Breadline Africa visits the end of year closing of the African Renewal Foundation

“Our aim is to unite our people especially the children from different background.  We have big dreams but are desperately in need of all the help we can get.

We started our organization in 2008 with the outbreak of xenophobia.

We found that there was a need to create a platform to do something for the community. Our biggest challenge was to unite one another.  This would be the best solution to prevent community problems.  We are proud to be connected with visitors in terms of arts and culture.  The challenges we have are big and we are here to encourage everyone to work together.  Capricorn is an informal settlement situated close to Muizenberg in Cape Town. It is a place of cultural people. The people that live here are from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Congo and the local coloured and black people.  This creates a mixture of culture.

We are all facing the same problems in this community irrespective of where we come from.  Hunger is the biggest problem that we all face in this community. Children have been driven to the extreme and they have gotten themselves involved in all the wrongs of society. Hunger has taught them to steal a loaf of bread from the local shop to still their hunger. In many instances they have been killed as unemployment is rife in this area.

This is why we felt that we have to approach all the role players in the community to bring about change and to solve problems together.  One of the projects that we launched was our art project. We felt it would teach the children a skill and draw them together from all different backgrounds.  But this venture has not been easy as they struggle financially to buy the various tools such as wire, beads, scissors and all the necessary equipment.

We have a powerful artist in our midst but we do not have the resources nor sufficient finances.  We do have a soup kitchen but it only operate when we have enough food for the kitchen.  We are desperately looking for support to start a much needed vegetable garden.  Most kids have been affected by  HIV and we feel that providing a nutritious meal for the kids and to teach them to grow their own garden will add great value to their lives and to the community as a whole.”

Life on a rubbish dump

I’ve just returned from a trip where I visited families who live alongside a local rubbish dump, scratching through the filth for the barest necessities of life.   

A few rags, empty cardboard boxes, dirty mattresses, glass bottles, are riches to these people, scraping out a living on the very margins of society. 

Their isolation is underlined by the strange beauty in the greenery of the forest,  but I can assure you that there is nothing beautiful about the sight of women, men and small children hunting for scraps of food, plastics, glass or scrap metal in a waste-dump. But this is the only way they can survive. They collect and sort these scraps so that they are able to sell it to the local recycling merchants.

Imagine relying on decaying rubbish for the next meal, the hopelessness and uncertainty of the future for these folk living in such harsh conditions.

Their strength is survival. Not knowing what tomorrow holds. They rely on the dirt trucks to see what value they will find in amongst the dirt that will be offloaded the next day and the next.

Press Release – Art prize with open entry and a role for everyone

Hope in Art is delighted to announce that the second Hope in Art competition will take place in Autumn 2011.  This biennial art competition is open to everyone over the age of 16 years and can be in any medium.  The theme for this competition is FAIR (or anything that sounds like it, e.g. fairy, pharaoh, fare).  Artists should visit www.hopeinart.com for rules and instructions for uploading images of their work so that members of the public can vote for their favourite piece.  A prize of equal value will be judged by a panel of experts.  This panel has yet to be finalised though Ralph Taylor, the director at Lazarides Galleries has agreed to chair it and Penelope Keith (actress) has accepted an invitation to be a member.  There are three generous cash prizes, plus.

• A £2,500 prize which will be awarded to the work with the most votes from the general public.
• A £2,500 prize which will be awarded to the work judged as favourite by the panel of experts from art world
• A prize of  £500 for the most imaginative “take” on the theme in organisers’ opinion
• There will also be a prize available to members of the public who register to vote.
• There is no entry fee..
• Deadline for entries October 15th 2011, voting and auction 16th October – 20th Nov

All the artwork entered in the competition will be available for sale online to members of the public, once the competition has closed.  Money received from each sale will be split between that artist and the charity Breadline Africa.

Spirit of Hope by Andrew van de Merwe. Winner of Hope in Art 2009

‘There are as many opinions about any piece of art as there are people looking at it.  A lot of people who are not involved in the art world thoroughly disagree with the choice of the judges of the Turner prize so we thought we would organise a competition where the public gets to do the judging.  And if the judging is being thrown open to everyone so should the competition itself.’ – Carole Taylor, Founder, Hope in Art

Hope in Art was established in 2008 as a not-for-profit organisation intending to raise money through the medium of art for charities working in South Africa and Zimbabwe.

About Breadline Africa:

Breadline Africa is an internationally registered charity that seeks out partnerships of hope and growth in Africa. It seeks to connect people who are struggling to achieve the most basic living conditions with others who are more fortunate and in a position to make a difference.

www.breadlineafrica.org Charity Number: 1075525

Competition sponsored by Living PlanIT www.living-planit.com

Breadline Africa supporter in Tesco diet calendar!

A loyal Breadline Africa supporter from the UK is appearing in the Tesco Diets 2011 Calendar.

The charity calendar features 12 women who have been participating in the Tesco Diets scheme. Each of the “calendar girls” have a story to tell about how they changed their lives for the better while on their weight loss journey. They hope to inspire others to take action and make some changes for good.

ALL proceeds from this calendar are going to 14 charities, 12 of which have been personally chosen by the calendar girls. Amanda-Jane from Bristol lost an amazing 1 stone 3lbs and chose Breadline Africa as her charity.

For more information about this project and to purchase a calendar please visit www.tescodiets.com

My time in Cape Town

This is a guest post from Rupert Shanks who has been working with us for the last 6 weeks as a volunteer.

I first encountered Breadline Africa while working for NYK in London. NYK is a shipping and logistics group and we were supporting a BBC documentary called the Box. An NYK shipping container was painted in BBC colours, fitted with a GPS tracking device and followed around the world as it carried various products on its global journey. At the end of that journey the Box was donated to Breadline Africa where it was converted into a soup kitchen and set up by a school in Eerste Rivier, just outside Cape Town, where it would help feed 80 people a day.

Cape Town at night

Having decided to take some time away from corporate life in London, I approached Louise and Tim from Breadline Africa to see if there was any chance of working for the organisation in South Africa. I wanted to experience Africa and hopefully do some good while I was there. In what seemed like no time at all, I was touching down in Cape Town. The city is spectacular! All through my time here, I couldnt stop admiring the mountain as it looks down at us.

The people working for Breadline here in Cape Town made me feel very welcome. They have a great atmosphere in the office. Edna told me she was hoping for a Scottish Arnold Schwarzenegger, so I must have been a bit of a disappointment! I was soon learning more about what the charity does and some of the African problems they are trying to address. Tim presented the background to Breadline strategy planning with some shocking statistics. A major focus for Breadline is the children. There are approx 18 million children in South Africa (39% of the population) and 63% of them still live in poverty. Although child mortality has been declining in recent years, infant mortality (under 5 years old) has actually been increasing. I was pretty surprised to hear this, as my perception was that South Africa had been developing economically in recent years and these kind of problems should be declining. Although the South African Gross National Income has been rising , there is still significant inequality.

Pre School container at Delft

I have spent my time here with Breadline being able to learn more about the many different projects they support. Edna and the others have taken me out to visit them, many of which are in the townships around Cape Town. It was inspiring to meet the people who work in them, teaching kids, working in soup kitchens etc. The difference that Breadline’s support makes in these areas was really made clear to me. We went to one pre-school site in Delft, which is run by Patiswa. She was explaining how the parents of the kids can now go out and work while their kids are getting a great start to their education. This knock-on effect can really help develop the area in a sustainable way.

Kids at school in Delft

Learning about the value of the shipping containers has also been fascinating. Especially as I was previously working for a shipping company! These big boxes can be put to amazing use after a life travelling the ocean waves carrying Playstations, whisky or whatever the world is trading. I met Roland who runs the container conversion yard. He is very passionate about what he does and this shines through in his work. The finished containers make excellent facilities such as kitchens or bathrooms with all the plumbing included.

One of the highlights for me was the seaside parties. Every year, Breadline organises a series of seaside parties where they take local kids from some of the poorest areas for a fun day out at the seaside. Incredibly, many of these kids have never been to the beach. This year, thanks to the donors, Breadline could take 1200 kids. I went along for a day and was bowled over by the sheer joy on the kids faces. Ive never seen so much running around and whooping! Santa even turned up at the end of the day, although I had just nipped outside so unfortunately missed him. I was told his ‘Ho, Ho, Ho’ was just fantastic, although his trainers were a bit grubby.

Splashing around

My time here is now drawing to a close and I am heading back to the bleak winter in the UK. I’d like to say a huge thanks to the people at Breadline Africa who have been so kind during my stay here. I have a lot of admiration for what they do. They are tackling some of the key problems in the area and are making a real difference.

Seaside parties completed!

Sadly our seaside outings have come to an end.  What an exciting eight days it has been. We have taken more than one thousand kids from twenty different educare centres in the Western Cape to the sea.  For many little ones it was their very first ride in a bus and their very first time at the seaside.  We had glorious weather and our volunteers added extra sparkle to the event with their renewed energy every day.

Many of the kids were afraid of the sea but once their little toes have felt that very first icy cold splash of water it brought a smile to their face. Gone is the fear and in no time they are running in and out of the water. For some kids it was a little too frightening and they stayed to play in the sand.

The teachers could not believe that Breadline Africa could arrange such a big event and thanked us for giving the children such a special treat. One teacher said, it is amazing how we could think of these children that live in such poor conditions. Their parents will never be able to afford an outing like this or will never be able to take them to the sea-side.

It was wonderful to see how the kids enjoyed themselves even if it was only for a day.  It will however be a memory that they will cherish for a long time.  Especially as Father Christmas arrived to hand out presents at the end of the day.

Because of you we have touched many hearts in bringing them joy, fun, and laughter.

Thank you for your loyal support in making this event possible.

From all of the kids and from us at Breadline, we wish you and yours a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

Breadline Africa seaside outing has started

“How beautiful a day can be, when kindness touches it”

And kindness has indeed touched our day. Especially when the Grade three of St Joseph Marist College in Rondebosch came to visit our office and brought some sweets for the kids that will be going to the seaside!

What a lovely gesture, I look forward to welcoming them to our office again real soon!

Children and teachers from St Joseph Marist College

The seaside outing has started

…. and what an exciting day it was. Adams bus services brought the kids in style to Silverstream Beach in Atlantis.  They arrived joyful and as they got off the bus the place was filled with colourful t-shirts, smiles and dance.  The kids were treated to a light snack, afterwards being divided into groups. Then they were off to enjoy a splash in the seawater while the other kids enjoyed some face painting and the jungle jim, with very caring volunteers watching out for their safety.  We will give you more updates as the event unfolds from here on…

Children arriving at the beach

Kids having fun

Children having their face painted

Children at the sea for the first time

Children and teachers from St Joseph Marist College

Thank you Adams Bus Service
A big thank you goes to Adams Bus Service in Parow for your loyal support to our sea-side event every year.  You have been transporting our children for the last eight years and we are very proud of you.  Every year you bring the children in style and this year was a big bonus when your luxury liner arrived with our kids singing and dancing – even the teachers were dancing in style! Thank you for making their little hearts happy.

Think you can dance? Check out this video from the day:

Merry Christmas! Breadline Africa delivers Christmas food parcels to a township called Never Never

On Friday we went to Philippi to deliver our annual Christmas food parcels. Philippi is a township on the South East side of Cape Town.  It is also known as ‘Never Never’ due to the lack of confidence in government promises to provide new housing in the area.

This year we were giving food parcels to the local grandmothers, as a way to say thank you for the support and loving care they provide to our orphaned and unsupported children.  Community leaders had rallied the local people to attend and ensured that the parcels would be going to those most in need. 100 grandmothers and their families of all generations came along.  There were lots of smiling faces as everyone stood to sing a Xhosa hymn, led by the local pastor, to kick off the day.

We were able to give a meal to everyone while we prepared the food parcels to be handed out.  There were 100 parcels of good quality food, including rice, flour, chicken and tinned vegetables.  The kids received a rare treat, a nice big bag of sweets.

The day was a great success.  It was clear that these parcels will make a huge difference to how the grandmothers and their families can enjoy Christmas this year. A big thanks to all our donors and supporters who have made this possible.

Here’s a short video of the day:

Thank you Albert Carpets from Cape Town

Thank you for responding so generously to our recent interview with Cape Talk.

It is kind and compassionate people like you that inspire us to do so much more for those less fortunate than ourselves.  Two container classrooms in Khayelitsha have been beautifully fitted out with brand new carpets.  This makeover came just in time for the children’s graduation celebration. Thank you for reaching out to us, you have done us proud!

We will be updating you with more news about the other classroom makeovers  which will benefit from Albert Carpets magnificent gift.

One of the 2x6m containers before

One of the generous rolls of carpets that we received

The new look classrooms with the beautifully fitted carpet

Breadline Africa is a hub of International activity

We have had the pleasure of welcoming Australians, Americans, the British and even Dutch visitors so far this year.

What  a day of sheer excitement when Lisa and James Holland brought their two sons Mathew and Ben, as well as their Aunt Day to meet us at the Breadline Africa office.  This trip is a dream come true for their Aunt Day who has always wanted to visit South Africa. And here they are!

From our Breadline Africa office they were taken on a tour to Khayelitsha (a township outside of Cape Town). We stopped off at the Khayelitsha shopping mall,  where they bought fruit and food for the children of the Founder Educare Centre we were visiting.  Lisa and her family enjoyed playing with the children as well as helping the teachers serve the children their lunch.

It was important for them to see the wonderful work that Breadline Africa does before they went on to see the beautiful scenic areas  and tourist places of South Africa.

Thank you for having included us on your itinerary Lisa and for bringing special joy to kids here in Africa.

Mathew Holland and his mom Lisa cutting some fruit for the children

The joys our visitors brings when playing with the children

Ben and Mathew Holland with their aunt Day serving a meal at the Educare Centre