Total Pageviews

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Birthdays , E'Pap,Hobby Horses & lots of spoils !!


ENKOSI Jill & JennyL !!!
Wow ! 2 weeks have already sped past since the last update ! We now have 27 new members and our little blog has been viewed nearly 700 times ! I think we are certainly getting the word out..good for all of us !! The veggie garden is staring to look fabulous..thank-you so much to all who donated to our seed fund. It is wonderful to see all the rows and rows of gorgeous green stuff happening ! The 18 new blankets purchased with donations from JenniLynn and Jill were very well received ..thank-you Jeanne for helping me hem them !! We have just had a very cold snap..I am sure there were some very snuggly happy little rug rats at school last week ! We also received 3 beautiful new books from Lucy & Leah Knight in Australia  (aren't those Aussies fantastic ??)Thank-you  Lucy and Leah..your books have a very special home !!  A WONDERFUL donation from the huge hearted Cornelius family in Montana USA purchased some more lovely books, puzzles , a CD and a fabulous new pot for Lorna the cook !! She was SO thrilled with her pot (her old ones leak all over the stove and cause her such trouble !!) She danced a little jig all around the kitchen and couldn't contain her glee !! THANK-YOU beautiful people..you are all just amazing !!

Love from Lucy and Leah in Australia !
Such big spoils from Montana !











New additions to the fantasy corner !
Our hobby-horses were greeted with much excitement (and a bit of trepidation at first !! The kids were'nt too sure what to make of them !! HAHAHA!!) ..once they realized what they were for there was no stopping them !! Howard made a little stand for them that Lauren very skillfully erected on the wall ..what a lovely addition to the rather sad little fantasy corner !! Lauren also taught the kids to write " I ♥U " and they were quite enthralled , running around shouting I LOOOVE YOU on top of their voices !!! 

Happy birthday to YOUUUUUU !!!
There was great excitement when birthday girl Debbie Lees arrived with all the gifts donated at her and Dave Tapson's combined birthday party ..THANK-YOU for making Siphucule your beneficiaries !! We had such a fun morning..the local rag did a little write-up , we had cupcakes and songs ..plus Debbie was treated to a lusty rendition of Happy Birthday to you in English and in Xhosa !! Sybil and Jeanne also joined in the fun..it was so great to have you all there !



LOVING Debbie's special day !

Birthdays are such fun !

 














 

Can we have more tomorrow ?
I was very very very excited to discover a fabulous porridge , E'Pap, which is used extensively in feeding schemes through out the country and across our borders. I was so humbled to discover such amazing people out there..E'pap was developed by a wonderfully caring scientist in Gauteng in his bid to alleviate starvation and malnutrition in our country. I have already introduced it to the school and am pleased to announce that Siphucule is the very first school in this area initiate it ! It has been very well received..it is so easy to prepare..just add warm water ! No cooking..no milk added..no sugar added and only 2 tablespoons of powder is enough to meet ALL the nutritional needs of a little one for the day . Best of all..it is DELICIOUS and very filling  . A packet of  E'Pap costs only R13.50 and is enough to feed 20 kids..so our school needs 4 packets a day which equates to just over R1000.00 a month ! I would LOVE sponsors for this scheme ..I already have 2 stop orders which covers a week . I am determined to get a full on feeding scheme going to provide a nourishing meal to ALL the little impoverished hungry kids in our area , not just Siphucule. It is heart breaking to discover how many go to school hungry ! A commitment of a very small amount of money each month would make the world of difference . A beautiful soul in Richards Bay..Sarah.. has very admirably given up smoking and has committed the amount that she would have spent on cigs a month to my E'Pap scheme !! Sarah ..you are FABULOUS !!! I am so proud of you !
Happy Lorna with her new pot ! ENKOSI !!!

 Sooo.all exciting lovely things happening ! We are making a difference !!! Thank-you all once again for your ongoing love and support !
Big hugs..Kay XXXX

 P.S. Don't forget to click the link on the RH side to see lots more pics in our Web album !!!




Loving our new blankies !

E'Pap trial ..think they like it ??

Veggie garden looking wonderful !
And blue for the boys !!







Lauren spreading some love !!


Spring has sprung at Siphucule !!
Admiring their spoils from Dave & Debbie's birthday !











Sunday, September 4, 2011

Books Blankies and Cuddly toys !!

From the wonderful "other" Tynans !
This week we delivered the wonderful pile of books from the "other" Tynans and some from the Harrison's.. all from Australia via The Book Depository ..( WOW !! those guys from DownUnder are amazing !!)  HUGE excitement all round as you can see from the pics . It is so heart warming to see the joy that a new book brings..even though they can't read the words yet they so love looking at the pictures . They have a story time everyday and the teachers read the books and explain the story in Xhosa . Jeanne also does a pretty good job at reading to them but both her and I have a long way to go learning some basic Xhosa for "Shhhhhhhh !! " '' Sit down " " Don't climb up the book shelf" "Don't sit on your friend's head" etc HAHAHA !!
♥ Love from the Harrisons ! ♥
Another lovely treat for them on Wednesday  were 5 lovely cuddly polar fleece blankies made by Lynne Cordell and her sister Claire as well as a pile of soft toys . Thank-you so much you guys..your support and love is so fabulous !! My PayPal button is working very well and I have been getting some very unexpected love from all over the world !! Yesterday I bought more fleece fabric for another 18 blankies with donations from Jill in Bournemouth and JenniLynn in America ..how fabulous is THAT ???
SUCH joy and excitement !!
Enkosi  !!
We have a "Birthday club"  here where everyone having birthdays in that month have a combined party. August heralded  Debbie Lees and Dave Tapson's special days and they so generously made Siphucule their beneficiaries instead of receiving personal gifts !! THANK-YOU BirthdayPeople !!! Debbie is away at the moment but as soon as she gets back we look forward to delivering the pile of goodies they received !
LOVING the new blankies !!

 We also had a "Hobby-Horse" workshop last week and 5 of us made 10 wonderful , funny looking stick horses !! WAY TO GO Lauren, Jeanne, Marion and lovely Lynne ..We are all very proud of our combined efforts and will be delivering them tomorrow ..should be a great 'photo op !! (Only trouble is the little one's get SO excited I can't get them to pose and most of my pics a blurred !!! ) The "Talk of the Town " (our weekly newspaper) will most likely be there for pics ..great way to get some coverage !! Woo-Hoo !! Watch this space for pics !!

Thank-you Charlotte !
Absorbed in the lovely books !
On a not so happy note the school is really battling this month .. their grant was much less because of the July holidays (they only get funding for when the kids are present) . The Port Alfred Soup kitchen is now donating 5 loaves of bread and some soup powder 3 times week for which they are very grateful ...we are looking at ways of stretching the food budget without compromising the little one's nutrition .
 Any ideas would be most welcome !  The veggie garden is slowly looking much healthier now although only a bit of spinach is ready to eat at the moment..wish we could hurry it along !! My lovely Grand daughter Emily turned 5 last week and part of her gift were big tins of cabbage, onion and beetroot seeds ..Thank-you Em ..I hope your very special seeds grow quickly XXX The staff are fund raising like crazy because obviously feeding the kids comes first and their salaries will only be what ever is left over ..looks like they will be getting less than a R1000.00 each this month ! Rejoice has acknowledged that there are too many adults and 3 of them are past retirement age now..the committee is holding a meeting tomorrow to explain to these 3 that the school can no longer sustain them   ..all a bit depressing :(
Anyway..the little one's are a joy and we are all collectively making a difference..THANK-YOU !! Keep checking in so you can keep up to date with the latest developments !! You can follow by email now :)
..and the duck goes QUACK !! Jeanne doing a stirling job !!
Lots of Love..Kay