32 farms participating in the programme. Each centre has a manager, cook and caretaker.

The POP programme has four main areas:

  • Education: Goedgedacht aims to encourage children to stay in school. They supplement rural children’s education by providing school uniforms, toiletries and school fees. A lack of these essentials often leads to the children being picked on and humiliated, leading to resentment of school and eventual drop out. Goedgedacht also has a baby unit, crèche and pre-school for children from four months to seven years old. Parents are charged fees of R30 a month. The organisation also runs an afterschool programme for the school-going children from seven to 18 years. As part of the older youth programme requirements they run the Valley Deli Project where they make sandwiches to feed school- going children before they get to school.
  • Health: Goedgedacht travels from farm to farm to host workshops for families on the importance of basic hygiene. In addition, the youth are taught about sex, HIV/AIDS, puberty and changes in their bodies. The organisation provides the services of a nursing sister to do basic check-ups on children on a monthly basis.
  • Personal Development: The organisation runs a life skills programme for the children and youth during the school holidays with the objective of building their self-confidence, communication skills and increasing their community involvement.
  • Care for Our Planet: Goedgedacht has 11 climate change projects aimed at teaching children about climate change and global warming. Goedgedacht believes that it is important that rural communities obtain the knowledge needed to participate in debates on the global warming issues that impact them.
  • Leadership College: Goedgedacht found that high school graduates in the programme were not able to compete in the job market due to their inability to search for jobs on the internet, lack of confidence to interact in a job interview, and inability to compile a CV. The organisation built the Leadership College to create a bridge between matric graduates and work or tertiary education. The college will be open to any matric graduates from rural areas between the age of 19 and 25 years. All applicants will be invited for a three day workshop, and youth who demonstrate leadership qualities will be accepted to the college. Goedgedacht is currently working on a 12 month curriculum with the intention of launching the college in 2014. During the gap year the youth will spend in the college, they will be taught the necessary life, leadership and social skills that will be useful when they decide to go to tertiary establishments or to find work.

What we like about this organisation

The POP programme is designed and implemented to holistically address the needs of rural children. It is a long-term model that offers disadvantaged rural children support from birth until they are in their mid twenties. Most employees are former POP beneficiaries who are therefore highly committed to the organisation. Moreover all the administrative staff are furthering their education and are currently enrolled at UNISA.

What difference can your money make?

  • R10 000 will pay for monthly toiletries, textbooks, and transport money for a POP beneficiary who is at a tertiary institute for one year
  • R250 000 will fund the one year’s running costs of a POP youth centre that provides daily after-school care for 300 children, youth life skills programmes, antenatal classes, ABET classes, AA support groups, and elderly support activities
  • R750 000 will allow for the assembly of a container POP Youth Centre for 500 children to attend after-school support holiday programmes, and a baby unit in the mornings, in small rural communities.

Volunteering opportunities

  • Mentors
  • Artisans (plumbers, painters, electricians)
  • IT technicians
  • Builders