The Family Africa March/April Updates

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The Family Africa Early Learning Enrichment Centre and Reading Clinic

We have recently been able to add to our already extensive list of projects: The Family Africa Child Enrich­ment Centre and Reading Clinic .We have an extra staff member (Lita)  who is responsible for other preschool groups coming for regular sessions  during which the children are taught how to read along with other exciting and stimulating activities. We also have an educational consultant  (Susie), who is an experienced ESL (English as a second language) teacher. and who is also investing time in training our children and teachers. We have already started to see positive results in the children especially with their ability to speak English.

More pics: Here

Save The Youth Madagascar – March 2018 Update

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Save The Youth Madagascar – An Affiliate of The Family Africa

Activities at the CBA orphanage.

We are always very grateful for the donors who help us to supply rice and grain to the CBA orphanage. Before we started this ongoing project, the children were suffering from malnutrition and hunger, and several of the older ones had even run away from the center to find some food. This month again, we were able to bring them 500 kg of very nourishing local red rice, 100 kg of dried beans, eggs, oil, etc…. After story time we cooked them a very nourishing meal.

To give you a better idea of the situation of some of the children at the centre, we are including these photos of Miranto, 9, and her little brother, Tendry, 4.  In fact, they are 4 brothers and sisters, and the older brother and sister are young teenagers who are also living at the centre.  Their father died 3 years ago and sadly the mother became a prostitute to support her children. But she couldn’t cope so she left them with their 85-year-old grandmother.

​Since they are from a village close to the CBA, a few years ago Haja noticed them staying at their poor grandmother’s and so she decided to welcome them at the centre with their grandma’s agreement, where they are fed, housed and educated.

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Antanimora (with the help of  Minaz, Voahangy, Michou and Nanou)

We were also able to visit the 125 underage inmates in the Antanimora Central Prison and we conducted a workshop on anger and fighting, which are recurrent problems in the prison. They listened well and participated, and we hope that it will have a positive effect on their attitudes and actions.

The guard made this very encouraging comment : “Several groups come to visit the young people from time to time, but generally they are very unruly and unresponsive. But when you guys come, they listen well and are always calmer, even after you leave, and they love the food you bring them!”

This time, the boys enjoyed chicken liver mousse sandwiches, pastries, dragées (sugared almonds –it was the first time in their lives they ate some!) and received fish, rice and oil for their dinner.

Our mission is to reach out to the most forgotten in society and to bring hope and change in their lives

Curso ‘Políticas públicas ante la diversidad familiar y la igualdad: perspectivas y desafíos’

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UNAF organiza junto con la Universidad de Salamanca el Curso ‘Políticas públicas ante la diversidad familiar y la igualdad: perspectivas y desafíos’, los próximos 20 al 22 de junio en Salamanca.

En él se analizarán los retos que plantean la diversidad familiar y la igualdad así como las respuestas más adecuadas desde el ámbito de las políticas públicas. Para ello se reunirá a especialistas en Derecho, Psicología, Filosofía y Sociología, así como a representantes de las organizaciones sociales que trabajan en favor de la inclusión social, los derechos y el bienestar de las familias.

Si estas interesada/o te recomendamos que hagas tu reserva de hotel lo antes posible. Como sugerencia: Abba Fonseca y Sercotel Las Torres.

Más información

Curso Políticas Públicas. Ante la diversidad familiar y la igualdad. UNAF -USAL

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UNAF organiza junto con la Universidad de Salamanca el Curso ‘Políticas públicas ante la diversidad familiar y la igualdad: perspectivas y desafíos’, los próximos 20 al 22 de junio en Salamanca.

En él se analizarán los retos que plantean la diversidad familiar y la igualdad así como las respuestas más adecuadas desde el ámbito de las políticas públicas. Para ello se reunirá a especialistas en Derecho, Psicología, Filosofía y Sociología, así como a representantes de las organizaciones sociales que trabajan en favor de la inclusión social, los derechos y el bienestar de las familias.

12 horas de formación especializada dirigida tanto a profesionales como a estudiantes que conocerán las últimas investigaciones e iniciativas en materia de familia.

Más información

Save the Youth Madagascar: An affiliate of The Family Africa

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The activities this past month have been very varied, due to so many needs around us as well as many ongoing projects.

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Leilani and some of our friends have started to do paint murals on the walls of the dormitories of the orphanage CBA, to make them inspiring and cheer up the children. These young people are really sweet and have a heart to help the poor children and we really enjoy their partnership.

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Due to the cold weather, the coldest winter since we have been here, we kept on distributing winter clothes around us, as well as blankets to the young minors of the jail, who don’t have any warm clothes and are suffering from the cold at night as the temperature get close to zero at times.

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The children of the CBA orphanage continue to go to the dentist and it will probably take some time as they are about 60 of them, who never had a dentist checkup in their lives !

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We have been able to buy monthly food sucid:image004.jpg@01D1E80A.27FBDEB0pplies to the CBA orphanage, allowing us at the same time to cook them a very nice meal, of which they are always very thankful. This does not cover all their needs, of course, but it helps a lot and brings variety and improvement to their diet.

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Our work continues with the minors of the jail, who are living in very difficult conditions, especially during the winter. Every month, we are able to bring them food for their body as well as for their soul. This month, the story was about a young prisoner exiled in Siberia, and the different lessons of love, applying God’s Word to our lives and forgiveness. Some of the young people are quite rough, but we trust the Lord that the seeds we plant into their hearts will one day yield lasting fruit.

The construction work of the 2 schools is progressing, slowly but surely. It is amazing the obstacles that we find on our way here, each time we do some construction projects : the last ones being sand mixed with mud, the contractor forgetting to include many important details, like the cost of materials for doors and windows, as well as the ceiling, etc…. We always wonder if there will be more each time we meet him.

Through the fundraising and materials collecting, we have been able to meet new friends and donors. We met our last donor at another’s donor’s place where we were collecting iron rods. He just donated enough funds to build school tables and benches for 200 children who will be attending one of the schools we are helping

Source: The Family Africa

Digital Literacy more than just about access – A Belgian Case Study

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Early 2016 the Gezinsbond assigned an independent market research agency (Market Probe) to conduct standardized face to face interviews with members of families living in Belgium, to get a clear view on their existing digital skills. 1015 persons, claiming to be the most responsible for administrative tasks in their household, responded to our questions.

When talking about the digital divide, the first question is about having access to the digital world. According to our study about 14% of the population does not yet have access to a computer or to internet – this group finds itself completely excluded from the digital society. The study also shows that there is another, more deeper dimension to the digital divide: regardless of having access to internet it looks at the skills people need to move around in this digital world. This dimension of the digital gap is more complex as people are always skilled in some digital or financial operations but not in others: they can send emails or perform online payments, but don’t know how to submit an online official document or install a virus scan. The level of skills is very individually colored and nuanced. The study enables us to identify certain patterns that can help us finding the right answers on how to fill both dimensions of the digital gap.

Click here to download the complete study

The Family Africa

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What a wonderful Youth Day with about 50 plus volunteers cele­brating Youth Day with us at our centre. Volunteers from Cosmo Christian Centre, ranging in age from 12 to 18 yrs spent 8 hours with us. We divided them into different teams, cooking, gardening, clean­ing the playground and playing with the children. They all did an amazing job keeping the kids occupied and happy all day and serving them a lovely meal. We also had time to conduct a interactive HIV awareness programme with them so that they would understand the nature and devastating impact of HIV in South Africa. Our brief from the youth leaders was to help these teens, who come from privileged backgrounds, understand what it is like to live in a squatter camp so part of the programme was to take groups right into the heart of the squatter camp and do a home visit for one of our support group mem­bers. When they was the conditions she lived in with no electricity, running water or even windows for security reasons – a half blind sick woman enduring terrible conditions – many of them were moved to tears. (We did not take photos of the shack and the lady because we felt it would be intrusive.) The teens went away with a different per­spective on their lives, which has made them feel more appreciative of what they have. We look forward to seeing them again in the not too distant future.

The Family Africa Blanket Drive is going well with blan­kets pouring in.
This week YFM Radio Presenters, staff and friends brought over 100 lovely blankets to distribute to our Free Day Care Centre and our orphan group. Everyone was thrilled.

Don’t forget Mandela Day

Mandela Day is Monday, July 18th.
Where ever you are spend 67 minutes reaching out to others to celebrate his life.
*: The Family Africa is a NGO and WFO Member that brings real hope for the future to thousands of people from previously disadvantaged groups in South Africa.

The organization’s work follow a holistic approach to welfare involving the mind, body and spirit. To this end we work on three levels:

1. Short Term: Immediate relief through feeding schemes, provision of clothing and blankets and response to local disasters.

2. Medium term: Education and training including basic skills training, HIV/AIDS awareness programmes in primary and secondary schools and the production of materials to assist prevention and promote attitude change.

3. Long Term: Spiritual, emotional and psychological support.