The Masakhane Project

Opening of Community Centre

2010-06-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

On the 8th of June the launch of the Masakhane Community Centre, sponsored by SABMiller plc., was celebrated. Several prominent people from SABmiller plc., SAB Ltd., ABI, Local Government and the Magaliesburg community attended the function.
Standford Sambo, a member of the Masakhane HIV-Drama Group, was the Master of ceremonies for the event.
Community leader, Rosina Kubu, said that Masakhane had come a long way in standing up as a community and that the settlement was really starting to take control of it's development.
Social worker, Sam Savage, described the social factors influencing communities and people in rural areas. Development practitioner, Sonja van der Vyver, gave an overview of the project and said that the centre was a tangible manifestation of the progress which has been made by the community.
Sue Clarke, from SABMiller plc, expressed her exitement at seeing the centre complete and at the way in which the communty has made progress over the last two and a half years. Sue also performed the ceremony of cutting the ribbon and thus officially handing over the building to the community.
MMC, Olivea Caldeira, said that she was very exited to see how the project progresses in future and expressed the willingness of local government to asssist the project in any way possible.
In his speech, Councilor Dennis Thabe emphasised the importance of cooperation between the different stakeholders in a project such as the one at Masakhane and said that this was one of the main reasons for the success of the Masakhane Project.
The children of Masakhane charmed the audience by singing the national anthem: Nkosi sikilele iAfrika.
The Traditional- and Gumbootdancing items were sure favourites with the audience!

The Masakhane hip-hop group performed an item which gave a message of hope about HIV/Aids.
A plaque stating the support of SABMiller for this community was handed to the community.
A photographic display, depicting the different aspects of the project, was set up inside the centre.
This sign, which was put up above the main entrance to the centre was painted by some of the youth from Masakhane.
A highlight of the day was when the Masakhane Two4Joy Soccerteam showed off the gear they had received courtesy of ABI.

The food for this event was made by the women of the community and included conventional as well as traditional fare.

The day was a huge success and a landmark in the development of this community.

Building of Community centre progressing beautifully!

2010-03-03T23:23:00.002-08:00

The building of the community centre at Masakhane, sponsored by SABMiller plc, is progressing very well. Building commenced at the beginning of January and despite delays caused by heavy rains the community centre is already sporting some windows and doors!
March 2010
February 2010

Draftcon, the building contractor responsible for this project is training members of the Masakhane community to improve their building skills. Certificates confirming the acquisition of these skills will be issued to the apprentice builders upon completion of the project.

The community centre is placed so as to form a square with the two edutainers. This will provide Masakhane with a 'town square' symbolic of the progress and perseverance of this project and the community towards autonomous and sustainable capacity building and development.

ABI visits Masakhane

2009-10-16T06:55:00.001-07:00

On the 13th of October Masakhane received a visit from ABI. Monica Narsee and Kobie Heyman were accompanied by Kathy Ustus, wife of Managing Director, John Ustus, and Isabel Pimental.

The group was entertained by the children's rendition of 'Nkosi Sikilele iAfrika' and various poems and songs which were performed by a group of very exited little ones.
The four trainee teachers at the creche each took a turn to welcome the group and to express their gratitude at the change which the edutainers have made to the lives of the mothers and children of Masakhane.
Each visitor was given a hand-printed T-Shirt which had been decorated by the creche children helped by the teachers and Standford Sambo, a young father from the community.
The involvement of the parents in the education of their young children is of paramount importance and a parent/creche-orientation program has been implemented by Village Power.

Next a visit was paid to the Women's Craft Project, another ABI intervention in this community.
The ladies from the Women's group proudly showed off the products which they had made, While Su West, facilitator of the project, explained the different skills, such as crochet, sewing and embroidery, which had been transferred to these unemployed women in the last few months.

Some of the items on display were purchased by the visitors. The proud crafters were very happy at making their first sales and were delighted when Kathy Ustus, here pictured with group leader Maria Selebogo, immediately put on the beautiful crochet waistcoat which she had purchased from them.

Launch of Edutainers by ABI

2009-05-19T07:20:00.000-07:00

On the 13th of May the placement of two edutainers at Masakhane was launched by ABI and celebrated by the community.
Sarika Ponee from ABI cut the ribbon on behalf of the funders. Yvonne Kgope, the community leader, thanked ABI and SAB for their ongoing support and commitment to the people of Masakhane.
Ernest Galekile, the Marketing Services Manager of ABI encouraged the community to make good use of the edutainers as tools of education for the settlement

Dennis Thabe, the ANC councillor for the area complimented the community on the progress they have made over the last year and urged the youth to continue their personal development.

The Masakhane Drama Outreach Group, coordinated by Sam Savage had everyone in stitches while effectively driving home a valuable message regarding HIV/Aids and women's rights.

'Teamwork' was the opperative word in achieving this important milestone at Masakhane.

EDUTAINERS ARRIVE

2009-04-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

The 25th of March 2009 will always be a red-letter day for the Masakhane community. This is the day on which this settlement received two containers from ABI and the Bright Kid foundation.

Two huge trucks brought the brightly coloured edutainers into the settlement and to the astonishment of onlookers proceeded to lift each container and place it on the foundations which have been put in place earlier this month.
Thanks to the patient advice of Nicolas Jaff, some difficulties in manouvering the two large objects in the limited space available was overcome.

Monica Narsee from ABI was present to share in the exitement and handed over the keys to Beauty Kubu and Standford Sambo - two young people from the community.
THese edutainers mark the beginning of a new era for Masakhane. At last pre-school children will be able to attend and be exposed to stimulating activities in preparation for their school careers. Adults will also have the opportunity to attend Education and training projects such as the SABMiller Life Skills modules which are currently being implemented in Masakhane.
An official launch of the Edutainers will be held later in the month when the ABI Regional division will attend. The edutainers will however be put to use immidiately. A parents meeting has already been held to prioritise logistical issues such as food gardens, possible teachers etc. These issues will be dealt with under the new blogs.

After the edutainers had been opened, members of the community streamed inside to have a look. The amazement on the faces of the children when they saw the brightly coloured plastic tables and chairs and boxes of educational toys was a picture to behold. Several small children promptly sat down at some of the tables and looked arround in anticipation. A little girl named Phalesa asked one of the development workers from Village power when she was going to get her books and pens. Mothers expressed their gratitude for this wonderful gift by singing and clapping hands. Village Power CDP and the Masakhane community would once again like to thank ABI and the Bright Kid foundation for this wonderfull tool for developing the full potential of this community.

This event is also the catalyst for the expansion of this blog. In future friends of the Masakhane Porject will be able to follow the educational progress at Masakhane at two blogs linked to this one. The titles of the new blogs will be 'Children at Masakhane' and Adult Development at Masakhane' Issues of a general nature will still be posted on this blog, which will act as Home Page.

First Aid and Fire Training

2009-02-16T08:31:00.000-08:00

Members of the Masakhane community had the opportunity, through funding by SABMiller, to participate in a First Aid Level 1 and A Fire Safety training course. This course was presented by Ben Supke of Firemed. Receiving training in First Aid and Fire Safety is essential for this community especially since they are not able to access emergency services ealily. As has been reported recently, a cooking fire, which got out of hand, destroyed the dwelling of a family of seven people. Basic Fire Safety training could have prevented this disaster and have helped the community to deal with the fire more effectively.

Younger participants like Willie in this picture, helped to facilitate the material to older and semi-litterate people.

The First Aid course was presented in a canvas and plastic structure which serves as a church. Unfortunately the place flooded due to heavy rains and the course had to be completed in one of the sink dwellings in the community. A farmer in teh area kindly let us use his generator to provide the neccesary electricity for the television and video machine which was used in the course. The fire Safety training was held in the open air, under a tree, where most of the community gatherings take place.Despite these challenges, Ben Supke facilitated these courses very effectively, making use of multimedia and interactive learning activities to engage learners in the subject matter. Songs were sung and games were played and young children were encouraged to participate, thus spreading the benefits of this exposure further than just the participants.

38 People in all received certificates for these courses. These will be laminated, courtesy of Melon Rouge restaurant in Magaliesburg and presented to the participants at a special graduation ceremony. This was the first training event for this community and the benefits of attending accredited courses will hopefully soon be experienced and witnessed by everyone in this community.

Relief for family left homeless by fire

2009-02-16T07:25:00.003-08:00

Doctor receives some much needed blankets for his family

The family of seven that was left destitute by a fire in January has received donations of corrugated iron, food,clothes and blankets. NGK Welsyn and Village power assisted this family through donations received as a result of a report of their predicament which was sent out via the Masakhane Newsletter. The response from the public was wonderfull and within a week from when the fire happened, this family had a new house and could function again. Assistance for this family will continue and their situation monitored carefully so that they will be helped untill they are able to provide in their own needs once again.

Family of 7 left destitute by fire

2009-01-27T23:47:00.001-08:00

By Sonja van der Vyver (Development Practitioner)

A family from Masakhane was left destitute when a fire destroyed their home on the 25th of January 2009. A cooking fire, which was left unattend for a while, got out of hand and burnt down the sink dwelling of Doctor Maakwe (31) and his wife Maria (30). The couple has two children, a daughter, Masigo (6) and a young son, Thabiso (4). Maria's elderly parents and ehr brother also lived with this couple. Doctor is the only member of this household who is working. He works as a farm labourer on a farm near by.

Community Research at Masakhane

2009-01-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

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.

Progress on this project will be posted on the blog regularly

HOW will the research be conducted?

Training of a local team (consisting of members of the community) in participatory techniques will enhance the ability of the community to participate in present and future research which might be needed for the community. The training of members of the community in research participation also empowers the community with the necessary knowledge needed about aspects of development so that outside developers can be monitored and held accountable for any plans they might implement. Because the PRA approach empowers the community to become partners in their own development, they can take ownership of the process instead of being the object of development. This strategy improves the sustainability of any development project.

WHO will be involved in the research?

· Research facilitators – will act as convenors and catalysts without dominating the process.
· Community members including community leaders and people from households affected by HIV/AIDS will be actively involved in every aspect of the research project. Before research commences all stakeholders need to be informed of and invited to take part in the research process. Consent and support for the research project needs to be obtained and as much information as possible given to everyone involved. Aims and objectives, methods and instruments, analysis methods and possible projects which might evolve from the research need to be transmitted to every stakeholder in a clear and transparent way. Every person concerned will have the opportunity to voice their opinions and possible concerns regarding the research project and issues which could arise from it. The community will carry out the analysis and decide what is ultimately to be done with the information and analysis which they will generate.

What needs to be done and why?

The Research Project will employ the methods used in the Participatory Research Approach model. This approach involves a combination of methods which enable people to be involved in assessing and expressing aspects of their every-day situations. Being actively involved in research on any aspect affecting them empowers people to be able to plan themselves what needs to be done and how this action is to be monitored and evaluated.
The PRA method aims at getting maximum involvement from all stakeholders. Through active involvement of the community any research, present or future can be sustainable.

What Methods will be used in this research?

The methods used in this research will aim to enable people to express and share information and many will be created by local people themselves. Because HIV/AIDS is such a disempowering condition, it is imperative to get the people affected by it involved in the identification and prioritisation of the main problems they encounter.
Some of the PRA methods proposed for this research are:
· Maps showing who lives where, (e.g. who heads the household, which households are affected by HIV/AIDS) and where resources such as water, schools, clinics etc. are situated.
· Flow diagrams which will show linkages, sequences, causes, effects, problems and solutions. The impact of e.g. poverty, employment, school attendance, economic status etc.
· Seasonal calendars showing how food availability, family health and other factors connected and vary during the year (e.g. do people tend to get sick more in winter when food is not readily available).
· Transect walks and mapping of the information gained on transect walks by the participating members of the community.

Time table

The first thing to be done is to get all the stakeholders involved in the planning of the project. A time needs to be established which suits everyone for the proposed project to be suggested to the community and other stakeholders. Enough time should be allowed for all concerned to be able to respond to the proposed project before the actual research takes place.
Time also needs to be set aside for the proper training of the interested members of the community as research facilitators. It is important that the participants are all familiar with the principles of PRA methods and with the aims and objectives of the research study.
The time table for this research will be drawn up jointly by the participants from the community and the researcher taking into consideration what times would best suit the community members’ involvement without imposing on their schedules regarding the collection of water and fire wood or household chores such as cooking and washing.

Poverty assessment

Because poverty is a major issue affecting rural households this aspect will be a focus point in the research process. Information will be obtained employing the following proposed methods about the target groups and major issues listed below:

· Female-headed household – Including women from female headed households in the group to be trained in PRA research methods. This will serve to involve these women in the assessment of the situation and to empower them to become actively involved in the processes affecting them. Women are traditionally excluded from power structures and the inclusion of women who head households in this research process could equip them with valuable skills which could be applied to the development processes of the community in future as well as give them a ‘voice’ within the community.
· Orphans and vulnerable children – Identify these through involving members of the community in discussion groups, transect walks etc.
· Child-headed households – Involve the children heading the household in the PRA activities such as transect walks and informal discussions and drawing up new maps with proposed changes and plans for development.
· Young unemployed household members – Through their involvement in discussions and other PRA activities.
· Child labourers – Focus group discussions at a time at which they are not working, encouraging these children and their parents to access the sustainability of child labour and to examine possible alternative ways of generating an income for the families.
· Distance to health and water supply facilities – Transect walk and mapping activities.
· Learning needs for out of school youth and adults – Focus group discussions during which this group is encouraged to identify their own learning needs and to prioritise these needs.

Masakhane 2009

2009-01-20T02:35:00.000-08:00

By Sonja van der Vyver - Development Practitioner

At Masakhane Activities for the year are already in full swing. There is great exitement over the SAB Life Skills Modules which will be presented there in February. In order for screening and placement of participants in this life skills course prospective participants have been asked to either submit a written CV or to do an oral presentation. Interviews have been conducted on Friday the 16th of January and Saturday the 17th of January. CV's are still streaming in and more interviews will be conducted on Saturday the 24th of January.

Word about the life skills modules have got around and CV's from all over the Magaliesburg district have been received. Unfortunately it has been neccesary to explain to these applicants that this course will be for the residents of Masakhane only.

The SAB Life Skills modules which will be presented at Masakhane include the following:

Motivation
Goal Setting
Basic Numeracy
Managing Your Money
Managing Change and dealing with Stress
Self Discovery
Starting your own Bussiness
HIV/AIDS - Wellness Education
Finding that Income
Getting a Job
Decision and Skills Planning

After Participants have attented the Life Skills programme, they will receive individual career counceling to be able to integrate what they have learned into their future plans. Skills training for each participant and possible job placement will be part of the programme.

The response to this incentive has been very positive. Some of the reasons and motivations as to why prospective participants believe they ought to be included in the programme have been transcribed below:

'I am applying to be an emergency officer because in my place, when it rains the Ambulance can't come through' - 'Chicks' Simane (23)

'I want to work to take crime away' - Mofokeng Kgangetsile (23)

'I want to be a police woman because crime is too high and also the abuse of young girls. I want to be here so those girls will come to me and not be afraid'. -Beauty Kubu (18)

'I want to get teaching skills to develop the community and also myself' - Rebecca Sethimo (21)

'I would like to work as a game ranger - Elias Phiri

' I like to teach so that at the end of the day they (the people of Masakhane) must know something better in their life' - Emmie Kgope (25)

'I intend studying towards a career in Music which will utilise my interest in people and in the music industry. I would like to become a sound engineer' - Joseph Phiri (24)

It is clear from the above that the youth of Masakhane are looking for ways in which to realise their potential and from their enthusiasm for this opportunity it is clear that the SAB Life Skills Modules might very well be the first step towards a brighter future for the people of Masakhane.

Progress re. this programme will be reported continously on this blog. Individual profiles will also be published here in order to communicate the specific needs of the Masakhane people. Support in this and other aspects of the Masakhane Porject will be greatly appreciated. Please contact Sonja van der Vyver - Village Power Community development Projects by leaving a comment with your contact details (e-mail address) by clicking the comments link below.

Water - at last!

2008-11-12T22:11:00.000-08:00

By Sonja van der Vyver - Development Practitioner

For the last 4 years, the people of Masakhane have had no permanent water in the settlement. They received water from a municipal water truck once or twice a week. The delivery of water was dependent on the state of the access road to Masakhane. During periods of rainy weather the water truck could not get to the settlement because the access road was in such a poor state. This meant that the women often had to draw water from a nearby stream. Children often got sick from hygiene-related illnesses such as diahroea because of the quality of this water.

Because the water truck only delivered very sporadically the people of Masakhane stored their water in plastic scoops. In summer especially, this practice contributed to the occurence of hygiene-related illnesses, especially in children. Because of poor nutrition the children of Masakhane do not have strong immunity against disease and the fact that the community is so isolated contributes to sick children not receiving medical attention in time.

Water is such a basic need that the lack of it significantly contributes to a number of problems such as the ones listed above. Often children were reported not to have been taken to the monthly mobile clinic because mothers were too ashamed to bring their 'dirty' children to be seen by the clinic sister. Lots of time was spent fetching water from the stream near the settlement and carrying it back which meant that the women in the settlement had no time to pursue any income generating activities.

As one of their main CSI focuses SAB has benefited this community significantly through the provision of water. After investigating several options, a windmill was decided upon as a means of providing water to this community. It is cost effective, does not rely on expensive sources of energy and is easy to maintain. A Climax windmill was installed and two water tanks was put up on the hill above the settlement. The two tanks allow for water to be stored on windy days so that the community will be able to get water even on days when the wind doesn't blow. For the moment the community will be able to access water by drawing water from a tap at the water tanks.

Some 7 years ago pipes were put in to supply water at a tap for each one of 55 stands. After carefull assessment of available resouces it has been decided that those pipes can be reconnected so that those 55 stands will then have water. Through community cooperation it will be possible for all 112 households to have access to water near their households.

With water available to them, the people of this community will be able to consider new and productive options such as food gardening, brick making etc. Teaching the community Permaculture principles for growing food could go a long way to alleviate food scarcity and malnutrition for this community. Better nutrition will improve the immunity of everyone and could be especially beneficial to those affected by HIV and Aids. With less time to have to spend carrying water the women of this community will be able to engage in more productive activities which could alleviate poverty and increase the self esteem and levels of empowerment.

Education is the great leveler of people and with water available to them all the time, this community can receive life skills and other training which will enable them to improve their standards of living.

Anectdotes about some of the Masakhane People

2008-10-26T04:07:00.000-07:00

by Sonja van der Vyver - Development Practitioner

Maria Selebogo

Maria is one of the Masakhane Community Commitee members and is a single parent to Karabo (3). Karabo's dad died while Maria was expecting Karabo. Maria is unemployed and has no support structure. Her only income is the goverment child grant which she receives for Karabo. She is a generous person, who, when a donation of blankets was received for the settlement insisted that there were other people who were more in need of a blanket than her - despite the fact that she was listed as one of the 50 people most in need of help in the community. Maria holds the portfolio of Social Services in the community commitee and is currently trying to assist those people who are having difficulty with obtaining an ID document. Maria says that she would like to be able to generate an income but that she has no one who can take care of Karabo while she is away at work. A community centre with a creche could help people like Maria to get involved in more productive persuits by taking care of children like Karabo. Maria could also benefit from skills training which would improve her chances of becoming financially self sustaining.

Emmie Kgope

Emmie Kgope is a member of the community commitee and serves as 'Health Care' coordinator. Emmie is a dynamic person who volunteered her services as ABET facilitator during a recent literacy programme which was implemented by the Department of Education. Unfortunately the programme was discontinued when almost all the adults dropped out as a result of being unable to commit the time neccesary to walk 5 km to the nearest school every day in order to attend the programme. It is Emmie's dream to enrol for the National Certificate Course in ABET through UNISA and to become a qualified ABET practitioner. Providing Emmie with the opportunity to fullfil this dream could be very beneficaial to this community. Adult Educational programmes often fail because they take a long time and are not sustainable from outside of the community. With the neccesary resources, Emmie could provided litteracy training to the community on a long term basis.

As Health Care Coordinater, Emmie could use her teaching provide Basic Health Care training to the community. Teaching mothers about health issues such as malnutrition, dehydration, hygiene related disease and HIV/AIDS could be very beneficial in preventing illnesses and poor health in this comunity.

Yvonne Kgope

Yvonne is the community comitee leader and communicator. At the community meeting where the commitee was first elected Yvonne acted in a revolutionary way by electing herself, a woman, as the Commitee leader. In a community where the customs do not encourage women to stand up for themselves or to be part of the decision making processess which affect them, this certainly made everyone at that meeting sit up and pay attention to what Yvonne was saying. She launched into a memorable speech during which she pledged her commitment to see that promises were delivered and issues addressed. Yvonne's nomination of her self as community leader was accepted unanimously by the community. Yvonne has since shown her commitment to the development of her community through her involvement in all community activities and especially through her endeavours re. youth participation in community activities.

Beauty Kubu

Beauty Kubu is 18 years old. She terminated her high school attendance after grade 10 due to the lack of transport to and from the school. Beauty is a single parent to Bonolo - a baby of 6 months old, but hopes to be able to complete her schooling in order to be trained as a police woman. Beauty says that she will certainly attend the life skills programme which will be implemented in the community. She says that she has to better herself in order to provide a better life for her and Bonolo.

The Children of Masakhane

2008-10-23T01:15:00.000-07:00

Children are a very important issue in any community because they are the future of the community and the country. If interventions such as education and community development can improve the lives of the community in such a way that children benefit from it, then the future wellbeing of that community is potentially improved. However, if the physical and mental wellbeing of the current generation is not urgently attended to, problems such as poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and low productivity will simply be perpetuated.

The primary school children attend Rand Gold Primary school which is situated about 5 km from the settlement. The children walk to the primary school and back.

Malnutrition is a factor affecting many of the children in this community. Some donations of food have been received from the NGKWelfare but ultimately enterprise development through skills training would be a more sustainable solution to relieve poverty in this community. However, the benefits of a feeding scheme to alleviate the shortage of food especially for the children of this community in the interim is something which needs to be looked at. A creche at the proposed community centre could be a valuable resource where children affected by HIV/AIDS, malnutrition etc. could be identified and targeted to receive the proper attention.

The High School children attend the state high school in Magaliesburg. Problems with transport to this school previously caused a number of high school children to drop out. As a result there are quite a few out of school youth and young people who did not complete their high school careers in this community. Efforts are being made by the commitee and development practitioners to address this issue and to prevent marginilisation of these youths. Teenage pregnancies, HIV/AIDS etc are all problems which are exarcerbated by children being out of school and unproductive. The proposed community centre could play a vital role in reintegrating marginilised youth into the community through providing opportunity for training and productive activities to young people.

Article to be updated with more pictures and information when signal improves.

Standford the builder

2008-10-23T01:03:00.000-07:00

Standford is a member of the Masakhane community who has used his skills as a builder to employ not only himself, but a team of 4 men from within the community of Masakhane.

Standford started doing small building jobs about 5 years ago. His work is of such a high standard that he now employs 4 people permanently and several more on a casual basis.

Standford drew up the preliminary plans for the proposed community centre at Masakhane and staked out the site to show delegates from SAB where the proposed centre would be built.

With some life skills and vocational training e.g. Small Bussiness Management, Standford's potential as an entrepeneur could be fully realised. Through development of Standford's existing skills as builder and entrepeneur he could play a vital role in development of this community.

Cleaning up the Village.

2008-10-21T22:21:00.000-07:00

On Friday 17 October the Masakhane community held a clean-up day. The event was organised and coordinated by development practitioners from Village Power, NGKWelsyn and members of the community commitee. Yvonne Kgope (pictured here), the commitee leader, organised the community members into teams.

Participants received some T-Shirts and over 30 black refuse bags were filled. These had to be removed by a development practitioner to be taken to the Magaliesburg refuse site.

The majority of adults who were in the settlement on the day participated although mothers with babies were cautioned to stay out of the very hot midday sun.

Small children tagged along with their mothers and also helped to get the settlement cleaned up.

The settlement has no refuse removal services. At a recent meeting this issue was raised. The Hekpoort municipality will be approached to give advice to the community and other stakeholders re. a possible refuse site or refuse removal services for the settlement.

The active participation of the youth in this project was very noticible. The young people were motivated and friendly, like this young girl, Johanna, who got into an unused empty cement reservoir and cleaned it of all the refuse that had collected there over time. This participation of the youth in community activities is an encouraging sign that the out of school youth in this settlement might not all be marginalised and the possibility of peer education exists as a measure to address marginilised youth within this community. The mobilisation of the youth of this community is an issue which is taken very seriously by Yvonne Kgope, the community leader.

The community was visited by Sue Clark, Corporate Affairs Director and Jenni Gillies, Group HIV Consultant SABMiller plc.

Refreshments were made available to all participants afterwards and a festive spirit with lots of singing and dancing prevailed despite the intense heat.

The clean-up day was very successful and proves that this community is actively working towards a better future for themselves.

Fixing the Road

2008-10-14T09:25:00.001-07:00

The access road to the settlement is a major factor contributing to problems such as Health Care provision, transport etc. When it rains this road gets very muddy and then only 4 x 4 vehicles can drive on it. This often cuts the settlement off from the main road with dire results for those needing medical attention.

Once the commitee had been established the comitee members mobilised the community to fix the access road.

Every able body in the community helped to fix the road.

The women carried the stones in buckets.

Even the elderly and young children helped by carrying stones etc.

A group of teenagers set themselves the task of writing down the names of every head of household and their house number. The youth in this settlement are kept quite active through the endeavors of the comitee leader, Yvonne Kgope. There is quite a large contingent of out of school youth as a result of a lack of transport to the high school at Magaliesburg. The empowerment of the youth through intervention programmes such as the NOAH programme is essential to avoid another generation from 'falling behind' and becoming marginalised.

The maintanance of this road is an ongoing project as the settlement is situated on high ground on the foothills of the Magaliesburg Mountains. The road has since been fixed and graded with money made available by the ANC Councilor Dennis Thabe. However, in order for the community to keep up the maintenance of this 2 km long stretch of dirt road, they need implements such as spades, buckets and at least another 2 wheelbarrows. (the community only have one wheelbarrow).

Some factors affecting the community

2008-10-10T00:02:00.000-07:00

The settlement of Masakhane is situated in the Gauteng Province, approximately 15 km from the small town of Magaliesburg. This is a rural informal settlement consisting of approximately 150 zink dwellings housing just under a 100o people. A number of problems are faced by this community. Most of these issues are common factors affecting rural settlements in South Africa. However, because Masakhane is situated in the Gauteng Province it does not benefit from a 'Rural Settlement Grant'. Rural settlements in all other provinces are elligible for this grant.

Masakhane has no water, and water for cooking and drinking purposes gets delivered by a truck from the municipality twice a week. Water get stored in plastic 'scoops' and often gets contaminated by dust etc. Hygiene related illnesses are a problem because of the lack of fresh water. There is a small stream nearby where the women of the community go to do their washing in summer. Sometimes, when the water truck doesn't deliver water for a while, the community gets their drinking water from this stream. This increases the risk of hygiene related illness such as diahroea, dysentry etc.

The poor state of the access road to Masakhane has a detrimental effect on a number of factors affecting this settlement. Public health care services, such as the mobile clinic or ambulances cannot reach the settlement when it has been raining. As mentioned above, the water truck often fails to deliver water due to the state of the road. One of the very first things the community worked together on was in fixing this access road. Women and men carried large stones on their heads and even children helped to carry sand and stones in buckets to fix the road.
There is a need for a community centre for this community. A recent literacy program, run by the Department of Educationa has failed to provide this community with literacy skills because learners had to walk 5 km every day to get to the school where the program was presented.
A number of the mothers of small children are unable to engage in income generating activities, because there is no creche facilities for small children. A community centre could be used as a creche where babies and toddlers could be kept busy and looked after while the mothers pursue productive activities.
Masakhane is an informal settlement and all dwellings are zink shacks. These structures are not water - or wind proof and get very cold in winter and wet when it rains in summer. There is no electricity at the settlement and food gets prepared on wood fires in outside lean to's. Wood for these fires are scarce and the women of the community spend a lot of their time looking for wood. The community borders a game reserve where lions are kept. The woman sometimes go into the lion camp to get wood for their fires especially in winter when it is very cold.

Malnutrition is a problem in Masakhane and is linked to poverty. The lack of water in the settlement means that people cannot grow their own vegetables. malnutrition causes problems such as low immunity to disease in kids and adults, cognitive developmental problems in children and exarcebates the effects of hygiene related illness and HIV/AIDS.

Some of the community members engage in income generating activities such as cutting grass for thatching, but there is a serious skills shortage in the settlement. Litteracy levels are very low and employment in the area is very scarce. Masakhane is situated in an area where a transition from agricultural activities to hospitality related ventures are taking place. This has reduced the need for unskilled farm workers. Residential development in the area could provide some employment opportunities for skilled builders, tilers etc. while the restaurants and tourist accomodation in the area could make use of waiters, barmen, cleaning staff, kitchen staff etc. Nature reserves in the area could provide work for people trained as nuture guides, trackers etc. Skills training, life skills orientation and litteracy training could provide the members of this community with the opportunities they need to be able to become self sustaining and empowered.

What its all about.

2008-09-20T02:03:00.000-07:00

The Masakhane Project is a community development project at the informal settlement of Masakhane near Magaliesburg in the Gauteng Province. The Masakhane Project is run through a partnership between Village Power Community Development Projects (an NPO), SAB, NGK Welsyn, Local Goverment etc.

Community Development facilitators are:
Sonja van der Vyver (Village Power Development Projects)
San-Mari Ferreira (NGK Welsyn)

A community Commitee has been elected by the community
Yvonne Kgope is the commitee leader
Each member of the comitee has a seperate portfolio
The following portfolios exist:

Communicator
Evironment
Water and Sanitation
Social Services
Health Care
Safety and Security

Comunity coherence has been established. The community was divided along political lines, however the establishment of the community commitee and the stakeholders forum ahs served to unite the comunity in assessing and addressing their problems.

The lack of water in the settlement was idetified as the biggest problem and this problem ahs been prioritised. In partnership with SABMiller, a windmill will be erected at the settlement to ensure a constant supply of water.