ECD Effect 11/14

This past Saturday we hosted a Creche Owner Christmas Party in Amaoti. This was a time to gather all 32 creche owners and staff and thank them for a year of hard work. They have invested their time and talents into educating the little stars of our future and we would like to thank them for partnering with The Domino Foundation in impacting the lives of over 1000 children each day!

There was an abundance of joy and dance at the party and an incredible time was had by all! We’re excited for the new year ahead and to achieve new goals and impact the community.

 

Read more from our November Domino Effects Newsletter:

Babies Home Effect

Life Skills Effect

Literacy Effect

Feeding Effect

General Overview

Babies Home Effect – 11/14

125 Adelaide Tambo Drive

With the unveiling of the new community centre happening this month, our beautiful new babies home (an extension of Fairhavens) has also now been officially opened! So for November’s newsletter we’ve decided to take you on a tour of the new home and introduce you to this home’s crisis mother.

This section of the house will be where our toddlers and babies sleep. The room is spacious and full of light, making a happy environment for our tots to sleep peacefully and soundly.

 

 

 

 

This bathroom/toilet area comes directly off the babies’ bedroom which is greatly ideal.

 

 

The living area of the new home allows space for the children to play and be themselves and for the staff to relax.

 

 

 

 

This room of the home will be for the crisis mom and her daughter to live in. It also has an en-suite bathroom.

Meet Precious!

Precious is our new home’s crisis mother. She has worked at Fairhavens for a number of years and among being caring and loving, she is an amazing leader and manager. Her and her daughter will be living in the home and taking care of all the beautiful tots that will come through it’s doors. 

Read more from our November Domino Effects Newsletter:

ECD Effect

Life Skills Effect

Literacy Effect

Feeding Effect

General Overview

New Community Center Unveiled

On the 19^th of November, Durban North’s newest Babies Home (an extension of Domino’s Babies Homes: Fairhavens) was officially unveiled! A cocktail party was held on the day to celebrate this prestigious moment. Many men and women gathered to be entertained by live music and tour the new beautiful home, situated directly next door to Fairhavens.

For 10 years Fairhavens Babies Home has been a beacon of hope and a safe haven for abandoned babies from all walks of life. The success of the home, together with the good governance of our NPO has led to a businessman buying the house next door and signing a 10 year use agreement with the Domino Foundation. Our main mission is to impact as many people as we can and it is a passion of ours to serve the community in as many ways as possible – in saying this, this new opportunity has totally astounded us and made us even more hopeful to see our nation changed and bettered.

Mel Turner, Project Leader of the Babies Home: “We’ve seen God’s provision for this new babies home right from the start…and I believe our impact in the area of justice for abandoned children will be multiplied. I believe God is going to increase our influence and even move us into a space of assisting birth mothers in crisis. I’m also excited to see one of our longstanding staff Precious Thabethe, move on into the new responsibility of crisis care mother.”

It is our intention and privilege to open up the new home as a second Fairhavens as well as a community counselling center.

The two roles of the new home:

1. The unravelling of this new opportunity for The Domino Foundation allows us to extend our capacity for abandoned babies, as the Child Care Act only allows us 6 babies per home. So we look forward to being able to accommodate more beautiful abandoned children and be the link that connects them to their forever families.
2. The crisis center will offer free counselling, in the area of crisis pregnancies in teenagers, child abuse and family trauma. A new space means a greater opportunity for Domino’s skilled therapists and counselors to impact the community and speak life into the driest areas in peoples’ lives.

 

The Hope Market: Domino’s Veggie Tale.

On the 1st of November a Christmas Hope Market was held at Grace Family Church. This is a non-profit, community development initiative that seeks to offer opportunities to emerging business men and women to generate income and learn from the basic business experience of selling their home-made, hand-made or crafted products.

We were invited to take along some of the awesome produce from our Vegetable Tunnels in Brookdale and sell them to raise funds for the running of this project that has just been more and more fruitful.

This year, the stalls were encouraged to bring a poster sharing their story and message. Domino’s ‘Veggie Tale’ is easy. Our vegetables go to Fresh Produce Wholesalers who buy it from us OR (and mostly) to our Soup Kitchen. These veggies are either sold to bring funds back to enable the running of the kitchen or used in delicious soups that feed thousands daily!

The market was an amazing success – it was well attended and earned us some awesome exposure. People became interested in our story and we sold out all of our produce! We love the constant support we are given by the community and look forward to more fun days like this ahead!

 

 

 

 

 

 

General Overview 10/14

October has been a truly amazing month! We’ve seen some beautiful miracles at our babies home, had an amazing Pamper Day for school girls in Amaoti and even summit-ted a mountain in Switzerland!

This month a new-born baby was placed on the doorstep of our local babies home: Fairhavens. The baby was abandoned at midnight and left in a blanket at our gate where her crying was heard by staff members who went quickly to help. The baby girl, estimated to be a week old, was wrapped in a blanket, had a cloth nappy and a piece of string tied around its umbilical cord. The baby was immediately taken to the hospital for a check up and she was declared well and healthy! Read all about this beautiful story here…

 

 

On the 22^nd of October 110 girls from Amaoti 3 School travelled to COGS Durban North for a day filled with informative talks, amazing food and awesome pampering! The 13-16 year old age group for girls is a time of adolescence, growing up and change so we see it as important to give these girls the tools and knowledge they need to be inspired and encouraged in a positive, safe and relaxing way. The girls were treated to 4 inspirational talks by various speakers, all relating to empowering women to take pride in themselves and live a happy life. Hear more about this awesome day by clicking here.

 

Shaun Tait, The Domino Foundation’s marketing and Communication Extraordinaire embarked on a journey this month to join the ‘West2East’ crew as they tackle the final leg of their mission – walking across Switzerland to raise funds for our Abandoned Babies’ Home: Fairhavens. Former South Africans, Dana Kleu (15) and her dad, Patrick started their expedition at the beginning of the year and have raised a remarkable 3,506 CHF (Swiss Francs) since. The journey for her has not only encouraged her to cross physical obstacles in her life, but emotional ones at that too – since the beginning of her ‘walking’ adventure she has become more confident within herself and been driven to make a change and enforce the ‘Domino Effect’ WORLDWIDE! Find out about this crazy adventure here!

 

This Christmas, join in The Domino Christmas Story and spread the festive joy! Help package Christmas ‘loveboxes’ for vulnerable children in the Amaoti township. We work with 32 crèches on our ECD programme and benefit over 1000 children on a daily basis.We are wanting to place a Christmas present into the hands of each of these children on Christmas day to share the love and make a difference in the lives of these little ones.

Read more about this awesome drive here.

 

 

 

 

Read more from the October 14 Domino Effects Newsletter here:

Babies Home Effect

Life Skills Effect

Literacy Effect

ECD Effect

Feeding Effect

A Pampered Body, A Pampered Spirit.

On the 22^nd of October 110 girls from Amaoti 3 School travelled to COGS Durban North for a day filled with informative talks, amazing food and awesome pampering! The 13-16 year old age group for girls is a time of adolescence, growing up and change so we see it as important to give these girls the tools and knowledge they need to be inspired and encouraged in a positive, safe and relaxing way.

The girls were treated to 4 inspirational talks by various speakers, all relating to empowering women to take pride in themselves and live a happy life.

#1 REACH FOR YOUR DREAMS

The girls were encouraged by KwaMashu Social Worker: Mpume Thusi who was a teenage parent that persevered through her circumstances and reached her goal of becoming a Social Worker. She made the most of her situation and obtained her matric and then proceeded to finish her degree through UNISA, doing her last year through The Domino Foundation.

#2 LIVE A HEALTHY, HAPPY LIFE

Nkululekho Ngcobo is a young food-fanatic who is passionate about helping young people live a life that is healthy and balanced. She enlightened the girls with an exercise and eating plan that would benefit them for years to come.

#3 GROOMING AND BASIC SKINCARE

Vanilla Bar’s beauty therapist, Andy Oliver volunteered her time and even closed her salon for the day to come and speak about how to look after your skin in an easy, affordable way.

#4 YOU CAN DO IT!

The 4^th and final speech was a more personal one. Mandy Hlope is a matric student at Amaoti 3 who was one of the first members of our Girls’ Club. Mandy was a source of encouragement and hope as she spoke about how the foundations she learnt at Girls’ Club lead her to a better life where she was in control. She showed the girls that their futures could be bright if they let them be. They can look forward to what’s ahead!

Why are these type of days important?

A pampered spirit is just as important as a pampered person. We try to engage in as many activites as possible like this with the girls we work alongside with. They not only get to interact with each other in a safe environment, but tackle important issues that face them daily. We get to play a part in the positive uplifting of over 100 girls and we are honoured to have this privilege!

Shaun’s Swiss Adventure!

Shaun Tait, The Domino Foundation’s marketing and Communication Extraordinaire has embarked on a journey to join the ‘West2East’ crew as they tackle the final leg of their mission – walking across Switzerland to raise funds for our Abandoned Babies’ Home: Fairhavens.

Shaun (left) and Dana (right)

Former South Africans, Dana Kleu (15) and her dad, Patrick started their expedition at the beginning of the year and have raised a remarkable 3,506 CHF (Swiss Francs) since.

The journey for her has not only encouraged her to cross physical obstacles in her life, but emotional ones at that too – since the beginning of her ‘walking’ adventure she has become more confident within herself and been driven to make a change and enforce the ‘Domino Effect’ WORLDWIDE!

Shaun and the crew begin the final leg of their race on Thursday the 16^th, hiking to the easternmost point of Switzerland (Piz Chavalatsch.) They reached the peak and Shaun didn’t even have to be airlifted out! The Alps were conquered and funds are still streaming in. They came and they CONQUERED!

Follow the entire journey on our platform for sporting enthusiasts worldwide who support The Domino Foundation – www.charitychasersblogspot.wordpress.com

Hunger and Malnutrition.

Every person feels hungry at some time or other – it’s our bodies’ natural way of letting us know that we need something to eat. There is a very easy way to aid one’s hunger – just eat some food.

But how accessible is food to the individual?

Linked closely to this is MALNUTRITION. People with malnutrition lack the nutrients necessary for their bodies to grow and stay healthy. Someone can be malnourished for a long or short period of time, and the condition may be mild or severe. Malnutrition relates to WHAT you eat and not HOW MUCH you eat – a person may never be hungry but can be seriously malnourished because they are not feeding their body with the vital nutrients that they need every day.

• Hunger kills MORE people a year than Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria combined.
• According to the UN World Food Programme, 925 million people in the world don’t have enough to eat. That’s more than the entire population of the United States, Canada, and the European Union.
• In South Africa, 12 million people will go to bed hungry every night.
• The scariest of all these statistics, is that it hits home hard – 87% of Kwa-Zulu Natal is in a state of hunger and ultimately, malnourishment.

How does The Domino Foundation combat these statistics?

•  Every day, we feed approximately 1500 children porridge and soup daily from our community-based Soup Kitchen.
• We also make 4320 sandwiches weekly from our Sandwich Kitchen in Durban North.
• It is a priority to us to make sure that we not only combat hunger but also malnutrition – all of the foods we send out are packed with nutrients and vitamins to aid in every impacted lives’ development.

That’s a remarkable 11800 tummies that are being fed WEEKLY wholesome food HIGH in nutrition.

 

• Whether the problem is malnutrition or hunger, the solution to the problem is simple: FOOD. One of our most recent ventures are our Brookdale Vegetable Tunnels which aim to not only improve food security but also educate the community on how to successfully grow their own vegetables and produce for their families.

Our vision is to feed the hungry in their most desperate time of need. As the number of volunteers and donors grow, we move closer to realising our dream of communities where no child is too hungry to concentrate and learn.We have taken up the challenge to take a stand against both hunger AND malnutrition and you can too! There are many ways to get involved, be it making sandwiches at our kitchen or just donating. 

Visit www.domino.org.za to stay informed and make a change.

 

 

We want to hear from YOU!

Read more from the September Domino Effects Newsletter here:

General Overview

Babies Home Effect

Literacy Effect

Life Skills Effect

ECD Effect

Feeding Effect

Take Action. Inspire Change. Serve your local comminty.

This year The Domino Foundation is needing YOUR help as we celebrate International Mandela Day on Friday 18 July 2014.

Join us at 125 and 127 Adelaide Tambo (formerly Kensington Drive) in Durban North to spend your 67 minutes Taking action, Inspiring change & serving your local community. We are setting up a number of ACTION STATIONS on our 2 adjacent properties. You have the option to participate in a number of activities, so pick an ACTION STATION, bring your items, and put everything together on the day!

We will also have a 6m x 7m ‘DONATION STATION’ where you can drop off spare clothes, blankets, shoes, project items and groceries over and above your chosen activity. So clean out your cupboards, get your colleagues to do the same and bring along some extra donations on the day!

Final details:
– Venue: 125 – 127 Adelaide Tambo (Kensington Drive)
– Parking: Limited roadside parking, we encourage car-pooling
– Refreshments: We will have a self-service tea garden on site

Action Station 1: SARMIE STACKS.
Spend your #67minutes at The Sarmie Stack Station and make peanut butter sandwiches for the hungry. Challenge your colleagues and friends to make 100, 200 or even 300 sandwiches! Bring along the ingredients below, grab your friends and lets take action, inspire change and serve our local community. More details and sign-up forms here: http://ow.ly/yQPHl

Action Station 2: HOLIDAY HAMPERS.
At our HOLIDAY HAMPERS Station, volunteers will bring along items from the list below; sort, package & wrap their hampers; and have the opportunity to write an encouragement card for families in need! These hampers will be distributed to families that are struggling in our community, which have been identified through local schools and our counselling centre. Each parcel is valued at R500; and consists of various groceries and toiletry items. So grab your mates, bring some goodies and let’s help feed our community.
All details and sign-up forms are available here: http://ow.ly/yQPHl
• Please note: If you select this Action Station, please ensure you have purchased the necessary items beforehand to sort, package and wrap your own hamper on the day.

Action Station 3: JERSEYS IN JULY.
Our JERSEYS IN JULY station will help provide relief to community members during this freezing winter. Drop off Jerseys, blankets, tracksuits and other warm clothing so we can create winter parcels for Amaoti. All details and sign-up forms are available here: http://ow.ly/yQPHl

ACTION STATION 4: Project Paella.
A mix and match donation basket for all 5 Domino projects. Here you can collect 1 or more essential items per programme and put together your own personalised parcels. Bring items from the list below and help us continue our work as we change lives and change communities.

RSVP by 16 July to Sandy at the office 031-563 9605 or via email: volunteer@domino.org.za to book a time slot and Take action. Inspire Change. And help make EVERYDAY a Mandela Day!

More details and information is available at www.domino.org.za/mandeladay

#Mandeladay #time2serve

April General Overview

April was a month of many awesome events, from Easter egg hand-outs to a successful Tour Durban!

For 10 years, The Domino Foundation has had the privilege of working with some incredible people, men and women who fight for the well being of those who are abandoned, lost and needy. It is therefore with great excitement that we are able to welcome a new member to our diverse team this month, Lance Turner.

Just to clue you up a bit about who Lance is, where he is from and what he brings to the table for Domino, we asked a few questions and he gave us a few answers:

A bit about Lance’s background:

Lance was born in the Mother City (Cape Town) some 46 years ago and was raised in Durbanville. He graduated in 1988 from The University of Cape Town with a B.Comm in Accounts.

How Lance adds to the Domino Foundation:

Named as the “Chief Operations Officer” Lance works closely with the Vegetable Tunnels to ensure that they are maintained – his heart is to grow them into an enterprise deve
lopment project.

What Lance does in his free time:

One of Lance’s favourite hobbies is…wait for it…Playstation 3! He also greatly enjoys spending time with his ‘favourite girls’ – wife, Mel Turner (Project Leader of Fairhaven’s – Domino’s Babies Home) and two daughters, Hanne (12) and Morgan (8).

Making a difference is his goal and as a team we feel super privileged to witness how this man’s passion is fuelled and the amazing outworking that God will continue to do through his life. To read more about Lance’s work history and life, read his story here.

 

The Tour Durban was once again a memorable event this year-  one city. 3 different routes. 105 kilometres. 4000 cyclists! Once again this year Domino was given the opportunity to enter in a team of 13 from the Amaoti community, who were all well equipped with bikes and riding gear. Overall, there were over 50 riders who tackled the race in our awesome Domino gear and The Domino Foundation was also privileged enough to be once again a beneficiary of the race. Read more about this incredible day here
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Over 3600 marshmallow eggs were handed out this Easter to learners in Amaoti. We are so grateful for the incredible response to donating from all over Durban, thank you
for sharing the joy! To read more about this story, click here.

Read more from our April Newsletter here:

Feeding Effect

Literacy Effect

Life Skills Effect

Babies Home Effect

ECD Effect