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Archives 2003
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| Shoes,
Shoes, Shoes!
The
Nigel Caring Community Child Care Committee, shoes for orphans project leader, Juksy Kganyago, was
delighted to be one of only two projects in South Africa approved for
funding in 2003 by Alliance for Youth Achievement, an American based donor
organisation making a difference in the lives of orphans or children
living on the streets around the world.
The Dollars arrived and Mr Rob Cattell, the owner of Cattell’s Shoe
Centre in Springs, supplied the shoes. It was therefore with great excitement when the day came to
hand out shoes to the AIDS orphans from Duduza and surrounding areas.
It was a cold winter day in July and the orphans gathered with
their care-givers to collect their shoes and enjoy a warm lunch.
As you can see from this photograph some of the little people were
overwhelmed by the experience and stood in awe of the occasion.
Each orphan received a pair of school shoes, school socks and a tin
of polish to keep the shoes clean. They
were wished many comfortable miles of walking and there were many happy
smiles.
There is no public transport in the Nigel area and some children walk up
to an hour each way to and from school.
Child-headed families survive on a minimal grant from the
Provincial Government and cannot buy school shoes or uniform;
they depend on help from the emergency relief funds administered by
the NCC.
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Juksy
Kganyago |
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Tshepo Msimang who
stays with his grandmother as his parents passed away. He
wants to be a Doctor or a Social worker |
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| Pam
Golding Properties team up with Habitat for Humanity
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Pam
Golding Properties,
responded with alacrity when
approached by Cape Town advertising agency Joe Public, for
involvement in a dramatic and original pro bono ad created by
them for Habitat for Humanity.
The appeal for donations featured a black and white photograph
of a shack (reproduced in SAIF News with the kind
permission of PGP), placed alongside Pam Golding
Properties' advertisement for luxury residences in an upmarket
suburb in Cape Town.
Habitat for Humanity is a South African NGO providing a
sustainable approach to the housing needs of the poor in South
Africa.
Habitat works through a community development model that values
broad participation and a process known as 'sweat equity'.
They rely on the generosity of donors and sponsors who ensure that
they have the financial resources to house increasing numbers
of families in South Africa's communities.
Cornè Kritzinger, the Brand Manager working on the Habitat
for Humanity project at Joe Public, said a great deal of
credit for its success must go to Pam Golding Properties,
which not only donated the media space, but also have plans to
further entrench their commitment to the organization.
(PGP has committed to sponsoring a Christmas party at Kirstenbosch,
whereby all the proceeds will go to building a Habitat house
before Christmas.)
"Pam Golding Properties is well respected within local
and foreign markets," said Kritzinger, "and this has
definitely benefited Habitat for Humanity as the call for
donations has been amazing.
One potential foreign homebuyer just walked into a Pam Golding
International office and donated 200 Euros on the spot."
Anthony Stroebel, the PGP group's marketing director, says the
project forms part of the group's commitment to social
upliftment.
"There is a natural synergy between PGP, as South Africa's
largest independent real estate company and helping those from
previously disadvantaged communities to own their own homes.
PGP are currently involved in strategic discussions
with Habitat for Humanity for increasing their involvement and
have said that it will become one of their core upliftment
initiatives in the year ahead.
"Kelli Givens, fundraiser for Habitat for Humanity,
Johannesburg, summed up by saying “the potential is endless!”
This shack advertisement shows that that originality and
lateral thinking are more valuable than size or colour.
JOE PUBLIC’S PRO BONO ADS
Head Creative Chef of Joe
Public, Pepe Marais, commenting on the execution, said:
"Each year, Joe Public chooses a charity as a pro bono
client, as do many agencies countrywide. However,
we consciously elect to work with organisations that focus on
cultural or social issues – in 2002 our choice was Project
Literacy and in 2001 it was the Street People Project, for
example."
"Our selection is prompted by a desire to give back to
the community.
As a Cape Town agency, we are always delighted and proud to offer
our creative expertise towards a programme that goes to the
very heart of the city." Started in 1976 in Zaire,
Habitat for Humanity has grown into a worldwide movement
operating in over 67 countries, including South Africa, and
has built over 100,000 homes.
"Added to this – naturally – is the opportunity to
have our creative endeavours recognised by our peers: we won a
Vuka! Award and a Silver Loerie for the Project Literacy ad
last year and the year before our work for the Street People
Project won gold in the Eagle Print Awards."
SAIF comments:
the synergy between these organisations is wonderful example of a
partnership between business and a non-profit organisation
working together to solve a problem. It is hoped that this report will motivate more fundraisers
to seek out similar partnerships. However,
be cautious when you enter into this sort of relationship:
1. ensure that you are getting something out of the partnership,
and 2. it may not always come in the form that you expect!
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Peter
Laubscher, a member of SAIF and CEO of the Leprosy Mission was
asked by SAIF News to tell us how he sustains the interest of
the donor public in a forgotten disease and what follows is an
evocative account of his experience in both India and South
Africa. It makes
you think!
A
cow sticks her head through the side of the tuk-tuk and looks
at me with disdain when I fail to produce something for her to
eat. She sniffs
the floor of the cab and then returns to rummaging through the
contents of the alley.
Next to me a group of people are gathered round a well,
vigorously brushing their teeth.
It seems that they don’t have much to do today, as
the brushing ritual shows no sign of ending soon.
The smells of other ablutions waft through the stagnant
air. A stream of
children travel to and from the well with their water jars.
They step around a small bundle of rags on the
pavement. It
takes me a while to realise that that the bundle is a person
and an adult at that, her faded sari pulled over her head,
providing scant privacy and protection from the elements.
My clothes hang limply on me in the oppressive humidity, every
garment soaked with perspiration.
I feel dirty and embarrassed as I wait for my driver.
He seems to have left me in the middle of someone’s
home and I feel like an arrogant intruder, sitting here in the
middle of their … well, what it is it? Their
lounge? Their bathroom? Their
garden? Their bedroom? Yes,
it’s a street, but a street that many people in this part of
India call home.
A new driver steps out of the throng on the pavement and the
tuk-tuk belches into life.
Each driver gets so many hours a day to operate the
three-wheeler and to earn a few Rupees.
When his time is up, he has to hand over to the next
man on the list, even if half-way through a journey.
The tuk-tuk is open to the din of competing hooters and my
driver thinks I am open to suggestion.
‘Go for shopping?’
he asks me repeatedly.
Above the roar of a Tata truck which seems intent on
crushing us, I try to explain that I’m not really one for
shopping and all. Right
now I’d be happy to reach my hotel in one piece, which seems
unlikely if my driver continues to make U-turns in front the
deluge of cars that surge towards us, our only defence being
the feeble, flat squeak of the tuk-tuks hooter.
Fortunately, no-one expects you to observe any rules of
the road and somehow we all rumble along together, many of the
vehicles powered by compressed natural gas, making a major
contribution to the cleansing of the air in the cities of
India.
In the distance, the work of Sir Herbert Baker is visible.
Although veiled in smog, his trade-mark architecture is
clearly recognisable. It
seems ironic that Sir Herbert designed buildings for the
Government of India and the Government of South Africa, which
for all those years were at opposing ends of the political
spectrum. At
least Sir Herbert had the joy of seeing his buildings
completed. Modern
Delhi architects are not so fortunate.
In places, austere concrete monoliths stand half-built,
covered in black mildew. People desperate for a place to live hang threadbare curtains
over the yawning doorways and make their homes in these
crumbling, dank labyrinths.
In the nearby fields, smoothed as if by a giant rake,
the waters of the monsoon form pans in which buffalo and dogs
wallow, sheltering from the intense heat.
A beggar on the pavement stretches out her misshapen hands to
me. The cruel
effects of leprosy are clearly visible.
India is home to 80% of the 620 000 people world-wide who get
leprosy each year.
I’m in Delhi to meet with Leprosy Mission friends from
around the world to discuss ways of improving our services to
people suffering from leprosy and it’s lifelong effects,
chief of which is the loss of feeling in hands and feet.
Untreated leprosy damages the nerves that supply
feeling to the extremities and simple tasks like walking and
cooking become dangerous for patients who have not been taught
to live with numb limbs.
A hot cup of tea may cause a blister on the finger which when
infected, triggers a process leading to the absorption of the
bone. Extensive
injuries to the hands may cause the fingers to recede
completely. Walking,
especially with bare feet or shoes that fit poorly, leads to
the destruction of the feet.
This absorption of toes and fingers is the reason why
so many people believe that leprosy causes limbs to fall-off
the body, a myth that persists in many parts of the world.
It’s not only the treatment of leprosy that we’ve come to
talk about in Delhi. We
also discuss plans to raise even more funds to make sure that
our work in South Asia can grow.
High on the agenda is the importance of reaching India’s
growing middle class with fund raising appeals. Some people
put the size of this increasingly affluent group at a
staggering 300 million people. In the foyer of the YMCA, I see the middle class growing
before my eyes. A
group of young people, elegantly dressed in beautiful saris,
wait patiently to be interviewed for jobs as call centre
workers. These
young people speak impeccable English and it makes sense for
British companies to outsource call-centre operations to
India, where wages are much lower than in Europe.
Labour unions in the West talk about jobs being ‘sent
overseas’ and it’s fascinating to see the reality of this
statement at first hand.
Until recently, the Leprosy Mission’s fund-raising
activities have been fragmented in India.
There hasn’t been any growth in income and expenses
are eating away at the small sums that are raised.
The plan is to roll-out a comprehensive programme over
the next year with some strict targets in place.
Previous fund-raising activities have included
celebrity performances, but it is difficult to build a
sustainable income from what South Africans call ‘special
events’. We plan to test direct-mail and it will be
interesting to see how the Indian community responds to this
concept. New
leaders for the fundraising programme have been appointed and
their brooms are sweeping.
Most of the money needed for the work of the Leprosy Mission
in India comes from ‘the Big Five’ – fundraising
divisions of the Mission in England and Wales, Australia, New
Zealand, Canada and Switzerland.
The Leprosy Mission has fundraising offices in many
other countries and all use a mix of direct mail and bequest
promotion to raise the approximately R60 000 000 needed to
fund leprosy work in the 26 countries in which it cares for
leprosy patients. Several of the major supporting countries also have access to
substantial overseas development funds from their governments.
In a few places, T V plays a major role in raising support.
There is a big debate about accepting government and other
institutional grants, which often come with formidable
reporting requirements that fall on the shoulders of already
busy doctors and programme managers.
Fund-raisers appreciate the way that these big grants
keep cost ratios low. Some
of our fundraising programmes have cost ratios of 7%, way
below the 30% - 40% ratios common in programmes that depend on
direct mail. Apart
from the reporting requirements of the big funders, we also
worry about the risk of becoming ‘donor-driven’ although
so far, most people agree that the requirements of the big
donors have lead to improved professionalism in the way we run
our programmes.
Large donations have played a significant role in our work in
India. The
building where we meet is called the Princess Diana Media
Centre and was built with funds donated to the Trust founded
in memory of the Princess.
The Leprosy Mission was one of the few charities of
which Princess Diana remained a patron towards the end of her
life. Our media
centre is an oasis of beauty in the bleak landscape outside
Delhi. Other
designated funding has helped us expand hospitals and more
recently has lead to the establishment of community-based
programmes, where every one benefits from the intervention of
the Leprosy Mission and not just leprosy patients.
For now, the big donations will stay, but we know that the
time may come when these agencies move onto new issues and
leprosy becomes a forgotten disease.
There is accordingly a lot of discussion about how to
sustain the interest of the supporting public in leprosy.
We will need the loyalty of our supporters for many
years if we are to provide services for the 85 000 leprosy
patients diagnosed each year by Leprosy Mission workers.
The Leprosy Mission has created an international loan fund,
which can be accessed to develop such support amongst the
public. Tough criteria are in place to make sure that loans
aren’t wasted on fruitless ideas.
Business plans have to be benchmarked against the
best-practices of the fund-raising sector.
It’s not only the big issues that get debated in Delhi.
The focus shifts to the frustration amongst our
surgeons. They
have developed amazing operations which restore mobility to
paralysed hands, feet and eyelids by transferring good tendons
to muscles which no longer work.
Thousands of people need these operations.
The Leprosy Mission offers surgery free of charge, as
it does with all of its services to leprosy patients, but for
many people the operations are still out of reach.
The recovery process entails several weeks of
hospitalisation, which the poorest of the poor cannot afford,
as they will lose their wages for the period that they are
away from work.
Some people feel we should pay the patients to come to
hospital to receive this life-changing operation. Others feel
that we should at least offer support to the family whilst the
patient is not earning. A
few are horrified at the thought of creating dependency in
this way. There
is no easy resolution to this debate and in the meantime,
thousands of patients continue to suffer needlessly with
paralysed extremities.
Providing for the growing health needs of India is a challenge
to which there are no simple answers, but it is inspiring to
hear how individual communities are taking steps to help
themselves. Some
villages have already created their own medical aid schemes,
with everyone in the village contributing a small mount of
money each month to a rotating fund, similar to our South
African Stokvels. The money is used to pay for monthly visits by health workers
who attend to the basic needs of the village.
At village level, the Leprosy Mission has many programmes to
help recovering patients take their place in society.
Loans are provided for people to buy anything from
buffalo to rickshaws with which to support themselves.
The vibrant village economies and diminishing fear of
leprosy ensure that there is a steady stream of costumers for
the products or services offered by leprosy patients.
In one village, a beneficiary of a loan to buy a
rickshaw shows his gratitude by bowing down and kissing my
feet. I take a
rickshaw for a spin and drive into a ditch – the break
handle operates the bell, India's number one safety device...
My embarrassment is multiplied beyond counting when I find
I’m too weak to lift the rickshaw onto the road.
Most loan recipients have an excellent repayment record
and there are few defaulters.
Village visits have their lighter side.
My guide tells me that we’re on our way to see a
patient who received ‘books’ with which to support
himself. I am baffled. How
would anyone support themselves with books?
After bumping down cobbled roads that lead though the
rice paddies, the mystery is solved.
The patient has received a grant for goats.
In Hindi, the ‘o’ sound is very open and goat
sounds like book to the untrained ear!
Progress with leprosy treatment is encouraging, but there are
some hefty challenges. Leprosy
treatment in India is now integrated into the general health
care programme, which means that Leprosy Mission workers have
to devote a lot of time to training other health workers about
the basics of leprosy care.
Much has been done to simplify the diagnosis of leprosy
and to streamline its treatment.
The Leprosy Mission is also pushing out a hefty raft of
research projects. Our
hospitals in India give the Leprosy Mission an ideal base from
which to conduct research into many unresolved mysteries
surrounding leprosy, chief of which is why it continues to
affect so many people in South Asia.
The leprosy situation in South Africa is of course quite
different and new patient numbers have declined steadily in
recent years. The
Leprosy Mission cares for about 3 000 people affected by
leprosy in South Africa.
Most of these people have completed leprosy treatment,
but are in some way affected by the lifelong effects of
leprosy, which are often emotional and spiritual as much as
they are physical. The
Leprosy Mission Southern Africa raises all of its own funds
from within the country.
No foreign funding is received as the leprosy needs
elsewhere are so much greater.
Most of our income is generated through direct mail and
bequests.
In South Africa, the main challenge is to shorten the time
between the onset of leprosy and the time that it is diagnosed
and treated. Some
patients wait for twenty years before leprosy treatment is
started and this of course leads to many complications.
We are also exploring ways to help patients support
themselves. Ideally, we would like to bring patients together
in support-groups to share expertise and offer one another
encouragement, but this isn’t easy as most patients live
over widely scattered areas.
Several patients have had great success in running their own
businesses, but for many, life is tough and as one Leprosy
Mission worker puts it, ‘Leprosy is not even the worst of
their problems’. Some
patients are busy producing craft items from recycled plastic
bags and the market for these items is growing.
Will this lead to the creation of a sustainable
business? We don’t know, but we do hope that the lessons learnt
though these schemes will help many other patients develop
their own projects.
Will leprosy always be the focus for the Leprosy Mission?
This is a question the Mission is asking at the moment
and many people around the world are contributing to a debate
about how we will retain our relevance.
We plan to finalise these plans next year and it seems
likely that leprosy will remain at the core of our vision.
It will remain a challenge to raise funds for this
obscure disease, which most people believe to be a disease of
the distant past, but I have learnt that our society is
blessed with many compassionate citizens who never grow weary
of doing good by helping others in need.
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Presentation
given by Christine Fortuin to Members and Guests of Gauteng Branch
at their year-end function in Johannesburg 20th November
2003
“LET
ME WIN. BUT IF I CANNOT WIN, LET ME BE BRAVE IN THE ATTEMPT”
Christine
is a person of many years experience in the not-for-profit world, having
worked both on the corporate donor side and in latter years on the
fundraising side. (Many of
you may know her from her days with Coca Cola!)
Her presentation to the Branch was motivating and entertaining as
she shared her trials and triumphs, peppered with amusing asides, while
raising enough money and finally getting the athletes to Ireland for the
Special Olympics in June this year.
Christine
has been a volunteer board member of the Special Olympics South Africa for
10 dedicated years. She
explained that Special Olympics is an international programme of
year-round sports training and athletic competition for persons with
intellectual disability. The
programme offers a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults
by giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness,
demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in sharing of gifts,
skills and friendships with families, other Special Olympics athletes and
the community.
The
organization was hoping to send a team to Dublin, Ireland for the World
Summer Games in the month of June, but they had no funds and therefore
started by compiling an information brief and value proposition document
outlining the goals and the partnerships they could offer.
Christine
emphasized how much the corporate world wanted to be associated with this
high profile event – they had worked hard to create the appropriate
awareness over the years and the fact that her friend Nelson Mandela was
associated with the Special Olympics of course made all the difference.
Christine
explained that although some donations came from social responsibility
budgets most of it came from marketing and endorsement. This was achieved by leveraging brand building and CSI
strategies.
Examples
of their sponsorship achievements were
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Air tickets for the delegation to travel to
Dublin
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Sports
Kit
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Monitory support from Minister of sport
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Irish Ambassador
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Various other sponsorships from Corporate and
Banks
All
the efforts of the volunteers of Special Olympics South Africa
demonstrated the commitment, passion and team spirit that existed amongst
everyone to achieve the ultimate and that was to get the team participate
in the 2003 World Summer Games in Dublin.
She said that as South Africans they were made to feel very welcome and
enjoyed the spectacular hospitality and affection of the Irish people
Christine concluded by commenting
that 35 000 people volunteered for the event, this was remarkable and
something South Africans should consider doing for our country.
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