 The first quarter of the year has kicked off on a positive note, marked by significant management achievements in leadership development and various other areas. We want to take a moment to recognize the strides made by our teams and ourselves as Team Leaders.
There have been notable professional advancements within our teams, including the completion of Quality Improvement Systems by Connect Network, refresher courses provided by the Unlimited Child, training sessions on Practical Tools for parents, grandparents and teachers to prevent sexual abuse, fundraising workshops, and other developmental milestones. Additionally, we've embarked on a journey to empower our organization to become a Trauma-Informed Organization. The term started off very busy, from preparing for the annual operations planning to closely monitoring the implementation of those plans, which are showing promising signs of success. We are eagerly anticipating the outcomes of the first quarter, as all our sites are operating smoothly without major disruptions. However, as we approach the end of this quarter, our main concern revolves around the conclusion of the Extended Public Works Programs (EPWP) contracts. There's limited indication of these contracts being renewed due to departmental budget cuts. If these contracts aren't extended, we'll face staffing shortages, as the EPWP participants play a vital role in our operations. Despite this challenge, we, as Team Leaders, remain steadfast in our commitment to upholding children's rights. Sincerely, Team Leaders
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 At the start of 2024 I had high hopes of the ECD sector receiving more attention from Government because of the coming elections. Unfortunately the SONA showed that ECD has been pushed under the Education umbrella. In addition, as we move towards elections, I note that not a single political party has a clear comprehensive manifesto on Early Childhood Development, which means we still have a long road ahead of us to advocate for the rights of young children.
Upcoming elections, persistent loadshedding, poor service delivery, increasing fuel prices and decreased funding to the NPO sector have all combined to pose a challenging year ahead. Despite these challenges, Sikhula Sonke continues to ensure quality children and family services in the communities of Khayelitsha. Sikhula Sonke's first quarter... We started with a review of our strategic areas which were endorsed by the Senior Management after the annual plan crafted and compiled in Gansbaai. Our focus areas - Outreach Programs, 1st 1000 Days, Training, Mentoring and Coaching services, Toy Library services, and Thriving Families and Parenting - have all been successfully addressed during this period, surpassing our expectations. We owe a debt of gratitude to our Funding Partners, whose continued trust and financial support enable us to extend our reach to disadvantaged communities. Their ongoing commitment is instrumental in achieving our organizational goals. Our partnerships and collaborations remain strong, reflecting the confidence in our ability to deliver on our mission. We are pleased to welcome new friends, including the Hebbel Family from Germany and The Kids Collab Team SA, who share our vision and have joined us in our efforts. Our sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed to the success of the first quarter of 2024. From our dedicated Board of Directors to our beneficiaries, staff, and volunteers, each has played a crucial role in our achievements. Together, we continue to work towards making a meaningful impact in the communities we serve. In closing Sibamba ngazo zozibini, looking forward to a wintry second quarter. Please be encouraged to fight for children’s rights in whatever space you are in. Thank you. Mdebuka It's school holidays and we're providing a safe space for children to play... lots of laughter, fun, games and toys at Harare Square today!
#sisoinaction #sisoplayislearning #sisoreachingfamilyandcommunity Our first cluster workshops took place this week, reaching 78 parents/caregivers in Enkanini and Mew-Way. We talked about parenting challenges, learnt new parenting skills and about the resources available to support our young children. Thanks to all who took part and made these workshops such a wonderful experience. More workshops will continue from the 19th and the 27th of March.
#sisoinaction #nochildleftbehind #sisoreachingfamilyandcommunity #sisofirst1000days #sisochampions Mdebuka, Papama, Nolliswa and Ntombomvuyo took part in Connect Network’s Trauma Informed GBV working group team. They completed the 2 year GBV TI process of workshops and mentoring with 12 organisations in the network last week.
Beautiful Gate South Africa, Beauty for Ashes, Ikhaya Le Themba - Joshgen, Just Grace, Kuyasa Horizon Empowerment, Living Hope, Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development, Siyakhula and St Anne's Homes shared how this process and mentoring has guided them to work in an even more healthy and trauma-informed way in terms of their processes, policies and relationships across the board (including with themselves!). Thank you to Heather McNiel of Anchored Hope, Barbara Clarke of Resilient Kids SA and Grant Stewart of R-Cubed for the many hours put in. Lindy and Priscilla of Connect Network have been amazing in leading us through this journey. This has been an amazing example of a truly collaborative and kingdom focused project. We trust for much fruit for many years to come. As we finish off the week, well done to Mdebuka, Papama, Nolliswa and Ntombomvuyo for graduating from Connect Network’s two-year GBV Trauma informed journey.
#sisoinaction #sisoreachingfamilyandcommunity #sisochampions  Today marks the first day of the school calendar year 2024. We are so excited and looking forward to another year of development filled with progression and successes.
Last year saw more than 100 children graduate from our programmes to start Grade R in mainstream schooling this year. This is such a milestone! Although our work of laying the foundation may seem to be over, our Social Workers and Fieldworkers are out and about in the communities looking out and ensuring that all those Graduates are enrolled in different local primary schools. Sikhula Sonke would like to encourage all our young learners across all Grades, up to those who are starting Matric this year, to stay focused and ask for assistance when they encounter hardships in their journey towards their development. Parents, please be supportive and in touch with your children at all times. Reach out to your children when the going gets tough. Know that we are here for you!!!! Please use Sikhula Sonke Early Childhood Development as your local resource and our Team will do their best to assist you and/or refer you to suitable resource organizations or government agencies in our database. All the best for 2024 with love from the SISO team and Director!  Read of our work in the last year! Good news, great communities, giant steps forward... click here to view online (right click > save as to download to your computer). Our Annual Financial Statements are also available here: https://www.sikhulasonke.org.za/newsletters--annual-reports.html
 The second quarter has kept us on our toes within the organisation. It was exciting to see all the new developments all over around the programmes.
We experienced the Emthonjeni team putting their fully fledged learning programme into fruition after so many years of using materials from different partners. This quarter has also seen the development of a basic computer course to support our Imbewu Basic Teacher Training, an exciting developmental milestones for this project. This quarter didn’t go without challenges. There was an attempted break-in to our offices and we saw the fence surrounding the office being stolen, but by the grace of God, we managed to get a top class fence which has now secured our premises. Unfortunately losing our fence around our offices led to a delay in the construction of UT Gardens Emthonjeni classroom structure, but we are glad to announce that this project will soon be completed and is scheduled to start operating in the second week of July. The new Emthonjeni site opens up huge possibilities in serving UT Gardens. A safe sheltered space means that we can continue our programmes despite the rain and cold winter weather. We also look forward to running FCM programmes like First 1000 Days for mothers and babies for this area. From the Executive Director’s desk, I must say that I am impressed by the progress that we have seen in the organisation despite all the challenges that we have encountered. I think it is important to mention our highlights which include:
Q2 is a testimony of the impact of our work in Khayelitsha Community. I am particularly grateful to all the fathers who continue to participate in different fatherhood programmes conducted in partnership with FAMSA. A biggest thank you to our funding partners who have made all this work possible. We salute you. Because of your support, children living in the shacks of Khayelitsha are meeting their developmental milestones. Mdebuka Mthwazi, Executive Director.  The SISO Social Work team is mandated to create safe spaces for the families that we work with (internal and external). We intervened in cases related to child abuse, neglect, issues of hygiene, late registration of birth certificates, misuse of Child Support Grant (CSG) and more. Some of these cases were resolved and some are still in progress.
The Social Work team also assisted families with their children’s school online applications for the year 2024 which was a success as many learners were admitted to schools. Sikhula Sonke, in partnership with different stakeholders around Khayelitsha, ran an awareness campaign through community dialogues during Child Protection Week, empowering communities with preventive measures to ensure the safety of children. This year seems to be fast-paced and has resulted in a lot of pressure on our Social Work Department. Our department has been hard hit by so many delays in our case work. Various government departments slowed some of the processes to obtain identity documents for the families so that children could benefit from their children’s rights. The challenges won’t deter us from our mandate of upholding children’s rights. Moreover, the Social Work Team - in partnership with FAMSA - provided psychosocial support to vulnerable families via one-on-one sessions, at parenting workshops and GBV support groups. This investment into the wellbeing of families has paid dividends and we see that some of the families have become more resilient. Stats: Activity / Cases. In progress. Resolved. Online applications (24 children) 2 22 Caregiver Support group 11 Ongoing Birth certificate applications 10 4 Counselling sessions 9 Ongoing Child Support Grant 13 5 |
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