Stellenbosch | Prochorus

Aftercare Centre

Prochorus — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 09:19:03 +0000

Our Educare Centre exists to provide the scholars of Jonkershoek with an accessible and appropriate place to receive help with their school work. There is also a focus on developing other skills and providing mentorship.

There are 20 computer stations where learners can improve their computer literacy, do internet research or just complete homework projects.

Teachers and volunteers assist the children with homework or provide extra learning activities.

How to get involved:

Volunteer to assist the children with their homework
Assisting with computer literacy and other skills
Donation of stationery, puzzles and books (educational and reading) – must be age appropriate for primary and high school children (English, Xhosa and Afrikaans)
Collection of food from our provider on a weekly basis

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Hunger Relief and Clothes Distribution

Prochorus — Wed, 04 Jun 2014 08:48:48 +0000

What do we need?

Food parcels are always needed as we often get children walking into our office with a need for food or a family when there is unexpected unemployment.
Tinned food
Pap
Rice
New or second hand clothing.

Please ensure clothing is washed and still wearable, our beneficiaries would greatly appreciate this!

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Dream

Prochorus — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 13:55:34 +0000

Our vision for this project is to equip underprivileged teenage girls to discover their unique identity in order to display God’s glory, stop negative cycles and become the light/leaders in their communities.
We aim to support and give guidance to girls in developing communities by teaching them practical skills. We care enough to discuss topics that are never raised by their parents, simply because they don’t know how to, since they themselves haven’t been taught or they don’t value the need to create a safe environment in which their children can discover. When asked, “Where is your father?” a thirteen year old girl answered: “He went to buy milk and never came back.”

Girls grow up in broken families and are often raised by their grandmothers and fathers being completely absent. In South Africa one in three girls has had a baby by the age of 20.
Our project intends to restore hope and establish worth in every heart in the midst of many adversities, we can rebuild healthy family structures and negative generational cycles can be ended.
Each group is led by 3 young working adults and sessions are held weekly. Our short term goals are to eliminate teenage pregnancies, keep every girl in school and to create a platform where girls can discover their unique identities. We believe that these teenage girls are the foundation of restoration in families and in their communities.

Every life counts – One girl at a time

What we need:

Mentoring/leading a group of 10 girls together with friends, contact info@prochorus.org
do you have a specific skill that you could share with the groups
Developing programmes to assist us
Assist in creating networks that will enable every girl to live a life she was created for depending on her particular need.

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Cloetesville Playgroup

Prochorus — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 13:38:38 +0000

Many abuse and rape cases take place in the community where parents are unemployed, but not sufficiently watchful over toddlers playing in the mornings whilst older children are at school. This motivated us to start a playgroup for the toddlers to keep them safe and occupied in the mornings and to expose them to vital Early Childhood Development.

This project has grown and we realise there is a need to duplicate the playgroup due to the long waiting list.

What we need:

Volunteers to commit their time to assist in our playgroups
Educational toys and activities for ages 3-6
Stationery such as paper, crayons, finger paint
Afrikaans story books
Teacher salaries (contact info@prochorus.org for further details)

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Local Disaster relief

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 19:06:31 +0000

Prochorus has an established working relationship with the Disaster Management Department of the Municipality of Stellenbosch. We assist during emergencies and disasters such as fires or floods by providing supplies to the community.

Churches and individuals in the vicinity provide us with new and used clothes and food parcels on a regular basis. Daily applications for relief are received and evaluated, before distributing supplies. In case of disasters, specific needs are communicated to the community and distribution coordinated by the Prochorus Office.

What do we need?

Emergency supplies, clothes and food – contact us for more information
Blankets for winter

We are happy to partner with www.relieflife.org

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Drama Group

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 19:01:57 +0000

Irish Students launched a drama group consisting of High School Children in Kayamandi as part of their practical assignment in 2008. The aim of the group is to provide a common goal for the children to strive towards, instilling a sense of discipline and achievement and also to improve their language and communication abilities. Prochorus will continue with this group and will make use of local and international volunteers for facilitation.

For many of the children this is the first time that they learn to commit to a group and to become part of something greater than themselves. It is also a prime opportunity for students and volunteers to become life coaches to the children.

In 2009 the group won second place at the Buya festival and both the best actor and best actress awards went to our group members.

In 2010 the group came first and was rewarded a trip to attend an Art Festival in George.

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Kitchen Garden

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 18:59:13 +0000

Prochorus, in partnership with a local church, has planted a vegetable garden on the church grounds. The objective of the garden is to supply our soup kitchen, the Unakho Centre and some of our creches with food. Apart from the soup kitchen we also have a group of people that receive food parcels from us every month. They are encouraged to learn to plant vegetables for themselves or to sell vegetables.

What we need:

Donations of seeds, fertilizer, gardening tools
Volunteers to teach new skills

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Unakho Centre for the Differently Abled

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 18:56:03 +0000

The objective of the Unakho Centre is to enable differently-abled people to make a meaningful contribution to their community. Two strategies are employed in achieving this objective; firstly, the Centre will provide care and developmental therapy to differently abled persons and secondly the families will be equipped and educated, to better take care of their differently abled children.

Currently, the centre can host 15 children all with different disabilities. Our teacher, Cynthia Memani, follows a special programme with each child. We partnered with Senecio who drew up specialised programmes for each child. (www.senecio.org.za)

The Centre involves the families of the differently abled persons throughout the programmes to ensure that they learn how to support their loved ones and care for them at home. We have seen tremendous improvements in the lives of all involved in the centre.

Project History

Prochorus became involved with the care of differently abled people via the Wheelchair Project. Following up on a possible donation offer for wheelchairs, Prochorus did an assessment of needs of differently-abled persons in Kayamandi in 2008. Subsequently we received six wheelchairs from the Rotary and 20 from the Goodwill Community Foundation in the USA. These donations enabled us to provide wheelchairs to all who needed it in Kayamandi.

Once the wheelchairs were distributed, more needs became apparent and we expanded on assistance given to include crutches, sheepskin for wheelchairs, canes etc. As we engaged with the community we quickly realized that support in the form of these helpmeets is not sufficient. The adults and children that face the daily challenges of physical disability need therapy, stimulation and individual attention.

In dealing with these realities the Wheelchair Project took hands with the Disability Forum in Kayamandi to head up a centre for the disabled in Kayamandi. At this centre the wheelchair bound people can connect and take part in meaningful activities.

In response a crèche for differently abled children was started in 2009. Currently we have 12 children, all with different disabilities. Our teacher, Cynthia Memani, follows a special programme with each child.

We partnered with Senecio who drew up specialised programmes for each child. (www.senecio.org.za)

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Support-a-School-Child

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 18:49:11 +0000

Although school fees have been abolished since 2007, most families in Kayamandi cannot afford basic required materials such as books, uniforms and stationery. Through a sponsorship programme, individual donators can provide financial support for a child or a number of children to supply in their education needs, for a chosen period of time. The funds and distribution thereof are managed by the Prochorus Office, ensuring application for the intended purposes.

Annual Sponsorship for one child

High School Children: R1,500
Primary School Children: R1,000
Part sponsorship towards children’s school uniform requirements are also most welcome.

We also need mentors for the children in specific school subjects so if you have just ONE to TWO hours per week that you can share, contact us on info@prochorus.org.

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Playgroups Project

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 18:28:13 +0000

In the beginning of 2011, the Police informed us that at least one toddler is raped weekly in Kayamandi! Most rape cases take part amongst the shack communities where parents are unemployed, but not sufficiently watchful over toddlers playing amongst the shacks in the mornings. This motivated us to start a playgroup for the toddlers to keep them safe and occupied in the mornings and to expose them to vital Early Childhood Development.

This project has expanded and there is a desperate need for further expansion into other areas of Kayamandi.

What we need:

Volunteers to commit their time to assist in our playgroups
Educational toys and activities for ages 3-6
Stationery such as paper, crayons, finger paint
Funds to buy Wendy Houses in which we hold the playgroups (+/- R20 000)
Teacher salaries (contact info@prochorus.org for further details)
Rent for land on which Wendy House is placed in the community

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Computer and English Literacy

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 18:21:59 +0000

Prochorus presents computer literacy classes to adults. The objective of this initiative is firstly to broaden employment possibilities for the participants, but secondly the aim is to use the classes as a tool to teach basic communication skills (listening, responding and acting on instructions). Classes are conducted in English which also provides the learners with an opportunity to better their language abilities.

What we need:

Volunteers to improve the facilitators’ knowledge of computer skills
Computers (not older than 3 years) to replace our current computers. When they break, they are too old to repair.
Job opportunities
Sponsors for our internet connection and anti-virus

We partnered with the Click Foundation using a program called “Reading Eggs”. This is an English literacy program and we invite pupils from a local primary school to attend these sessions. The Children love this teaching method, as learning happens in a playful way and records are kept, encouraging healthy competition.

We have received computers from Goodwill Foundation in America and from the Wake Forest University.

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Crisis counselling for Raped and Abused Women and Children

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 18:14:16 +0000

This is a desperate need in Kayamandi. A counselor has been appointed to be available to meet with victims as soon as possible after an assault to provide in-depth counseling and assistance in prosecuting offenders.

We are also involved with teaching the community to make them more aware of how to protect themselves from abuse. Rape prevention skills are taught in local schools to empower children to protect themselves. A project which has grown out of the above project is our playgroups!

We need:

Funds to provide the rape counselling
Funds to appoint other counselors as there is only one counselor available presently
Funds to send the counselors for further training

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Netball

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:52:53 +0000

The netball project aims to improve the lives of school girls in Jonkershoek. We believe that a holistic approach is important to develop a successful person in society. Our rounded approach includes emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social and physical aspects of the girls.

After weekly netball practices we have life skills sessions to share positive life values and practices. Our youth team is part of the Boland Netball league, which runs from February to August. This develops netball skills, as well as giving a different perspective to specific life skills; such as problem solving, discipline and team work.

How to get involved:

Volunteer on Mondays and Wednesdays (16:00 – 18:00)
Old takkies (trainers)/shoes and clothing

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Crèche Support Program

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:14:25 +0000

The Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program is one of the flagship program of Prochorus.

Currently overseeing 31 Creches and managing 2 playgroups – it is easy to see why. The project is divided into two components, namely:

Crèche Support

The Creche support program aims to provide 31 creches in Kayamandi with resources in terms of learning material and training. This empowers the principles to manage their own creche and create a healthy learning environment. the teachers and the principles have been trained in a principle Early Childhood Development Program which provides the tools necessary for a successful learning program.

The creches are not financially supported by Prochorus as parents pay a monthly fee for their children to attend. This creates an opportunity for Principles to take ownership of their business an work towards a successful learning center.

Crèche teacher / principal training
We believe that improved Early Childhood Development is the first and most important step towards the social development and advancement of Kayamandi. The Playgroup Project was started as an initiative to create a place of safety for the children whose parents are unemployed and are unable to pay the required fees at a creche.

The children aged between 3 and 5 years are presented with an educational program that ensures healthy development and prepares them for Grade R. The learners are fed a well balanced snack and cooked meal. There is one playgroup in Kayamandi – Siyanda- and one playgroup in Cloetesville – Little Builders.

What do we need?

Funds to erect buildings (around R15,000 for one structure, including tables, chairs and sign)
Become a part-time or full-time volunteer and become part of this vibrant and embracing community. Contact us on info@prochorus.org
Educational material – stationery, books, educational puzzles and toys that are age appropriate for babies to 6 year olds

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Isipo Se Nkosi (Thank you, God) – Sewing Group

Prochorus — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 13:14:55 +0000

Isipo Se Nkosi (Thank you, God) started with 2 women, mothers, grandmothers, who want to give their children a bright future. Two years ago, they started with a few pieces of scrap material and a simple act of faith. Today they have a self-sustaining business.

How you can get involved:

Teach the sewing group new techniques. Sylvia and Florence are always keen to learn.
Supporting them by placing orders.
(Scarfs, Knitting, Alterations to clothing, Table Runners, Curtains, Apron, Cushions, Bedding, Skirts, Bags, etc.)

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