South Africa Street Soccer
The South African Homeless Street Soccer Association (SAHSS), formerly known as The Western Cape Street Soccer League (WCSSL) uses football as a means of involving children and youth that live, work and sleep on the streets in positive activities that will assist them in moving off the streets to better lives.
SAHSS is an initiative of local NGOs (non-profits in South Africa) who work in close cooperation with the Departments of Social Development and Sports and Recreation in the City of Cape Town. These groups have come together, as SAHSS because of an acute awareness of the role that football can play in changing the lives of homeless and disadvantaged people.
From Us With Love Sponsored the South African Homeless World Cup Team that traveled to Melbourne, Australia to compete in the 2008 Homeless World Cup and we are currently one of the Sponsors of the 2009 Team traveling to Milan, Italy for this years Cup being held September 6th through 13th.
From Us With Love is currently involved in a project to make a documentary film about homelessness in South Africa and the different agencies that are on the front lines of this contraversal issue. The name of the film is Streetball Produced by Demetrius Wren. Check it out!!!
Street Soccer breaks down the barriers of racism and economic status. We have seen so many young people that have made the choice to get involved with this program and are now working, have a home and some are attending college.
Please consider giving to this project. All financial gifts are tax deductible. Your donation will go towards the advancement of street soccer in our targeted project areas.
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From Us With Love became aware of street soccer and the Homeless World Cup, an international event for the sport, during the summer of 2007 in South Africa. They learned that you can’t gain entrance into the lives of people who live on the streets as easily with knowledge and wisdom as you can with a soccer ball. They wanted to share the excitement of the sport and the triumphs and tragedies of those who play it. From Us With Love proudly presents StreetBall, a documentary film following the 2008 / 2009 South African Homeless World Cup Teams.
Visit streetballfilm.com
Feeding Scheme at Judah Square Creche
From Us With Love is funding a Feeding Scheme at Judah Square Creche in Knysna, South Africa. FUWL, together with the Knysna Education Trust, is making this school the model to which other Feeding Schemes will be introduced to other Creches in the area.
Nancy, the Principle at Judah Square has done an incredible job with the menu planning and accounting for the Feeding Scheme. Before this program, children would come to the Creche with their own lunch. Some of the children would come with no food because of the poverty in the area.
The Feeding Scheme provides every child at the Creche with breakfast, morning snack, lunch and afternoon snack. We are seeing a remarkable impact on the health and well being of these children. The children also receive a dose of liquid vitamins each day.
There are approximately 50 children that attend this Creche and the cost of the Feeding Scheme is $270.00 per month or 2500.00 R.
Another need at the school is plastic tables and chairs for the children to sit at. There are not enough, which means some of the children must sit on the floor. I’ve asked the Knysna Education Trust to price tables and chairs for the school.
FUWL is seeking funding for Feeding Schemes at other Creches and to purchase tables and chairs for Judah Square Creche.
Dentistry Project / Smutsville Primary
From US With Love, together with the Smutsville Primary School Volunteer Clinic, is currently funding a project that is helping the children of Smutsville Primary School with their dental care and oral hygiene.
What is a daunting visit for anyone having to go to the dentist is like a gift for these children of Smutsville Primary in Sedgefield. Most of these children have no access to a dental practitioner and very little knowledge of basic oral hygiene. FUWL and the volunteers that run the clinic arrange monthly visits to local dentist Dr Sunet Senekal in Sedgefield.
A typical visit will start off with the waiting room filled with inquisitive, yet nervous faces waiting in anticipation to see the dentist. One by one they quietly venture into the procedure room and are warmly introduced by Sister Reinet Barnes. You can see a trust from the children that have been won over with many caring words and actions by her in the past. Once they settle in the dentist chair, Dr. Sunet Senekel gently asks each child which teeth are bothering them. It is heartbreaking to see such decay and damage to young teeth.
Many of these children have to bear pain as a result of rotten, painful teeth, like not being able to eat, sleep or concentrate at school. Once each child’s problem has been identified the dentist will either extract the rotten teeth, which are sometimes permanent teeth or perform a filling for permanent teeth that can be saved.
The children are very brave and the care from all involved is wonderful. The children’s smiles are big and bright at the end of each visit.
We have treated over 350 children through our Dentistry Project in the last 2 years. The Colgate Corporation sponsors classroom kits that have supplies and educational materials for the children.
FUWL is looking for Sponsors to fund the Dentistry Project. The cost to send 4 children to the Dentist each month is $100.00.
URGENT NEED: We have two young girls that need plates because they lost their permanent front teeth. If you can help with this need, the cost is $500.00.
UPDATE: The funds have been received for the two girls needing plates by a group of German Journalists and a Knysna resident. THANK YOU!!!
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Mashosho Crèche and Hope School
Limpopo is South Africa’s northernmost province, lying within the great curve of the Limpopo River. It is a region of contrasts, from true bushveld country to majestic mountains, primeval indigenous forests, unspoilt wilderness and patchworks of farmland.
Within this Province is an impoverished informal settlement called The Oaks. There are 2 schools that FromUs With Love supports in The Oaks; Mashosho Crèche and Hope School.
From Us With Love currently supports these schools with nutritious food parcels and educational materials and equipment. These schools are in despirit need of renovations, playground equipment and educational materials and equipment.
Please consider giving to this project to uplift the schools.
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Holy Family Care Centre
Situated at the foot of the Drakensberg Mountains in Ofcolaco, Limpopo Province, South Africa, Holy Family Care Centre is responding to the needs of the sick and vulnerable, especially orphaned children and mothers with HIV and AIDS. Each person who comes to Holy Family Centre is helped to find peace of mind in beautiful surroundings and is treated with reverence and respect.
An International community of sisters, The Daughters of the Lady of the Sacred Heart, administer the Centre which is non-denominational. Working with the Sisters are a dedicated team of staff and volunteers who provide individual and loving care.
Work Pending:
*A large concrete area to be roofed for a clothes-drying area during the wet weather.
*Repairs, maintenance and refurbishing of a building that sleeps a large number of children.
*Repair water tank stand.
*A garden plot made to teach the boys how to grow vegetables and become self-sufficient.
Dreams for 2009 and onward:
*Laundry: improve hot water system & provide a mechanized trolley to transport washing from laundry to line to dormitories. With 70 children there is a mountain of washing! *Kitchen: install a ‘cool room’ and hot water system. The cost is 7500.00 R or 940.62 US.
*Pave Crèche playground and other areas.
*Build a large Activity Room, Staff Room and Garage.
*Vegetable garden completely remade & old mango plantation replanted with income-generating crops/trees.
*Employ qualified staff: Social worker P/T, Educator P/T, mechanic/handyman etc.
Please consider giving to this project.
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School Shoe Drive Project
Smutsville is a Colored and African Township of Sedgefield, South Africa located along the scenic Garden Route in the Knysna Municipality. Smutsville has a population of approximately 1500 residents and an average household income of $150.00 per month. The unemployment rate is at a staggering 80 percent.
From Us With Love could not ignore the need for help in this impoverished community and started building relationships with Pre-Schools, First Aide Clinics, Soccer Clubs and a Volunteer Clinic at Smutsville Primary School, the only school in this community. Smutsville Primary School teaches learners from grade 1 through 7.
From Us With Love recently funded a Dentistry Project at Smutsville Primary School. This provided much needed dental care for the 350 students.
As we held hands and wiped tears from the the children as they sat in the Dentist chair, we noticed that just about every child had holes in their school shoes, if they had school shoes.
Would you please consider giving towards our Shoe Drive for the children of Smutsville Primary School. The cost of a pair of School Shoes is $10.00. We would like to present the shoes to the children in April, 2009 before Winter arrives. 100% of your tax deductible donation will go towards this project.
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Embrace-A-Crèche Project
South African Crèches typically care for over 100 children every day, on less than most people would spend on food for a small family. They operate out of very cramped quarters, have virtually no equipment or facilities, and earn next to nothing. Yet the teachers eyes light up when they talk about the children – it is for them and their future that these women sacrifice so much.
No child is turned away even if their parents cannot afford to pay the monthly school fees. In fact they would rather have non-paying children in the Crèche than know they are unsupervised at home, and at risk of being sexually abused or in danger of fire or other household or road accidents..
Every Principle has dreams of a new Crèche building with proper facilities and equipment, and better salaries for their staff. From Us With Love’s Embrace-A-Crèche Project identifies Crèches in our targeted project area and matches them up with individuals and businesses to fund the much needed renovations.
Please consider sponsoring one of these Crèches.
The Rustafarian community looks after this school well and is already in the process of building on the kitchen and toilets without much help from the broader Knysna public. They are in need of a storage room, baby room, building materials to complete their kitchen and toilets, equipment for kitchen from cupboards to stove, fridge and microwave as well as the baby room. Estimated cost: 2250.83 US Dollars (R17947.01) just for buildings.
View Crèches Video
Education encompasses both the teaching and learning of knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency. The right to education has been described as a fundamental human right. From Us With Love addresses these needs through our Embrace-A-Crèche and Sponsor-A-Child Projects.
Crèches, which serve as daycare and preschool facilities, are not adequately funded by the South African government. The Crèche charges school fees, but when a parent is unable or unwilling to pay, the child is still accepted by the Crèche. The facilities range from bright, cheerful and solid to cold, dark, and dilapidated.
Many of the children attending Crèches come from loving homes. However, the Crèche is a safe haven from neglect or abuse for some of the children. For some, it is the source of their only hot meal of the day. Children can spend up to 12 hours a day at a Crèche.
Your tax deductible donation of $200.00 will go directly to pay for a child’s school fees for 1 year. You will receive periodic progress report on your child’s performance in school from the Knysna Educational Trust. If your child is promoted to Primary School within your year commitment, the remaining funds will go towards another needy child.
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Cultural Arts Theatre Program
FUWL is sponsoring 5 High School students from the Mad About Art organization in Knysna, South Africa to attend The Knysna Playhouse Young Actors’ Theatre Academy (YATA.)
The Performing Arts is a tremendous part of the South African culture. FUWL is passionate about giving children and young adults in the impoverished communities the opportunity to be mentored and trained in the Arts.
Your gift of $100.00 goes directly towards tuition, travel and costume fees for each participant.
From Us With Love and YATA would also like to take this program into 2 High Schools, Percy Mdala and Sunridge. The funding needed is $1400.00 per term and there are 4 terms in the calender school year. Please consider giving to this project so that we can bring cultural arts into these 2 disadvantaged schools.
View Young Actors’ Theatre Academy Video
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The Knysna Sport School Project
From US With Love is working with the development program at the Knysna Sport School to expand athletic offerings, including archery, to township children. To that end, FUWL donated 4 Mathews Genesis bows and 5 dozen aluminum quivers for use by the school. Using this archery equipment was a highlight for many township children at the 24th annual Pick ‘n Pay Knysna Oyster Festival’s Sport Fair in July 2007.
FUWL has also donated 200 soccer balls to the school.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be held in South Africa. Ironically, many township and rural children in that country have limited or no access to sports equipment of any kind. Anyone who has played, coached, or watched a sport recognizes the physical, mental, and social skills (not to mention fun!) that organized sports can foster. In a country where people are still struggling to heal from deep divisions of many kinds, creating opportunities for people to play together is a powerful gift. The importance of sports to township children for fostering a sense of belonging, pride, and possibility cannot be overstated.
FUWL is looking for Sponsors for the 2010 Sport Festival, which is facilitated by the Knysna Sport School and gives all children in the Knysna Municipality exposure to a wide range of sport disciplines. The Knysna Sport Festival will be held in July.
Please consider giving to this project.
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Sinethemba Carpentry Skills Centre
The Sinethemba Youth Development Centre is a center for at-risk children and teens, who beg and live on the street. The organization’s mission is to help children at risk make good choices for their future. The center also runs a Crèche. Facilities include classrooms, a pre-school, a kitchen, a meeting hall, bathing areas, and a playground. Two meals a day are provided.
Sinethemba staff members gather street kids daily and bring them to the center. The kids come because they know that they will get a bath, hot meal, and clothing. They are required to do chores and participate in literacy classes. Children are encouraged to go back to school or they are taught marketable skills. Projects for the older children emphasize self-sufficiency. Skills taught include cooking, sewing, making crafts, carpentry and gardening.
FUWL has funded a Carpentry Skills Center on the property in February of 2008. The start up cost for the Skills Center was $1340.00. These funds were used to rent a used shipping container and purchase the carpentry tools needed.
Please consider giving to this project. $2000.00 is needed to extend the lease on the shipping container, tools and materials.
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