Cyclists making a difference

The resoundingly successful 2017 aQuellé Tour Durban, presented by Bridge Fund Managers, resulted in a significant cheque of R 175 000 being handed over to the Domino Foundation, the race’s major beneficiary. This was more than four times the amount the Foundation has received in previous years.

“Our sponsors enable us to make these much-needed donations,” Tour Durban’s Mike Lewis said. “They have been such an important part of the race this year and for them to have come on board and support the Domino Foundation like they have, we are incredibly grateful.”

Chief Executive Officer of Bridge Fund Managers, Mark Logan, commented that, despite their late decision to present the race, it was a decision they are happy they had taken. “It is a privilege for us to contribute to the Domino Foundation.” Logan said. “What we like about the foundation is who they support and the way that they go about it and they make a huge impact on our society.”

The Domino Foundation has had many success stories like that of Sifiso Hlongwa, who rode the 2017 aQuellé Tour Durban and who was present at the cheque handover. “These donations might seem small in relation to the number of people that need support but the donation is massive for the communities. By changing just one life, we can change a whole community,” Hlongwa stressed.

Taking Action and Inspiring Change

The 18th of July, Mandela Day, the annual international celebration of Nelson Mandela’s birthday, was marked by The Domino Foundation’s challenge to corporates and individuals to join them for an action-packed 67 minutes on the fields of Northwood School. Each participant payed R167 for the privilege of being able to “Take Action! Inspire Change!”, recognising Mandela’s 67 year fight for social justice. Every hour of the five hour event, five teams of ten moved through Action Stations where they completed set challenges supporting The Domino Foundation’s programmes: sandwich-making for the Foundation’s Feeding programme, preparation of playdough for crèches on the Early Childhood Development programme, jewellery-making to support the Red Light Anti-human-trafficking programme, and the making of resources for pupils in ECD centres and pre-primary schools. The 250 participants also threw their dignity to the wind and tackled a numbers of inflatable obstacle courses, much to the delight of all the bystanders. Many of those who had been part of the morning’s activity were inspired by The Domino Foundation’s vision to Change an individual, Change a Community and so Change a Nation, and signed up to be involved on an ongoing basis.

Take a look through our Facebook Photo album and tag yourself in any of the pictures:

The 18th of July, Mandela Day, the annual international celebration of Nelson Mandela’s birthday, was marked by The…

Posted by The Domino Foundation on Friday, July 21, 2017

BABIES HOME VEHICLE THEFT

If you have any information please contact us at the office on 031 563 9605 or on our Facebook page over night. Facebook: The Domino Foundation

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UPDATE: [20/07/2017]

14H20 | 20/07/2017: Case Report emailed by Altech Netstar. Vehicle Still missing.

Extract from Case report below;

An extensive visual and network search was completed in several areas, which also included Chesterville, Cator Manor, Lamontville, Umlazi, Folweni, Kwamakutha and the surrounding areas. No signals were received from the vehicle during the search. There was no sign of the vehicle. The vehicle is still missing.

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09H00  | 20/07/2017: Unfortunately still no new information regarding the location of the Avanza. No new news overnight.

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UPDATE: [19/07/2017]

16H00 | 19/07/2017: Unfortunately still no new information regarding the location of the Avanza.

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UPDATE: [19/07/2017]

13H30|19/07/2017: A community member phoned in and reported that the vehilce was seen driving along North Coast road heading towards Briardene. Altech Netstar and SAPS were updated and more teams were dispatched to complete a visual search of the area and presumed route. The assumption is that the vehicle was heading towards the Kwa-Mashu area.

We are still hopeful that the vehicle will be spotted so please continue to share the Facebook post. THANK YOU to everyone who has phoned in and kept their eyes on the lookout for our babies home Avanza, you have been a great support! If you have any information please contact us at the office on 031 563 9605.

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UPDATE: [19/07/2017]
11H30 | 19/07/2017: A morning’s outing for the children of The Domino Foundation’s Babies Homes on Wednesday 19 July had a sour ending when the Homes’ Avanza was stolen while the children and staff were having fun exploring the outdoors at Durban’s Mitchell Park. Upon returning to the vehicle, it was no longer in the parking lot. As soon as the theft was discovered, SAPS and the Foundation’s offices were notified. Everything then kicked into action as the Police and Altech Netstar were advised.

The police were quick to respond and were on the scene within minutes. A case was opened and an investigation is being conducted. Search reports with descriptions were sent out.

“Altech Netstar have been incredibly pro-active and informative throughout this incident.” says Shaun Tait, Chief Operating Officer at The Domino Foundation.

A helicopter and ground units were dispatched and a visual search of hotspot areas is being conducted. Unfortunately, no signals had been picked up from the tracking device fitted in the vehicle, indicating that the thieves had either jammed or disconnected it.

Please can community members be on the lookout for a GOLD TOYOTA AVANZA, Registration: ND 545-412 with The Domino Foundation branding and contact details on the sides and back of the vehicle. If anyone has any information please contact the office on 031 563 9605. Any sightings could narrow down the search.

We are relieved and thankful that none of the staff or children were harmed in any way and are all safely and happily back at the homes.

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Recycle Swop Shop Programme Update – 2nd Quarter

Having come on board as the seventh Domino programme late last year and as the first programme based outside KZN, the Recycle Swop Shop in the Western Cape had been running in three areas, but made the decision to scale back on one of them for security reasons. However, the local community in that area have shouldered the responsibility to continue with the Swop Shop concept on their own…a victory for empowerment of the people. The local people in one of the other two communities managing their own collection and stock-piling of recyclable materials.

As clothing is a vital part of the Swop Shop programme, ongoing drives for clothes are being pursued. A school in the Tableview area is providing considerable support in this regard.

The programme is looking at securing additional funding to ensure the sustainability of the significant work being achieved.

Life Skills Programme Update – 2nd Quarter

Working into four schools in the Amaoti area, the Life Skills programme continues to develop and refine the team’s  teaching of the lessons and training in  the upgrades of the curriculum. One-on-one counselling and learner support is growing into an increasingly important part of what some of the team are undertaking.

In collaboration with various local and international groups and individuals, the programme has helped facilitate the starting of ongoing projects like Project TEN’s Youth Movement in Amaoti, drama workshops, maths and science tutoring by 1^st year medical students and a very successful soccer day run by Love Church and Sharks Soccer for Grade 4 pupils at Amaoti 3 Primary.

 

One of the people partnering with the Life Skills programme is Tebogo Petlele, founder of “Seponono Africa”, an Afrocentric brand that showcases the beauty of Africa through headwraps, African accessories and clothes.  Motivated by her self-discovery journey of wearing a headwrap for a year, Tebogo, has created a platform for women to celebrate life and their individuality. Tebogo engaged with Grade 4 learners at Amaoti 3 Primary School recently when she encouraged them to appreciate their external and, more importantly inward, beauty. (‘Seponono’ is a Tswana word describing a woman’s beauty). She spent time at the school as part of The Domino Foundation’s Life Skills programme, encouraging the pupils to value who they are as young black women. Women are encouraged to wear them as declarations of who they are and of their purpose in life.

 

Skills Development Programme Update – 2nd Quarter

The students on the Skills Development programme were set up with the necessary requirements for studying and their university financial obligations were met. The programme leaders met with students collectively to discuss the requirements and expectations of the programme and the students have been mentored through the processes and stresses of university life.

The programme has grown significantly in 2017. Three students enrolled in courses at UKZN and one at UNISA at the start of the academic year and an expansion of the programme saw a number of young people enter learnerships in a number of disciplines such as welding.

An initiative to promote the Skills Development programme is about to launch in high schools in the Amaoti, Phoenix and Waterloo areas at the start of the third term. Sifiso Hlongwa of Domino Business and, until the end of 2016, a long-serving member of the Domino Foundation’s Life Skills team, will be addressing Grade 12 students in the schools on the whole scope of the Foundation’s programmes and activities and on the Skills Development programme. He will be accompanied by several of the young people who are currently on bursaries or learnerships through the Skills Development programme. They will encourage the high school students to consider what tertiary education opportunities they would like to access and to talk to the team about how they might go about fulfilling their dreams.

Discussions with the University of KwaZulu Natal have resulted in a career guidance programme being set up to help pupils on decision-making on their future careers and on how to apply to tertiary education institutions.

Red Light Programme Update – 2nd Quarter

The year has seen half a dozen ladies on the Red Light programme. Volunteers with specialised skills have been involved in training the ladies in critical areas like budgeting and nutrition and the Red Light staff continue their work with the ladies to bring them to the wholeness and healthy self-images God has designed for them.

The beautiful Vachellia xanthophloea, commonly called the Fever Tree, is found in the Northern Province, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Its striking sulphur-yellow bark provides the base material which The Domino Foundation’s Red Light programme uses in its jewellery-making. The programme has an on-going need for bark supplies and is appealing to friends of Domino and members of the community to collect the bark from the numerous fever trees in and around Durban. Only the bark which has fallen off the trunks of the trees is useable. Any bark collected may be handed in at The Domino Foundation’s offices at 37 Mackeurtan Avenue. The jewellery has recently undergone a facelift as a result of a collaboration between ladies presently on the programme and those who have been with Red Light. The new-look range has an attractive combination of ethnic beadwork and the natural beauty of the Fever Tree wood.

Feeding Programme Update – 2nd Quarter

The programme is now feeding JAM porridge, soup and sandwiches into 67 schools, churches and clinics and the distribution of JAM porridge is going well in 12 new crèches in Waterloo. The two sandwich kitchens are well-supported by volunteers for the various shifts every weekday. Five new schools have been added to the programme in the Amanzimtoti area and two crèches and a primary school have asked for help.

On World Hunger Day (May 28), a below-the-line meal of samp and beans was served to the community of Kingsway Church International in Amanzimtoti on Volunteers Day for R30 a tub.  This was well-received and the congregation was  enthusiastic about the whole morning.  It was very successful and the Toti Feeding programme will be  holding a soup morning at the end of July to raise more funds. The kitchen employed a kitchen co-ordinator since the start of the second quarter.

Pipe bands converge on Amanzimtoti from all over the country every year for the annual Highland Gathering. This year saw over 10 000 people came through the gates for a very loud and very festive time. The Toti kitchen had a stand at the event creating awareness of the Feeding programme with many people visiting the stand and asking questions.

A new way of doing sandwiches has been piloted in several schools. Rather than the sandwiches arriving anonymously from faceless people, the bread, peanut butter and Rama are being sent to the schools so that a collaboration of service can happen. This can take the form of a few non-working Mums from the community making the sandwiches, or a roster of school classes making the sandwiches for one-another.  The concept is that the community takes care of the community, rather than outsiders coming in to “fix” the community.

Improved and streamlined systems have been put in place and are enabling the programme to partner with many more churches, NPOs and local communities so that the programme can facilitate the work those groups are doing.

Babies’ Homes Update – 2nd Quarter

We are blessed with the willing volunteers who come on an ad hoc basis and those who are regulars at the Babies Homes. This programme is the one which attracts most volunteers, because it is easily accessible and because the little ones pull on heart strings very easily.

We have had two adoptions over the course of the year, though there has been a moratorium placed by the Department of Social Development on adoptions in KwaZulu-Natal over alleged child trafficking. We have also seen several placements of children and others being reunited with their birth families.

Approaches have been made to other babies’ homes with a view to establishing a network so that information and ideas can be shared and help given where needed.

Weekly management meetings have been instituted where development of the children is discussed, progress on adoptions is reviewed and surveys of repairs and maintenance are made.

Over the past few months, an informal pre-primary school has been running three mornings a week at the Babies’ Homes, giving the toddlers opportunity to learn about the basics: numbers and letters, colours and shapes. Liezel Andersson has done a wonderful job in setting the school up and engages with the children wonderfully well. A second volunteer has taken on the remaining two weekdays and so the school runs every morning for two hours during term time.

ECD update – 2nd Quarter

It has been an incredibly busy two quarters for our ECD team as we officially launched the Sibaya Trust Bright Beginnings programme as part of The Domino Foundation’s Early Childhood Development Programme in the Waterloo community. We met with 12 enthusiastic and motivated ECD owners and began Mentoring and Monitoring at the end of January 2017. The team visited each crèche on a weekly basis to oversee, support and empower owners and educators in implementing fundamental ECD practices as well as general governance of the ECD centres.

TRAINING AND SUPPORT

The rigorous schedule saw crèche owners take part in a number of training sessions throughout the first half of the year. Our nutritional partner JAM SA, conducted a training time on the importance of nutrition and began supplying monthly donations of porridge mix to each crèche. Proper nutrition is fundamental to a child’s growth and aids in the physical and cognitive development of each child.

During the April school holiday’s crèche owners attended a training time with our ECD partner, The Unlimited Child, where they were provided with high quality curriculum and resources which is focused on the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children between the ages of 0 – 5 years of age.

To ensure training was implemented in the crèches, our NQF Level 4 qualified field workers continued to visit each ECD centre on a weekly basis, providing much needed support, guidance and mentoring. Our team also held bi-monthly lesson planning and stimulation workshops at the Waterloo community centre where vital themes, techniques and lessons where re-emphasised with the educators.

RESOURCES AND DONATIONS

Our ECD team and beneficiaries were extremely encouraged by a number of volunteers and donors who have supported the programme this year. Blue Sky Society donated thousands of Cherub baby wipes to a number of ECD centres on our programme and students who attended our Community Service Work Week made story books, resources and playdough for each of our crèches.

 

We are extremely excited to see how the rest of the year unfolds in the ECD space and how the lives of the 683 learners are impacted through quality foundation phased Education.