Hallo Everyone,
I have had so much interest in the Masakhane project that I have decided to bring out a twice monthly newslettter. In this letter I will briefly outline what the main news items are and then I will also include the link to the blog so that you have the opportunity to go and check out photo's and full news articles etc.
Masakhane Newsletter 27 January 2009
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Family of 7 left destitute by fire
( see blog item with same name for pictures and more information) http//:themasakhaneproject.blogspot.com
A family of 7 people were left destitute by a fire which destroyed their house on the 25th of January. This family includes two elderly people and two small children age 4 and 6. Nothing was left of their possessions. They have, through Village Power CDP, received a food hamper and some clothing. However, this family will need a lot more assistance to get them back on their feet again. Some of the things that they need are:
Sinks to build a new shack with
Some cement for a floor
Some window frames
Food
Blankets
Kitchen-ware
Clothing
Matresses
Basic furniture items such as a chair and tables, a bed etc.
Anybody wanting to assist this family can contact me at 083 999 5017 or make a deposit with the word 'Fire-Aid Masakhane' in the 'description-box' Funds will be applied to helping this family. Village Power is a registered Non-profit organisation.
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Research at Masakhane
Village Power CDP, in partnership with the Masakhane Community have launched a Participatory Research Project. Participatory research means that the community members receive training in research methods and that they are part of the research on every level. This helps communities take ownership of their situation and actively participate in the decision-making processess affecting them.
This ResearchProject will aim to do the following:
Draw up a comprehensive community profile of this community with emphasis on identifying households who are particularly hard-hit by poverty e.g. Female-headed households, child-headed households etc.
Conduct an analysis of skills present and those skills needed by the community
More details about this under the heading 'Research at Masakhane' on the blog...
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Small ways in which you can help
In our efforts to develop the community at Masakhane we need the support of people who believe with us that there is a positive contrbution that can be made. A wise person once said that 'all it takes for the world to go to pieces is for good men (and women) to stand by and do nothing'. Here are some small ways in which you can help us to make a difference:
Village Power CDP needs a web site. When you go to the blog you will see that scrolling up and down to get to information is cumbersome. We would appreciate the services of a web-site designer and a sponsor for a web-site. We will make sure that you get advertising space on there!
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The support of the local community is very important in a project such as Masakhane. But for the local community to know what we do we need to get our name out there. We are looking to get some of those magnetic squares which go on the door of your car.
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Masakhane has a commitee which forms a link between the community and the various development stakeholders. One of the commitee members has been allocated the portfolio of 'communicator'. For this project to run effectively, this communicator needs to be able to get hold of the relevant stakeholder in case of an emergency (such as the fire mentioned above) or just to relay issues and information as they arise. A sponsorship for airtime for this person could go a long way to ensuring that an effective channel of communication is maintained between the community and the people they work with
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Last word...
Thank you to Cathy Moolman for her donation to the Masakhane Project. Those funds are going towards stationary and training of the Masakhane Research team.
All the best for the next fortnight
Kind Regards
Sonja van der Vyver
(Director)
Village Power Comunity Development Projects
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