Good Morning Angels: A "Green House" for Rays of Hope
Rays of
Hope was founded 27 years ago in response to the terrible circumstances that
people in Alexandra were living in every day.
BACKGROUND:
Today, Rays of Hope has grown to nine community-based projects in Alex, serving hundreds of vulnerable people, orphans and families through basic needs help, education and economic independence development. Included in Education is Early Childhood Development (upskilling those who run ECD centres for 0 – 6 years old; impacts over 850 children), RoseAct (assisting learners with Maths and English through a weekly Saturday school; 300 learners attend each week) and Ignition (supporting 20 post-matrics with further studies and mentoring).
Rays of Hope has the opportunity to buy a house “The Green House” in the cul-de-sac next to the premises they are operating from. They want to establish a skills program for school leavers (18 - 34) at the "Green House”. The house will be upgraded to provide space for two training rooms, a computer lab, counselling rooms for adults and children, a library and coffee shop, a recreational space for young people to “hang out”, and a catering kitchen.
The Skills Programme will include:
* life skills training,
* basic literacy through Adult Education and Training interventions,
* skills development through partnerships with various relevant training providers and SETAs,
* social support through counselling and coaching, supply and demand linkages,
* personality and career guidance,
* potential employment matching through corporate partnerships,
* capacity building for enterprise development and
* provision of access to social networks through partner companies and organisations
REQUEST FOR: Rays of Hope
ANGEL 1: Michelle de Witt, Head of Human Resources at Mediacom
SPONSORING: Mediacom will donate R50 000 toward Rays of Hope’s new Green House
ANGEL 2: Merissa Himraj, Business Unit Head, Wavemaker
SPONSORING: Wavemaker will contribute R100 000,00 towards buying the Green House for Rays of Hope!
ANGEL 3: Andrita Woodraj, Commercial Director of Wavemaker
SPONSORING: Another R25 000,00 towards buying the Green House for Rays of Hope!
ANGEL 4: Bonnie Cooper representing Romans Pizza and BonJoh
SPONSORING: R15 000 towards Rays of Hope’s new Green House
YOU CAN HELP: Donate directly to Rays of Hope
Banking detail:
Rays of Hope
Nedbank, Hyde Park
A/c no. 1972 126 903
Branch code: 197205
Swift code: NEDS ZA JJ (because we’re going to get international donations 😊)
Reference: Green House
Did you know?
Alexandra Township (Alex) celebrated its centenary in 2012. Its one-hundred-year history is a tale of conflict, hardship and extreme poverty. It is home to approximately 500,000 residents and has an estimated 20,000 plus informal dwellings or ‘shacks’, in only 8km2. Alex has been affected catastrophically by HIV/Aids, overcrowding, crime, lack of general infrastructure, the breakdown of family structure, and a lack of educational opportunities, resulting in a vicious cycle of unemployment and poverty. Even in post-Apartheid years, attempts at urban renewal have been slow, education facilities continue to be sub-standard, communal and political conflicts have continued, and most residents still live in appalling conditions.
Some facts about Alexandra:
- Massive unemployment: exceeding the national average of 66% for young people aged between 15 and 24 years, and 41% for those between 25 and 34 years.
- High levels of crime
- High-rate of teenage pregnancies: matching or possibly exceeding the national average of 1 per 100 young girls
- Significant destruction of life due to drug abuse; primarily nyaope, with very few resources available for rehabilitation
- Poor levels of education: up to 75 children in a class at a typical Alex school; many children leaving school still unable to read or write properly
- Limited societal role models as people move out of Alex when they “make” it
On the positive side:
- Friendly and vibrant, with some big names being associated with it – Nelson Mandela, Hugh Masekela and others
- Strong social enterprise vibe – giving back to the community is often seen through young people volunteering, running projects for school children, etc.
- Many, many necessity entrepreneurs, so not strictly entrepreneurship but trying to at least sell something to make ends meet