Royal Treatment...

Thanks to the generosity and kindness of Wiebke Ortmann, Deniesha Pillay and their colleagues at the Royal Hotel in Durban 36 children from Matimatolo set off in a bus to Durban for a Christmas Party held in their honour at the Royal Hotel. Some of these children have not left their community before and the bus was strangely quiet all the way down to Durban. Upon arrival at the Royal the children were greeted by the friendly staff and ushered up to the dining hall. Initially the children were very quiet and withdrawn, however by the time dessert came around they had lost their inhibitions and were chatting and laughing, in amongst two to three helpings of pudding. After lunch the children were presented with party packs and individual gifts. After saying our good byes we got back on the bus and the change in atmosphere was incredible. The children spoke animatedly about the party and many opened their gifts and took great joy in showing them to the others. I really was touched by the hearts of those at the hotel who were so keen to make a difference in the lives of these children and who definitely have left a lasting impression on each one of the children.

What an achievement...

At the end of a long and busy year I was very encouraged to receive feedback from the Family Facilitators of the Sikhulakahle project in Mbuba that only 14 of the 120 families involved in the project still require documents such as Birth Certificates and Identity Documents. In a community where many families have not been able to access documents this is a great achievement and a massive improvement from when the project started. I have been so encouraged by this group of ladies who have tried their best to assist the families to access services that they previously thought were unavailable to them. In 2010 our hope is that we can assist these 14 families to access documents and thus ensure that 100% of the families in the Sikhulakahle project have the documents they need.