Activities Report for 2018

Help for the Needy

Family Care Ministries volunteers regularly assess the needs of the various community members we have been assisting throughout the year. Our aim is to make a difference and help those who are able to find ways to support themselves.

• 100 households are receiving regular food assistance in Orange Farm and Evaton West alone.
• Volunteers go to clean the houses of sick people, cook meals for them and collect medication at the clinic on their behalf.
• 25 orphans have been provided with study materials and clothing items they needed for school. They also receive food parcels on a monthly basis.
• A wheel chair and walking sticks were given to 7 disabled people. They also received a Bible and food parcels and clothes regularly.
• Abused women and children received counselling and were helped to get to social workers for further assistance.
• Youths taking drugs were referred to a rehabilitation centre for counselling and medical attention.
• 18 children are helped with their homework and meet for afternoon studies twice a week.
• Blankets were distributed to the elderly and disabled.

In addition to this, we continued to bring a wholesome hot meal to 120 elderly in Brixton at the end of every month of the past year. Along with the meal we give out fruit and home baked cupcakes. The encouraging words and time spent praying for the elderly make the visit the highlight of the month for many of them.

Because so many children come for food as well, some of our volunteers have prepared hot dogs, and bought snacks and juice for them and pass them out.

Most of the weekly food donations we receive from a supermarket are delivered to Ouma Helen, who is 87 years old now. She continues visiting and ministering to needy families in Industria and Fleurhof helping in whichever way she can. She has started visiting the homeless bringing once a week a warm meal to about 30 of them.

On Heritage Day, the 24^th of September, 80 food parcels were distributed to the elderly in Orange Farm.  The local community gathered to sing and dance for them while they enjoyed a delicious meal.

The following is a list of food items distributed by Family Care Ministries volunteers in 2018:

• 327 food parcels
• 564 crates of fresh fruits, vegetables, other assorted foods, canned and other dry goods
• 144 kg frozen vegetables
• 112 kg of a rice
• 775 kg of meat
• 9620 loaves of bread
• 125 kg maize
• 17 kg of sugar
• 284 l of milk
• 15,300 eggs

The Band of Brothers, a group of Christian business friends who have joined Family Care Ministries to make a difference in the lives of families in Orange Farm, have continued to join our volunteers on a monthly basis in visiting and ministering to disadvantaged families & orphan households. The prayer and encouragement offered are as helpful as the food parcels. One single mother who was sleeping with her 5 teenage children on one double bed in a one room shack got a big surprise when an additional room was built for her family paid by one of the business men. It was furnished with a bed for each one them.

No Kids without School Shoes

In 2017 Family Care Ministries started the campaign “No kids without school shoes”. Our volunteers who visit families regularly had noted that some of the children didn’t have any school shoes while others had shoes that were too small or broken beyond repair. In 2018 we were able to provide 341 pairs of school schools to needy children in Orange Farm and Evaton West. We are grateful for the help we received from Sole to Sole and from a caring and concerned business man who provided 150 pairs and helped to distribute them among the children of the families we regularly assist.

Other Donations

Other donated goods included a gas heater and 157 blankets which were distributed during the cold winter months. In addition to the food, caring for the needs of families included the passing out a total of 111 bags of used and new clothes and more than 400 used and new adult and children’s shoes. Family Care Ministries volunteers also distributed 30 dozen sanitary napkins and 550 adult diapers to those who needed and could not afford to get them. A wheel chair and walking sticks were provided for 7 disabled persons.

A friend who was closing down her business gave us 3 bakkie loads of fabric and thread. The material was delivered in Orange Farm and Evaton West and promptly turned into bedspreads, pillow cases and clothes by the ladies who could sew. Nothing went to waste.

Family Care Ministries volunteers also distributed 850 stationary sets, toys and books to children in the area. Four fire extinguishers and four First Aid kits were given to preschools who lacked the finances to purchase this essential safety equipment.

Training

Early Childhood Development Workshops

Our ministry to principals and caregivers who work in the ECD environment continued to grow.  The message to lay a better foundation for the future learning for South Africa’s children in township areas reverberated with many and the sense of personal responsibility in this task is growing. It is becoming better understood that the struggles children face in schools is due to the lack of foundation children received in their early years.

Family Care Ministries held workshops in Ennerdale, Vlakfontein, Eldorado Park, Naturena and Orange Farm. 165 principals and caregivers were able to get some important input and training on the developmental needs of babies, toddlers and young children and on various types of activities to use in the classroom. We received some sponsorship and were able to donate teacher guide books, picture cards and other educational toys to some of preschools but a lot more has to be done to meet the needs.

The caregivers didn’t realize how easy it can be to make a puppet until they tried it. Using a plastic bottle and some fabric they came up with these amazing creations.

Here are some responses from the workshops.

Thank you for the opportunity to come to the workshop. It was truly inspiring, motivating, joyful, exciting and loving. God bless you. Keep up with the good work. Don’t give up. Let’s change the world. – Lesedi E.C.D. & Preschool

Thank you very much. It is important, motivating, exiting and I learned many things. Please come again.- Mkanyezi Day Care

The workshop makes me feel better and teaches me how to take care of the children at the centre. The pictures that I have seen show me how to take care of and love the children and what I have to do or say in front of them. I’m teaching! I have enjoyed everything that I’ve seen and learned today. – Buhle Smart Beginnings

For me the workshop was good, for us and for the children of Orange Farm. You opened my eyes and let me see that I am very important and I play a big role. I have to keep it up and help the others and come back again. I love what you are doing and I wish you can come to our crèche and guide us. We are with you on your side. We will make it big. – Sedibeng Sa Thutu Day Care

The workshop has been a real eye opener for me because it made me see things that I did not know about. It helped me know how children are like. I am really grateful for it. Thank you for this.- Nkululeko Pre & Nursery School

Our volunteer heading Family Care Ministries’ ECD training project was able to meet with 90 principals from the Orange Farm area to discuss plans for 2019.

Thanks to the help of Calulo Foundation we were able to upgrade a preschool in Orange Farm. The roof at Isibuko Sezwe Preschool was leaking into the classrooms every time it rained and some of the support beams had rotted needed replacement. We fixed the problem so the 30 children could be in a safer environment. The drab looking paint was peeling off the walls in places. A young team of volunteers worked for a couple of days to brighten up the classrooms. With Calulo Foundation’s help we supplied the fabric to sow 30 mattress covers that were needed and curtains for the classrooms.

Family Care Ministries donated some used toys and bought some educational toys, teaching aids and books for the children as well. The teacher guide we gave each teacher lists scores of simple-to-do activities that help create a stimulating environment for children. In addition, Family Care Ministries offered 6 training workshops for caregivers from several of the preschools in the area.

Prison Ministry

When a fire was set at Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre, the classroom facilities used for Bible studies were damaged. The repairs on the rooms took longer than expected. There were therefore no classes in session during the first half of 2018. Because of this the total number of Bible study enrolments for the year was quite low compared to previous years.

In addition to this we experienced long delays in getting mail to inmates via the postal service which made it difficult to keep the course running. With the help of the residing Chaplain and his office staff though, we did manage to keep classes going for the second half of the year.

Family Care Ministries invested in Christian booklets on different themes to distribute to inmates. We were able to mail 95 to those participating in our advanced course.

Here are some responses that we got from inmates:

I enjoyed the course very much. Since I started this course, I pray and read my Bible daily. This course helped me to understand the Word of God better and now. I love the Word of God. More than anything else in the world, I’m willing to change my life for the better.- Lucky

I enjoyed this course because this course is teaching me about love. It teaches me that without love you’re nothing and other things I need when I go out. It encourages me to stay away from stealing. I thank God for that. Thank you.- Frans

I have enjoyed the course very much and I have also learnt the deep things of God which are hidden that most of the preachers of today don’t teach in the church. They teach so much about motivation and the pleasures of this world. I would like to receive more books of this teaching.- Sifiso

I don’t know how I can say thank you for this course. I thought I was alone. I thought there is no one who loves me. But now I know that there is Someone who loves and cares about me. His name is Jesus. The book of Luke 6:38 says, “Give to others and God will give to you.” There is so much that I learnt in this course.- Siyabonga

I enjoyed the course greatly. It helped me weigh my faith and works as a Christian and helped me see see that I am still lacking in many ways, i.e. helping those who are in need spiritually and material wise. The stories used as examples in your pamphlet taught and motivated me greatly.- Sipho

Christmas Programs and Events

Family Care Ministries did not manage to raise the funds needed to host the yearly large Christmas parties for children in township areas. It was decided that the funds that we were able to raise would be invested in ways that would benefit our dedicated volunteers more directly. They sacrifice their time and put a lot of effort into the work without receiving any remuneration. As most of them do not have jobs, we assisted them in ways that would help them be more effective in their work. Two volunteers received cell phones that would enable them to document their activities and communicate with our chairman and coordinate projects more effectively. A single mother was given a sewing machine that would enable her to make better use of donated fabrics, fix second hand clothing items, and raise some needed support for her family.

Although we cancelled the Christmas parties in Orange Farm, Evaton West and Soweto, Family Care Ministries did assist Ouma Helen who organized again a party for the children at one of the housing blocks she regularly visits. We had brought a jumping castle for the event but found on arrival that there was no electricity in the part of Fleurhof. We had to go in search of a generator and got a much later start than expected. Despite the delays though the children had great fun and spent the time waiting by playing games and showing off their dance skills.

Outreach

Boxes and boxes of paper were used to print 20,200 gospel tracts, 2,440 Bible Verse booklets, over 6,000 pages of Bible study course class sheets, 64 Bible Study Course Teacher Manuals, and other pamphlets in three languages. Aside from what we printed, we also distributed 500 Christian magazines, 47 Bibles and 307 devotional booklets. A member of the Gideons International joined with their daughter to hand out over 100 New Testaments to the elderly and others of the Brixton community.

While sharing the Gospel one-on-one is most effective, volunteers also used social media such as Facebook and Whatsapp, SMSs and email messages to spread God’s Word and to counsel and encourage others to find faith in Jesus.

Malawi Work

Family Care Ministries has had a work in Malawi for the past 9 years now training disciples and leaders who have a desire to teach others to teach others. As part of our outreach we sent gospel pamphlets, Bible Study Course Manuals and Bible verse booklets to assist trainers and trainees to spread God’s Word and message. Family Care Ministries has supported a farming project and youth outreach by supplying 5 soccer and 5 netball balls.