ALUMNI NETWORK CAPE TOWN REJUVENATED

Cape Town- on the 31^st January at the launch of Young Urban Women and Men Conference with over 100 young people engaging on real and health issues surrounding young people.

Our Alumni Network has now grown to over 2,500 members across South Africa. Luzuko Mabhongo, Assistance Facilitator and Alumni Network Coordinator at Zolile Malindi Centre in Mfuleni, is a graduate of our Career Development Programme. “My journey with the Alumni Network has been very exciting,” says Luzuko. “Especially in 2019 with so many great memories, such as the Annual Business Summit that had two winners from Cape Town.”

The growth of the Network in Cape Town hasn’t been easy, particularly given their spatial distance from the Alumni headquarters in Johannesburg. However, the members remained focused and committed and together with support from colleagues such as Nehwoh Belinda and Warren Radebe, they were able to create and sustain a vibrant and engaging Alumni community. Luzuko is particularly grateful for the comradery on the annual Alumni Day, where all members get an opportunity to network and catch up.

The Young Urban Men and Women programmes remain a favourite as it provides a safe space for both genders to engage on issues relating to, among other things, youth sexual and reproductive health. This year, members faced an unexpected challenge as a result of Covid-19, but are continuing to give back to the community, help others to stay safe and engage as a network.

MEET DONALD LESEGO LEKALAKALA, YES PROGRAMME CANDIDATE AND ALUMNI

“I am a Child and Youth Development Assistance Facilitator at Afrika Tikkun, Phuthaditjaba Centre in Alexandra. I am very proud that I joined Afrika Tikkun, which helped me so much and made me realize what my passion is: working with children and youth. Today, I am part of the YES program which gave me an opportunity to gain experience in working with young people.

With Covid-19 affecting my community, I had to change my plans and adjust to new expenses like higher data usage to do my school work. This sometimes limits me. Thanks to the YES4YOUTH modules about approaching new challenges, I have learned a lot about myself – such as what I am capable of, the importance of saving money and how to spend it wisely.”

Donald is currently preparing for a permanent employment opportunity after the YES Programme. We wish him and all ATS candidates all the best in their preparation for the future.

OPEN FOR ENTRIES: ANNUAL BUSINESS SUMMIT 2020

Once again, the Annual Business Summit 2020 entries are open. The Annual Business Summit provides an opportunity for Alumni Members to compete in an entrepreneurial competition in order to win mentorship and much more. This year we are looking for determined and innovative young people in two categories:

Existing business for 3 to five years
Business Ideas- innovative and doable

Entries will open from 4 to 29 May 2020.

To apply, please email a one-page essay about why you want to enter the competition and how can it help you. It should also include a paragraph about your business or your business idea. Please email to Alumni Network’s Project Manager, Warren Radebe – Warrenr@afrikatikkun.org.

We look forward to seeing you in our business boardroom!

APPLY FOR COVID-19 SOCIAL RELIEF OF DISTRESS GRANT

From Monday 11th May 2020, SASSA applications for R350 grant open.

If you know of anybody in your family/community/church, who is:
-unemployed
-not be receiving any other grants (eg. child support, NSFAS, pension, etc.)
-not be receiving fund from the UIF
-not be receiving any income
-not be a resident in a government funded or subsidised institution
-above the age of 18
-a South African Citizen/Permanent resident in South Africa Registered refugee

Get them to apply via:
-Whatsapp: 0820468553
-SMS(USSD): *134*7737#
-Email: srd@sassa.gov.za
-1st payments are expected to take place by 15th May 2020.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU! AFRIKA TIKKUN SERVICES RECRUITMENT

We have exciting learnerships, work experience placements and specialized training opportunities for candidates who are unemployed or not placed anywhere under Afrika Tikkun.

If you are interested, please make an appointment for your assessment by contacting Lungisani at lungisanim@afrikatikkun.org

WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU! AFRIKA TIKKUN SERVICES RECRUITMENT

Afrika Tikkun Alumni Network invites you to take part in our member tracking survey. The purpose of this survey is to find out a little more about you and your career aspirations. This will help us to devise the most effective ways to support you in becoming economically empowered. The survey should take approximately 5 minutes. Thank you for your time and for helping us improve our services.

To fill out the survey click on the link below:

REGISTER ONLINE: AFRIKA TIKKUN ALUMNI NETWORK

To register and become a full member of the Afrika Tikkun Alumni Network, please click on the link below. This requires an internet connection. Looking forward to having you as our member:

South Africa (03 June 2020) – Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity.” It is often translated as “I am because we are,” or “humanity towards others,” or in Xhosa, “umntu ngumntu ngabantu” but is often used in a more philosophical sense to mean “the belief in a universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.”

And Ubuntu is the philosophy we need to all follow right now!

As a philanthropist rather than a psychologist I know more about people helping each other than I know about why they do it. What I know at the moment is that we’re seeing much more in the way of actual help for those affected by coronavirus than I’ve seen for any other cause, anywhere in South Africa, ever.

I’m not saying that South Africans are not usually a generous bunch. My experience is that many of us give what we can financially when a cause captures our attention; whether a monthly debit order to the charities of our choice or R5 every time we park our car in a public space, but we don’t often give time or intelligence. We’re too busy or don’t have the headspace to think about what is actually required.

Let’s be clear about this: money is much appreciated and always gratefully received. That said, I often wonder how much better our country would fare if our brightest minds got together and came up with long-term solutions to the very real problems, so many of our people face daily.

But with coronavirus, it’s different. Everyone is doing something to help and not just financially. Coronavirus has spurned a hands-on approach to helping that we’ve not seen in South Africa since the demise of Apartheid and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about why?

My simple answer is because of Ubuntu.

Ubuntu literally means humanity towards others, and it’s not some crazy tribal construct, it’s a real philosophy that permeates this country and all that live here.

For the first time ever in this country, everyone feels the same sense of helplessness. In situations like this, the human condition is to freeze or fight. It’s relatively easy to bury your head in the sand – or write a cheque – when you’re not personally involved in something. But with coronavirus, everyone is involved. Everyone is afraid, and everyone is affected in some way. It’s impossible to freeze when you’re surrounded by very real suffering.

No one has a choice but to fight and get involved because every one of us personally knows someone who is hungry. There’s nothing more sobering than a close-up view of the extreme poverty in our country. We really need to pay attention because more than 1 million people are on the brink of food insecurity in our country right now.

I’m actively involved in running several philanthropic organisations that operate across townships and public hospitals and healthcare. At the start of lockdown, we put all our money into creating 40,000 food parcels to get people through a month of hardship. That was back when we thought lockdown was going to last three weeks. As we head for double that length of time, what now? An estimated 30 million South Africans require food parcels. And don’t get me started on the volume of masks and sanitiser required.

As all of our personal and corporate financial reserves start to wane, those of us with something are going to have to learn to do with a great deal less so that we can share with those who don’t have any.

What does that look like? Maybe we buy four cabbages instead of one tiny punnet of asparagus and give three cabbages away. Maybe we learn to grow food and teach others how to do it. And maybe we learn to listen to what people need, which may well be a bag of pap rather than a bag of sandwiches.

The ingenuity we’ve already seen amongst our fellow South Africans has sustained us, sort of. It’s the clothing factories converted into production lines for masks, ensuring continued employment for their workers and health safety for others, and the food manufacturers creating low-cost, high-nutrition, easy-to-distribute food packs, and the generosity of the neighbour who shares what they have with those that don’t that will keep us limping along.

Everyone, in the true spirit of Ubuntu, needs to keep coming up with new ideas. For instance, you know all those loyalty points you collect but never use. Most loyalty card schemes are now allowing you to donate them to feeding schemes. Do it! Apply your mind and come up with your own ideas about how you can make a meaningful difference.

As South Africa heads into week nine of lockdown, the needier our people become. As you give, give enough so that your recipients can share with a friend or neighbour. In other parts of the world that’s called conscious capitalism. In South Africa, it’s called Ubuntu.

To Read More on this click the button below!

Our young people speak out against Violence against Women and Children

Hlengiwe Nsibanyoni - Never let the fear of striking out get in your way

My name is Hlengiwe Nsibanyoni, a 16-year-old girl from Alexandra. Woman and children abuse is a terrifying thing that makes me angry and causes me to live in trepidation.

I took part in 16 Days of Activism to help raise awareness on what is happening in the world and the impact abuse has in the lives of woman and children. My artwork is about a young lady who is beaten up by her husband and thrown out of the house with her child. I did this artwork because I have seen a lot of ladies being kicked out of the house with their children.

To those who abuse, I demand that you all stop because you are destroying our wonderful world and souls. To our victims, I want you all to never let people and their negative comments get in your way of speaking out. Speak out because you are doing it for you and not for them. The lawmakers must make programs that will bring awareness about abuse and the killing of our woman and children.

As a society, we should report if we see or hear of a person being abused. Please report his or her case and try your best to help that person to get out from that abusive relationship. Let’s stand together and fight against any form of abuse and killing of our woman and children.

Artist Hlengiwe Nsibanyonyi

Miriam Ntondele - Violence and abuse are factors that ravish and harm our current societies, especially the women and children who suffer from it.

I’m 16 years old and an upcoming visual artist. Born and raised in the inner city of Johannesburg, it was quite difficult to adapt to the manner of how humanity was portrayed there. This is the reason why I confide and communicate through art.

Violence and abuse are factors that ravish and harm our current societies, especially the women and children who suffer the most from it. My take on violence against women and child abuse is that I stand strongly against it. Honestly speaking it feels like abuse is a habit nowadays and it should be put to an end. Harming and killing a woman or child is putting an end to the life of someone’s mother, aunt, sister and caregiver without thinking that that child or woman could have been our next big thing. We should put an end to this because life should be respected and cherished and so should the rights of women and children.

I took part in 16 Days Of Activism because I found it a great platform to overcome my fear to showcase my art. However, my main aim was to communicate and enlighten our society on harmful practices such as rape, which we seem to have normalized. It’s an opportunity to encourage change in our society.

My art piece describes the agony and pain a woman has to carry over her head, which symbolizes the burden she has to endure. Her red tears tell of the intensity of her cries, the cries that everyone has ignored and hence have left her alone with her despair. The inspiration surfaced from the things I’ve witnessed, experienced mostly in my surroundings.

My message and motto to those who harm and abuse woman and children is that they respect and acknowledge that violence causes harm not only in the society but to their victim, physically and mentally. Humanity should be respected and the rights of human beings should be respected.

If you’ve have been a victim of abuse I would highly advise you report to the police or rather someone you trust, because protecting your abuser is a possible step closer to more harm or your death.

As for the lawmakers, I demand that they listen to the cries of the victims and put the perpetrators behind bars and not normalize abuse such as rape and emotional abuse.

And as for our fellow adults, they should listen to the shouts and screams of the victims and not normalize abuse. They should rather help to encourage change. Harmony, respect, love and integrity should be portrayed and expressed in our societies. Let’s come together as one to create a better world for our upcoming generations and change our harmful norms.

As a result of the lockdown we were unable to go out into the communities to celebrate Madiba’s birthday on the scale we’ve grown accustomed to. Instead, our four centres in Alexandra, Diepsloot, Braamfontein and Orange Farm displayed the artistic skills of our young people by drawing and painting the image of former president Nelson Mandela.

According to 16-year-old artist, Jessica Kekana from Alexandra, “Mandela Day it is a very important day to us. We are celebrating Mandela Day through showcasing our arts skills. We believe that through art we can convey a strong message and also express our feelings”.

To celebrate Mandela Day five young people from Wings of Life in Diepsloot painted portraits of how they imagine Nelson Mandela in a time of COVID-19. Inspired by the departed statesman, the young people focused their messages on how they believe he would have handled the pandemic and eased the anxiety of the people of South Africa. “If Tata Nelson Mandela was here he was going to inspire us to keep moving even in trying times as we are facing a pandemic of a virus and GBV,” said Bonolo Moshia from Diepsloot. “He was going to remind us of who we are as a nation and how we can work together to fight the current situation we are facing.”

Similarly, Nkululeko Majola a grade 7 learner from Orange Farm stated “on my painting Nelson Mandela reminds us that we are supposed to love one another and we are supposed to fight the Coronavirus together.”

The event proved that there are many different ways to celebrate Madiba and that although he may be perceived slightly differently to everyone, his warmth, compassion and commitment to give back remain constant.

Grace Masena, one of the three recipients of Afrika Tikkun’s Community Builder Award, is an inspiration to her peers. This Diepsloot resident was a victim of abuse by her husband for almost 15 years. After sustaining injuries from her husband that rendered her bedridden for 2 weeks, Grace decided to seek help from social workers. She, along with her two children, moved out of the house and into a small room.

Unemployed, Grace decided to volunteer at an organisation in Diepsloot providing home-based care. With the help of other women, she then opened an ECD Centre (crèche). Although she was forced to close it temporarily in response to the lockdown rules, she wasted little time in getting busy and helping her community. Along with some of her community members, Grace started a soup kitchen. She makes use of different community halls in order to reach as many community members as possible.

Having turned her life around, Grace believes that every woman has the strength within herself to turn adversity into triumph.

Afrika Tikkun recently held a competition to celebrate women undertaking phenomenal work in their communities during the Covid-19 pandemic. Recognising the impact that Ma Thulile Maphumulo’s soup kitchen makes in Orange Farm, learners from Arekopaneng Centre selected her for the Community Builder Award. They also appreciated the fact that Ma Maphumulo is also living by Afrika Tikkun values by giving back to the community

As Ma Maphumulo walked the streets of Orange Farm, she realised that many people in the community were starving as a result of job losses and the financial hardship experienced by small businesses. In addition, households in the community usually depend on only one or two breadwinners. Seeing the hunger gap in her community and being a pastor, Ma Maphumulo felt it was important for her to act to alleviate this suffering. As a result, she cooks food and distributes food items using her own money. She has also started a vegetable garden for the benefit of the community and received a chicken donation from Afrika Tikkun which she was very grateful for.

The other reason she was chosen by the learners is that Afrika Tikkun Arekopaneng Centre assisted her son, Mbuso Maphumulo. Mbuso began at Arekopaneng Centre in Grade 9 in our Child and Youth Development Programme, and eventually graduated from our Career Development and Placement programme. He also received an opportunity to further his studies in medicine at Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth.

As part of her Community Builder Award, Ms Maphumulo won a Pick n’ Pay shopping voucher worth R700, a grocery bucket and was presented with a certificate on the 9 August 2020 at our women’s day celebration event at Uthando Centre in Braamfontein. We celebrate Ma Maphumulo’s generous heart and compassion for her community!

I am 28 years of age and a YES program candidate at Uthando Centre (Afrika Tikkun) as a Social auxiliary worker Assistant. I joined Uthando Centre on the 29^th of May 2019 as a Social Auxiliary Work student from Luxe College to do my practical for a period of one year. I was very amazed by the job Afrika Tikkun does and how staff interact with each other. They all looked like a one big family and through my stay I learned that they are indeed a family. I did my practical under the supervision of Mrs. Rosina Ramonyai (Senior Social Worker) and with the support and guidance from Nontsikelelo Henrietta Khunju (SAW).

During my practical year I learned a lot at Uthando and really enjoyed the events such as the Child protection parade, Gender Based Violence Dialogue, Mandela Day event (sports Day), Heritage Day event, and all the young urban woman events and meetings they did on the year 2019 and that made me feel that I belong to this big family because there was never a dull moment. Attending all this events enhanced my growth as a professional working in a child and youth care facility. I enhanced my skills and knowledge about working with able-bodied children, children living with disabilities, groups and community at large. This has been and continues to be a learning journey for both my personal and professional growth. Furthermore, it allows me to meet with different professionals from other disciplines which adds more value in my understanding in this field. I have gained strength and ability to conduct social dialogues, events and partake in every activity that requires Social Auxiliary Worker’s attention of cause with supervision. Another milestone that I underwent in this organisation is attending training that enhances a professional with skills and knowledge such as the Gender sensitization training, legitimate leadership, child protection and constant meetings with the supervisor to check on my progress in the space of learning.

On my journey with Uthando Centre I got a contract of a one year as a YES program candidate, which I was appointed as the Social Auxiliary Work Assistant on a SSS department on December 2^nd 2019. Working as social Auxiliary Worker Assistant helped me to grow and to have confidence in myself. I can really say I am a talkative person but I have always had low self-esteem when it comes to facilitating session. The position I hold now has built my confidence so much in a way that I took initiative of entering the annual business entrepreneur competition hosted by Afrika Tikkun Services (ATS). By entering the competition, I didn’t think that I will really make it to top 10 and to actually win the competition. The experience of the competition was amazing and I was very happy and surprised when they announced that I took position Two on existing business, Afrika Tikkun has really helped me grow and I am grateful for all the experience I get here at Uthando Centre.

How wonderful it is that nobody need to wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. The clock is ticking, and not one minute can be relived. A social worker is pulled in a million directions. And each minute is lived to the fullest

Anne Frank

In 2018, Marc Lubner, then CEO of Afrika Tikkun NPC, began raising the importance of regreening the townships as part of Afrika Tikkun living its value of responsible kindness. “There’s a need for Afrika Tikkun to demonstrate in practical terms, how, through the planting of trees, we can teach moral regeneration and the value of life,” Marc said. “If a child is taught the value of caring for the life of a plant, then the child will treasure and value all lives.”

As a result, in September 2019, Afrika Tikkun’s Wings of Life Centre in Diepsloot, partnered with Plantnation to plant 80 trees at the centre and at the Basa Tutorial School. These trees are mainly indigenous and local fruit trees, making them adaptable to the conditions and requiring less water. This is particularly important given that the centre often experiences water shortages. In June 2020, an assessment was done to determine how many of the trees survived. We are happy to see that 90% of them are alive and growing well.

The aim of this project is to bring more life in the community, remembering that we inhale oxygen from the trees and trees inhale carbon dioxide. Mr David Mokwena, primary caretaker of the trees at Wings of Life Centre, enjoys this task of nurturing the trees and watering them at least three days a week. “I’m happy the trees are growing so well; they look so green and healthy,” David said. “Although losing 5 out of the 80 trees still makes me feel sad.”

We look forward to these trees beautifying our centre for many years to come.

14-year-old Zenande Mndini is one of many young people experiencing challenges since the outbreak of the pandemic. A participant in our Child and Youth Development Programme, Zenande stays with her mother and four siblings in Mfuleni, Western Cape. Her mother and 22-year-old older sister, Asemahle Mndini, are the family’s breadwinners.

“There was no form of entertainment and I was bored because schools, churches and the centre was closed,” Zenande said, when asked about life under lockdown. “I would call my friends to come to my house and we would do nothing the whole day. Some of the challenges of being stuck at home is that you run out of things to do and end up getting in trouble. Some of the things that affected my friends and I during the lockdown include getting in trouble with the police. We couldn’t go to the Spaza shops to buy chips/sweets because the police would tell us to go home.”

Zenande’s family as a whole was affected by the pandemic as her sister Asemahle had lost her job. This meant they could no longer afford the essentials or send money and/or groceries to other family members in the Eastern Cape. Zenande’s mother also looked after two children at their home, an activity she was paid for on a monthly basis. However, this was discontinued because the children’s parent lost their job due to the economic strains of the pandemic. For Zenande’s family, this meant there would be even less income to sustain them from month to month.

In due course, Asemahle found a job and was able to provide for her family again. What made things even better for the family was the food parcels they received from Afrika Tikkun. “Afrika Tikkun played a big role, if not the biggest in making sure that my family and I have food to eat,” Zenande said. “They did not only help me and my family but families in the community as well. I am happy they could help because many families lost jobs during the lockdown.”

When schools, churches and the centre started operating again, Zenande was excited to live her ‘normal’ life again. “I am happy to be back in school and thereafter come to Afrika Tikkun because I missed the daily sessions and activities we used to do before the pandemic erupted,” she said.

Tumisang Mohoto is a 17-year-old grade 11 Maths and Sciences pupil at Mphethi Mahlatsi Secondary School. As part of Afrika Tikkun’s career development focus in October, Tumisang engaged the Gradesmatch website, which aligns learners with their ideal careers based on their academic performance, and not necessarily on what they love. Gradesmatch also assists learners in choosing higher education institutions.

Tumisang would love to study Actuarial Science or Law at the University of Witwatersrand or the University of Cape Town. He’s drawn to Actuarial Science is because he strongly believes black representation in the industry is still very low, something he sees this as an opportunity. On the other hand, Tumisang’s interest in law stems from his consistently good performance in history. He also loves critical thinking, public speaking and debating.

At Afrika Tikkun’s Arekopaneng Centre in Alexandra, Tumisang’s participation in centre-level activities like Spelling Bee, and Quiz and Debate and has helped build his confidence, developed his critical thinking skills, sharpened his public speaking and oral presentation skills and forced him to be more solution-oriented.

While he was grateful for the insight presented by Gradesmatch, Tumisang was disappointed when Afrika Tikkun couldn’t host the annual Career Day because of the national lockdown. “I believe learners should be motivated about subject choices in grade 9 and more of them should pursue maths and science because it helps in problem solving,” Tumisang stated.

In 2015, the international community agreed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, a set of 17 goals comprising 169 targets to make the world a better, more equitable, and sustainable place for all. The deadline was set for 2030. A lot has been achieved since then, but more needs to be done, says Alef Meulenberg, CEO of the development arm of Afrika Tikkun. “More work needs to be done to ensure everyone in and outside South Africa, particularly children and young people, can reach their potential by 2030, despite the disastrous impact of Covid-19,” says Meulenberg.

A problem which has worsened this year is youth unemployment. Released on 29 September 2020, StatsSA’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey shows that in the second quarter, 44.7% of South Africans aged 15-24 were not working nor in school or receiving training compared to 40.3% in the same period in 2019.

Hunger and Malnutrition

Child hunger has also increased. In the latest National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey, 15% of respondents reported that a child in their household went hungry at least once per week during the lockdown. At least 16% of these children were younger than seven.

“This is frightening, as hunger and malnutrition impact a child for the rest of his or her life,” says Meulenberg, referring to the link between malnutrition and stunting. “Research shows that adults who went hungry and were stunted as children are more likely to be unemployed, thus extra vulnerable to being trapped in the cycle of poverty. This affects our nation as a whole and prevents us from moving forward.”

No excuse to delay action

Whilst Covid-19 has amplified many hardships youths face, Meulenberg feels the virus shouldn’t be used as an excuse to delay action. “Youth unemployment, hunger, and poverty have been endemic for years. Covid-19 has only shown us what can happen when social problems remain unaddressed and is, therefore, a reason to do more,” he stresses.

This requires stakeholders such as the government, the private sector, civil society, innovators, and development experts to work together harder and smarter to meet the SDGs, particularly those affecting young people. It all boils down to innovative and holistic partnerships and developmental solutions that tackle more than one child and youth-related SDG.

Afrika Tikkun Cradle to Career model

“The Cradle to Career model of Afrika Tikkun is a good example of how one can make a sustained impact. Besides involving different players – from government agencies to private businesses – this youth development approach focuses on all aspects of child well-being. This includes boosting their access to food, education and healthcare early in life to pave the way for gender equality, creating meaningful work opportunities, and fostering sustainable communities,” Meulenberg says.

“This multi-stakeholder, multi-layered approach has helped us reach thousands of youths and their families across the country, allowing them to change their future.”

Meulenberg urges stakeholders to implement impactful measures now, and not tomorrow: “The year 2030 may be something of the distant future, but in fact, it is not. It is just ten years from now,” he says. “Fact of the matter is that our young people do not have ten years.”

Date and time:

6.30 – 7.30pm UK, 8.30 – 9.30pm South Africa
World AIDS Day, Tuesday 1 December

Three of the world’s leading experts on HIV/AIDS join us for a World AIDS Day special livestream. We look at the impact of HIV on children and parenting, including in the context of Covid, with world authorities Dr Shaffiq Essajee and Professor Lorraine Sherr.

Then Professor Peter Piot will talk about his experience as the head of the UN’s AIDS programme for more than a decade, as well as his co discovery of the Ebola virus and his personal as well as professional battle with COVID. He will be in conversation with Lord Daniel Finkelstein. Joining us as co-host will be Becky Kroger, HIV youth advocate and an Ambassador for One to One Children’s Fund.

Professor Peter Piot

Peter Piot is Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and one of the world’s leading virologists. He was the codiscoverer of the Ebola virus in 1976 and has spent his career fighting infectious diseases. He headed the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS between 1995 and 2008 and was undersecretary general of the UN. Peter has written a fascinating account of his incredible life on the front lines in the fight against deadly diseases and an amusing critique of some of the world leaders, and dictators, he has met, in his inspiring memoir, NO TIME TO LOSE. Peter has been at the forefront of preparations for new epidemics to come and fell dangerously ill with Covid-19 in mid-March, still living with the after-effects.

Dr Shaffiq Essajee

Shaffiq Essajee is the Deputy Chief of UNICEF’s global HIV/AIDS programmes. He is a clinician, scientist and public health specialist who has been caring for children with HIV in New York and his native Kenya for over 20 years. His work on the genetic diversity of HIV in children could change the way the virus is treated around the world. Shaffiq took over the Chair of PATA (Paediatric and Adolescent AIDS Treatment for Africa) from David Altschuler last year.

Professor Lorraine Sherr

Lorraine Sherr is a clinical psychologist and a Professor of Clinical and Health Psychology at University College London. She works at national and international levels on HIV, mental health, treatment adherence, gender, parenting and cognitive development. Her expertise on the cognitive impact on children in HIV-affected families has led to the development of One to One’s Bright Start programme.

Lord Daniel Finkelstein

The conversation will be moderated by Lord Daniel Finkelstein, a member of the House of Lords, and a political columnist and associate editor of The Times.

Becky Kroger

Becky Kroger was one of the first children to receive antiretroviral medication in South Africa, receiving this through a One to One
Children’s Fund programme. Now, some two decades later, Becky leads a full and thriving life, and is a leading youth advocate for young people with HIV. She was DFID’s official youth delegate at AIDS 2018.

International Women’s Day is a day recognized globally, meant to highlight the collective achievements of women for over a century. With its first gathering in 1911, the mandate is still the same in every corner of the world – which is to accelerate women’s equality without any fear or favour.

With that said, let us zoom in and take a closer look at why this is such an important day for you and me and the next generation of trailblazers. This year’s theme #ChooseToChallenge is a direct aim at all genders in all spaces to have the courage to question and challenge some of the injustices that still breed and give birth to inequalities and gender parities. In other words, the #ChooseToChallenge is asking us to conduct an environmental scan and identify some of the age-old practices that hinder the development of more than half of the population of the country. Some examples include the disparities in the labour market with men still earning between 25% – 45% more than women. Also, while the Black woman is most likely to be unemployed in South Africa according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has reported that more women than men have lost their jobs due to the COVID-19 crisis, with 5% of women losing their employment in 2020 versus 3.9% for men. This grim reality paints a picture of households losing their income thus unable to sustain themselves. It may also spell out more vulnerable women who are most likely to find themselves in compromised situations to keep their homes afloat. The dare to challenge the status quo is a song we should all be singing because everything under the socio-economic sun is connected. We cannot address one issue and neglect the other – which brings us to the justice system and the efforts currently in place to fill the crevices that fracture our society.

Did you know that the South African Police Services (SAPS) reported 2 300 cases relating to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) during the first week of our national lockdown? This resulted in the head of state declaring it our second pandemic – a declaration that some communities may beg to differ and instead, rename it our greatest pandemic that refuses to flatten and bring dignity back into our homes. Unfortunately, the 2 300 cases mentioned are the cases that were reported – leaving us with the burning question of how many cases never saw the light of day.

Could it be that the numbers reported may have been avoided had our COVID-19 response took into consideration the pandemic that already lingered in our streets? May this serve as another reminder as to why you and I need to rise to the occasion and #ChooseToChallenge all information presented to us, to ask ourselves why we could not predict the outcomes of having women trapped with their abusers as a precautionary measure against a deadly virus.

While there are many milestones ahead of us in an attempt to make our spaces pro-women and progressive, we cannot choose to not acknowledge and commend some of the women in leadership who have shown us that there is no such thing as a woman’s place – that it does not matter where you place her, her determination and drive is just as commendable as her male counterpart. Hats off to governments led by intuitive women who not only steered their countries from danger but they also kept their citizens at the heart of every decision. Even though we are still in the middle of our fight against the spread of the coronavirus, we would like to thank women in the field of medicine as well as science and technology, the courageous women who wake up every day and show up despite the health risks involved – you chose to challenge the narrative and broke into industries that once excluded you.

Bertie Lubner Week was adopted by the Alumni members from the Alumni programme Conference in 2018. Its mandate is to provide an opportunity for Alumni members to volunteer and celebrate Bertie Lubner’s birthday and his legacy that has benefited many young people in South Africa. In the year 2021, the Alumni network will hosted its third annual Bertie Lubner Week on the 15^th– 18^th March 2021 in all Afrika Tikkun Johannesburg and Cape Town centres. There were over 450 young people that volunteered and celebrated Bertie Lubner’s legacy in 2020. This year we aimed to engage more than 500 Alumni members for this wonderful occasion.

Objective

To promote volunteerism in celebration of Bertie Lubner’s legacy from the 15^th– 18^th March 2021.

Main activities in a week view

American philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, and her husband Dan Jewett have donated a substantial grant to Afrika Tikkun, who was selected as one of the 286 beneficiaries worldwide.

“Because community-centred service is such a powerful catalyst and multiplier, we spent the first quarter of 2021 identifying and evaluating equity-oriented non-profit teams working in areas that have been neglected,” Scott said in a statement. “Over 700 million people globally still live in extreme poverty. To find solutions, we all benefit from on-the-ground insights and diverse engagement, so we prioritised organisations with local teams, leaders of colour, and a specific focus on empowering women and girls.”

“After building our youth development model over the last 15 years, we are thrilled to have a global icon recognise the value and impact of our Cradle to Career model. This, together with the letter of intent signed by Minister Lindiwe Zulu of the Department of Social Development will amplify our reach and impact. It will help us greatly in deepening and scaling our model to empower, uplift, skill, and feed more young people in this country, ” says Marc Lubner, Afrika Tikkun Group CEO.

Afrika Tikkun is thrilled and humbled to be selected as one of the recipients. “This gift is recognition of our potential to scale up our award-winning Cradle to Career 360º interventions, and in doing so, educate, empower, skill, and feed more young people in South Africa,” said Group CEO Marc Lubner. “We aim to reach over 1 million young people in the next 5 years and this donation will help us substantially to reach that goal.”

The MacKenzie Scott gift will also enable Afrika Tikkun to continue to facilitate strategic partnerships and community-level collaborations that have been so instrumental to its success. “The donation will allow us to leverage further funding from government and our corporate donors, to have a scaleable and mateirla impact,” Lubner notes. “Engaging with these entities, particularly on our skills development programmes, will eventually contribute to job creation and the reduction of youth unemployment. Young people under the age of 35 account for the bulk of South Africa’s population; investing in them equals investing in our collective future.”

Achieving this can only be done by actively and holistically tackling the various socioeconomic challenges many young men and women face. This is one of the main reasons that the holistic nature of Afrika Tikkun’s approach, which seeks to educate the whole child and recognises how social and economic factors affect learning, has been so widely embraced. “By working with community-based partners to scale up our Cradle to Career model, we will sharing our lessons and knowledge amassed over the decades, while also capacitating these organisations to become sustainable.”

In addition, with the gift, Afrika Tikkun will be able to focus even more on its Agripreneurship Incubation and Digitization programmes, current offerings that proritise sustainable income for young people, environmental protection and skills development in for ever-changing learning and working environments.

Lubner concludes. “We are grateful and truly honoured that MacKenzie and Dan recognise Afrika Tikkun’s potential to achieve long term impact and to reach greater numbers beyond those who

attend our centres and encourage support from our current loyal stakeholders to ensure we remain sustainable.”

We received feedback from four of the ECD principals working alongside Afrika Tikkun and Rhiza Babuyile in Diepsloot, Gauteng. Below they share their experiences thus far, and reflect on the journey of growing their ECD centres and developing them into spaces of quality learning.

Abel Moreosele, Diepsloot Ext 9

Hope More Preschool started in 2018 with only 4 children, now has 49.

Abel said his inspiration and drive of starting a preschool started when he saw a child being hit by a car. He then decided to start a creche where people can bring their children also because most of the children have teenage moms. Abel started spreading the word to people in the community to bring their children and later gave his tenants a notice not to continue renting.

Abel who did his Level 3 training heard about the Rhiza Babuyile training from a word of mouth and decided to bring his four teachers.

How has the programme assisted you?

I can practice what I was taught. I have learnt more about developmental play, entrepreneurship, and how to raise funds. I didn’t know where to start when it comes to running an ECD centre, I couldn’t approach sponsors but now I can approach people and I know where to start.

We didn’t have a curriculum that the children can follow, now we know more and children are better trained. The training has also helped me with marketing my preschool. It has given me guidance and mentorship of running a preschool. I can approach people for fundraising and learned not be impatient. The training has given me hope not to give up.

Puleng Nyaile Level 4 Training

Thatohatsi ECD started in 2014, with only 6 children now has 48

Puleng was moved to start a preschool when her only child moved out of home to study further. She felt alone and when she saw children in her community running around she called them for meals. Parents around started sending her children. With only six children coming to her for care and only one child paying, Puleng didn’t run out of passion for taking care of the community children in the shacks she was renting out

How has the programme assisted you?

The programme taught me more on bookkeeping, admin and fundraising. I can now communicate well with parents and teachers as communications has improved. I can work on my budget.

We can now also identify children with special needs and take care of them. My admin work is well done and the documentation is formal. We can improve where we couldn’t. Children also have a safe place to go to.

I now have bigger dreams of giving quality education to children, I see myself having a private school one day. This training has made me think beyond.

Maria Mopereo

House of Glory Children Care Centre started in 2001

Maria’s disadvantaged background motivated her to start her centre. She is from the rural area and never attended creche – her father used to tell her that education for a girl child is not important as she will later get married. But that didn’t make give up on her dreams.

She started her creche with only two children, the number grew to 115 in her shack. Before COVID-19 started she had 115 children, after COVID-19 she only has 90 children. She heard about the ECD Training at a community forum.

How has the programme assisted you?

The programme helped me with how to do my admin work and how important it is to have my staff following all ECD protocols. I didn’t know a lot of things like exit forms for the children. We now do things properly. Being in class also helps me to understand myself better and knowing where to improve. I feel I have met people who have opened their hearts, and minds to transfer knowledge to equip others. I can now communicate digitally. I also know the importance of using household unused items like boxes, papers and other things to be creative with the children – children were introduced to activities and they have a curriculum they follow.

Sinekiwe Dube

Kiddies Haven, started in 2018 with only 7 children and now has 41

Sinekiwe’s love for children helped her to start a preschool, parents used to ask her to baby sit their children and that gave her the inspiration.

Sinekiwe heard about the Rhiza Babuyile ECD training through a colleague and decided to join.

How has the programme assisted you?

The training was really beneficial for my development. I learned a lot of things like workshops, HR, fundraising and how to run our preschools. I also learned about child protection – children’s rights and their safety.

I didn’t know the formalities of running the centre – the contracts, registers, enrolment forms of the children and other important procedures. I learned more about what is needed to be complaint and that the staff members should be qualified. All my teachers undergo the training to be more equipped. The training was worth it – I love the coaching part of the programme. I see my preschool being the centre of excellence.

I first met Herby Rosenberg more than 25 years ago at the inception of the formation of MA Afrika Tikkun. I had heard about the man’s legal prowess, his sharp wit, and his all engaging style. I became aware very quickly of the magic of the man.

And I witnessed a trait working with him over 15 years which has helped to define one of the key principles that I have tried to live my life by: the kindness of always looking for something positive, no matter the chaos of any situation.

Herby brought a humane approach to the “business” of dealing with people in need. He was always a leader, always thinking about big picture issues while still paying attention to individuals and their own unique needs and requirements. Herby made time for people, he made you feel that you genuinely mattered in his life irrespective of your standing or status.

Herby epitomised the gentleman. He was at all times gentle, courteous, and impeccably dressed. Equally, his mannerism was impeccable. And this had a material impact on the name and reputation of Afrika Tikkun and the various organisations he was involved in.

His love for South Africa and its people was matched by his strongly Zionist feelings and commitments. He saw the importance of his role within the South African Jewish community as contributing towards building support for Israel. He also saw his passion for initiatives such as the South African Friends of Ben Gurion University underpinning his ability to spread himself across numerous boards. In his later years, Herby became an important ambassador while fulfilling the role of executive deputy chairperson of Afrika Tikkun.

Herby had an ability to engage in multiple projects simultaneously. He could move between the South African Institute of Directors’ meetings to the board of governors of the South African Zionist Federation without missing a step. He had a broad-based intellect that offered advice but always from a highly moralistic perspective.

He was the consummate board member, and had a unique ability to relate to the executives of various entities that he was involved with. His “entertainment expense” account was something that caused a great deal of mirth within Tikkun. You see, one could see just how many times Herby would entertain key stakeholders with tea and cake, something indicative of the social being that defined Herby. People from all walks of life simply loved him, and for good reason.

In every meeting spent with Herby, he would initiate the meeting with some positive compliment for someone in the room. This habit of his ensured that our meetings would invariably start positively and with an element of human touch.

Herby was rare to anger and quick to find praise. His love and his respect for his wife, Sandra, and his deep regard and love for his sons, Clifford and Stanley, were evident in a way in which he often spoke of them.

While Herby might no longer be with us, his spirit will always be a part of the DNA that defines our organisation.

Marc Lubner is group chief executive of Afrika Tikkun.

In support of Afrika Tikkun's Garden to Kindergarten Programme

To celebrate his 60th birthday, Steve would like to invite you to join him in reaching the target of $10 000 AUD / £5 400 / ZAR 107 000 to support Afrika Tikkun’s Garden to Kindergarten programme in Orange Farm for a whole year and continue Sandi’s legacy.

In 2018, Steve Jacobson and his sister Val Mardon worked with Afrika Tikkun to set up the Garden to Kindergarten project in memory of their late sister, Sandi Jacobson, aka Millie Khumalo.

The idea was to craft a programme that would improve the lives and prospects of South African children and at the same time honour Sandi’s primary passions; growing vegetables in combination with growing young minds and bodies.

The programme, which originally started in Orange Farm – where the vegetable garden bears Sandi’s name – is now running across all five of Afrika Tikkun’s centres in Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Braamfontein, Alexandra and Mfuleni. Each centre has a flourishing garden in which the programme takes place. These gardens are spaces of learning but also produce a large portion of the fresh produce that is used to make daily meals for the children, young people and staff at Afrika Tikkun’s centres.

The programme teaches children, ages 5-to-6, about the art of growing vegetables, the value of fresh organically grown nutrition, food security, food sovereignty and the wonder of growing food from seed.

Given the current context of food insecurity, made even worse by the covid-19 pandemic, this programme is incredibly important and Afrika Tikkun is looking to extend its reach to more children.

Based on an average of 50 kids per centre, it’s estimated 250 to 350 children had been left out of Early Childhood Development (ECD), according to Afrika Tikkun, a non-profit youth development organisation.

Afrika Tikkun chief executive Alef Meulenberg said the past year had been extremely hard for the ECD sector. He said 10% of the 50 to 70 pre-schools the organisation worked with had closed permanently.

“Based on an average of 50 kids per centre, we estimate 250 to 350 children have been left stranded in our circle alone.

“That may not seem like a lot, but if you extrapolate this over the thousands of registered and unregistered preschools in South Africa, a number that could be as high as 1 784 as stated in a report by the University of Johannesburg. 1784 centres may have closed since March last year,” he said.

Meulenberg added that based on 50 pupils per school, this may have affected 89 200 boys and girls. He also stressed the far-reaching consequences and impact this would have had on the children’s development and overall chances in life.

“A child’s first thousand days are critical to his or her emotional, mental, and physical development and quality. ECD services play a crucial role in this,” he said.

Meulenberg said apart from ECD’s being the platform where children learnt through play, it was also essential in the overall development and cognitive skills. In South Africa, ECD services have a strong and often vital nutrition component.

“Not having access to enough nutritious food in your earliest years causes learning and development delays later,” Meulenberg said, referring to scientific research that showed young adults who were stunted as young children were more likely to drop out of school and remain unemployed than counterparts who had enough to eat. “At the moment, 30% of children are stunted.”

The R496 million in relief funding would go a long way, the chief executive said.

Of the R496 million received by National Treasury, R53 million has been earmarked to support ECD programmes and services in the Western Cape.

The Early Childhood Development Employment Stimulus Relief Fund is part of sustainable employment opportunities in the sector in light of the high unemployment rate and job losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

ALUMNI NETWORK CAPE TOWN REJUVENATED

MEET DONALD LESEGO LEKALAKALA, YES PROGRAMME CANDIDATE AND ALUMNI

OPEN FOR ENTRIES: ANNUAL BUSINESS SUMMIT 2020

APPLY FOR COVID-19 SOCIAL RELIEF OF DISTRESS GRANT

WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU! AFRIKA TIKKUN SERVICES RECRUITMENT

WE ARE LOOKING FOR YOU! AFRIKA TIKKUN SERVICES RECRUITMENT

REGISTER ONLINE: AFRIKA TIKKUN ALUMNI NETWORK

My simple answer is because of Ubuntu.

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Our young people speak out against Violence against Women and Children

Hlengiwe Nsibanyoni - Never let the fear of striking out get in your way

Artist Hlengiwe Nsibanyonyi

Miriam Ntondele - Violence and abuse are factors that ravish and harm our current societies, especially the women and children who suffer from it.

Hunger and Malnutrition

No excuse to delay action

Afrika Tikkun Cradle to Career model

Date and time:

6.30 – 7.30pm UK, 8.30 – 9.30pm South Africa World AIDS Day, Tuesday 1 December

Professor Peter Piot

Dr Shaffiq Essajee

Professor Lorraine Sherr

Lord Daniel Finkelstein

Becky Kroger

Objective

Main activities in a week view

Abel Moreosele, Diepsloot Ext 9

Puleng Nyaile Level 4 Training

Maria Mopereo

Sinekiwe Dube

In support of Afrika Tikkun's Garden to Kindergarten Programme

6.30 – 7.30pm UK, 8.30 – 9.30pm South Africa
World AIDS Day, Tuesday 1 December