Shout Out To Sean
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- About the New Centre.
About the Centre being funded by the Shout Out To Sean appeal
Oarsman Sean McGowan and Soweto Connection hope to raise enough money to build a brand new nutrition centre in the township of Khayelitsha outside Cape Town. Soweto Connection’s partner in this project is Philani, a community based organisation with almost 30 years experience in the area.
The centre will include a HIV/Aids support group with daily nutrition support and advice, a weekly medical clinic and training in weaving and beadwork so as to generate income both for the centre and its clients. It will also include an Educare facility for the preschool children of the mothers who come for nutrition and HIV/Aids assistance.
The combination of improved nutrition, a good start in education, a source of income for their mothers and HIV/Aids support will give these children the best possible start. The centre will also facilitate other support groups and outreach clinics, and make a major impact on the whole community.
Land for the centre has already been acquired, so building work can begin as soon as funding is available. The overall cost is estimated at just over a million South African Rand, which is about €100,000. That is an ambitious target, but the lasting impact of a centre like this on the most vulnerable of children would be enormous.
Why is the Centre Needed?
- Typical living conditions in Khayelitsha
Almost a million people live in or around the area where the Centre will be built. Most are in simple core houses or informal dwellings made of corrugated iron, wood, and plastics - many overcrowded and without water and sanitation. Twenty per cent of them are children younger than six years of age. One in ten children is underweight. One if four is stunted. Half the adults are unemployed.
The HIV pandemic has hit these communities especially hard, with women bearing the brunt of it. Around 30 per cent of pregnant women here are HIV positive, leaving young children orphaned in high numbers. TB is another major problem, with a high incidence of women and children suffering from both HIV and TB.
How will the Centre Help?
As with Philani's other Centres, this will be a day Nutrition Centre, open Monday to Friday, with a number of different programmes. Philani expect to have at least 15 severely malnourished children actively being rehabilitated at any one time (with regular visits to the nutrition advisor) plus others being followed up. An Educare (pre-school creche) for 35 children is envisaged, and a weaving workshop for up to 20 mothers of malnourished children plus a beading workshop for up to another ten.
Depending on funds available, it might be possible to add on an extra workshop for a silk screen printing programme. This will give the mothers an independent income, and enable them to break the cycle of poverty. There will be an HIV support group for at least 15 women and a basis for the local Philani Outreach (home visiting) programme, supporting around 20 Outreach workers. There will be a medical clinic and a dietician's clinic once a week at the Centre.