July and August!

Deb's news.
Sorry that I've taken so long to update this time, life has been increasingly hectic but no more excuses just apologies!!!
I have spent the last 3 weeks getting trained up by the Philippi Trust in order to run an OVC camp (Orphans and Vulnerable Children.) I had an initial week of counseling training then 3 days of specific OVC sessions, dealing with issues of grief,loss and bereavement with children. It was quite intense and I found all the stuff on abuse very difficult but I guess it is a reality which must be dealt with. The last 2 days were spent at the camp where we will be taking the children at the end of September, we spent the first day going on a good long hike and making a raft which we then sailed around the dam - Swallows and Amazons ahoy! It was great fun and good to know what we are doing before asking the children to construct one. Day 2 was a bit more challenging as we spent the morning playing trust games - my least favourite activity! As I was one of the smallest team members I found myself being lifted up, carried around and posted through small places at regular intervals, you can imagine how much that pleased me.
The last afternoon we did some play therapy activities with clay and drawing which gave us some good insights into how to approach the difficult issues of loss with even young children. The children on our camp will be in the 6-12 age group, 45 of them ,20 of whom are Xhosa speaking and 25 Afrikaans speaking - note NONE of them are first language English so I guess my Xhosa will come on in leaps and bounds over the 4 days!

Just as you all have got my address and telephone number sorted I am on the move again! at the end of September i am moving into my own flat in Heldervue, still part of Somerset West but a bit further up the mountain. It will be so nice to be in a place on my own where I won't have to move every 6 months. It is quite a bit more rent than I have been paying but I think the benefits of having a settled place to saty will be worth a few economies. I am not sure of the address yoet but as soon as I know it I will put it on the blog.


Emyezweni News.

Staff developments:
We have just put a proposal to HCC Elders to increase our staffing next year as we will have many more younger children; our idea is to move Vathi, our cook-cleaner over to the teaching staff and employ another cook-cleaner to work from 7.30 until 1.00 each day. This would mean that we are able to give the younger children the extra input they need in both teaching, play and care and also employ another person from the community.

Parents Meeting:
We held our termly parents meeting last week and Nicky Welsh came to give a presentation on 'Living Well with HIV/AIDS'. It was a really good evening with lots of laughter as Nicky produced both male and female condoms and proceeded to tell the Mammas (and 2 Tatas) how important it is to protect yourself! We are hoping to follow up this session next term with a visit from another HIV Trainer who will explore the idea of HIV/AIDS testing and treatment.
Rachel and myself had a very short meeting at the end of the evening with the parents of children who are due to enter the pre-school class next year ,as we had heard that some parents were worried that if their children remained with us they may not be eligible for a place at the primary school in Lwandle the following year. We were able to tell them that we will help with registration and that keeping their child with us does not mean that they will lose their place at Omnqopiso School. In fact we are developing links with this primary school and Rachel is hoping to visit the grade 1 class teachers next term as part of our transition for grade R children. Most parents have told us that they want to keep their children with us and we are looking at a full Grade R class for the 2006 academic year.
As ever, our waiting list for all the classes is very long and we are still looking into the possibility of extending our premises next year.
Sadly this week we have had a break in at Emyezweni and all of our weeks groceries were stolen, this was a bit of a blow as we had just reached the end of the month with R100 in funds and we were hoping to buy a few extras for the kitchen. However due to the kindness of Alec Muscat the damage has been repaired and the children are having vegetable soup for lunch this week!

Prayer points:

For safety and security at the pre-school.

For the OVC camp 26-29th September - that I would be able to communicate well and cope for 3 nights without sleep!

For my house move at the end of September and that the increased rent won't be too hard to manage.

Thanks guys!!