Halfway there

Our projects have been stable and running – and we have experienced growth in beneficiaries we are reaching. Prochorus will be closed from the 2-11 July to give our project staff and management a much-needed break.

Over the last quarter, we boast of a successful Xhiliraces event – seeing both our reach and income increase. Thank you to everyone who made the day a success. We are aware that without partners, family, friends and donors – the day could’ve not been a success.

We look forward to next years event – and have exciting developments in store. If you would like to get involved with the Xhiliraces or know more – please email info@xhiliraces.com. 

We also have an exciting new development in Delft. Prochorus is proud to welcome Prochorus Delft to the team. We have had a few seed projects over the past year, and Delft is now officially a part of the Prochorus family. We are so excited to see what their competent and compassionate team of leaders have planned. Currently, they are raising funds for a building in the Delft area – on which they hope to build a creche. More information to follow.

Franschhoek | 

Leadership Training

On Saturday the 26 May 2018 the Franschhoek Youth Forum did a follow-up leadership development training, with the student council from Groendal Secondary. We had fewer students attend this time, but it was good to see the main core group who wish to follow through with this process. The group was enthusiastic and participation was great. The session focussed on servant leadership, their responsibility as leaders, the influence of social media, small group discussions, as well as two short icebreakers.

We want to thank all the Youth Forum members who committed their time to help develop the young leaders of Groendal Secondary. We would also like to thank the teachers and Principal of Groendal Secondary for the opportunity. I believe by taking hands and working together we can have a lasting impact on the lives of the youth.

 

Youth Day Event

The Franschhoek Youth Forum had its annual youth day event on Friday the 15 June 2016 due to the venue being booked for the Saturday. It was a cold wet winters evening and the turnout was good. We had singers, dancers, and drama groups perform and showcase their talents, and they gave it their all and did a great job. There was also two keynote speakers who really encouraged the young people and testified of their past challenging life and how that didn’t determine who they are. We also used the opportunity to share the gospel of Christ with the audience, and there were ten young people who took the stand to commit their Lives to live for the Glory of God. They were also encouraged to connect with us afterwards to get spiritual support structures around them, to assist them to grow in the process of salvation.

We would like to thank all the members for playing their role in the youth day event and a special thank you to the project team who did all the groundwork to make this event happen.

 

SOMERSET WEST |

Storehouse Project

The storehouse project is how Prochorus Somerset West redistributes the donations received to sister NGO’s and needy people in the Helderberg community.

Here are some of the testimonies from the last quarter:

[pextestim pex_attr_name=”” pex_attr_img=”https://prochorus.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Toni.jpg” pex_attr_occup=”” pex_attr_org=”” pex_attr_link=”” pex_attr_parallax=”disabled”]Toni Mould from Bridging Abilities received a new battery charger for ‘Angel’, her trusty electric wheelchair. Toni is dependant on ‘Angel’ for longer movement.[/pextestim]

[pextestim pex_attr_img=”https://prochorus.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/SAM.jpg” pex_attr_parallax=”disabled”]We provided Sam at the Rape Crisis Centre shop’s manager needed paint. The paint was to ‘beautify’ the centre’s garden for their clients; like says… “to put a bit more blue in there for the male clients”[/pextestim]

[pextestim pex_attr_img=”https://prochorus.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Zelna.jpg” pex_attr_parallax=”disabled”]Zelna from Kingdom Kids crèche in Sir Lowry’s Pass Village has been receiving nappies through Pick & Pay Somerset West’s fundraising efforts for her kids[/pextestim]

 

Books of Life:

Rani Van Wyk is a teacher and had a stirring in her heart to use her gifting and talent for teaching. At first she aims to help children, but later on, she desires to also assist adults. Her heart is to provide after-school tutoring for the kids and reading and skills development for adults.

She approached us with the vision laid on her heart, explaining the logistical constraints and challenges she faces. Prochorus Somerset West assisted by acquiring a venue in the target community, got sponsors for materials and identified and connected her with the pupils through the local church.

In February, she and a friend started with five children once a month on a Saturday morning, from 9-12 at our local church’s grounds. First utilising the Spring of Life crèche buildings and now has moved into the church building. They are four teachers now and are tutoring 10 children, with a focus on two Grade 12 pupils, helping them to get ready for their final exams.

Further, they also do play-time with the children and want to increase the frequency of classes. She ‘recruits’ her own teachers from friends and through networking. They are looking for more hands/hearts to come and help.

if you want to get involved contact gerhard.terhaar@shofaronline.org.

 

Hands Of Life – at Spring of Life 

The ‘Hands of Life’- project from 2016 at the Spring of Life crèche, had another fresh injection. In April this the scholars of the Bernhard-Strigel-Gymnasium (Memmingen, Germany) once again raised funds in their private capacity, to assist with structural upgrades to the crèche. We used these funds in building the much-needed toilets in a wendy house at the Spring of Life crèche. The scholars and their teachers, spent the morning of 11 April, with our crèche children and teachers. They also donated four wall panel heaters for the two crèche buildings and a new slide in the playground. They painted the bungalow and made a sign for the toilets in the local languages. And of course, they played with the kids after handing out specially packed ‘party packs’.

Everyone had a great morning, and new friendships were started, that I believe will flourish into beautiful testimonies. We are very grateful for this continuous, beautiful relationship between BSG and SoL.

 

 

STELLENBOSCH | 

Cycling Newsletter June 2018

With the change in weather and school exams, the cycling project has been quieter than usual. The kids focused more on their academic achievements and used cycling as an outlet to take their minds off of stress and other tasks they may be dealing with. It has been an amazing tool to teach them to have a balanced lifestyle by juggling different priorities in life as well as having time for relaxation. With the aim of not being in training and racing it was the ideal time to involve those that are not partaking in school.

For the past two months, we have had a new mechanic trainee Warren Jansen who is currently assisting with the project and learning necessary skills to become a mechanic. He is being taught many skills such as wheel truing, servicing bottom brackets and headsets, setting gears and basic suspension service and maintenance. We also involved four of the older boys with the preparation of our event Xhiliraces held at Oak Valley wine estate  in Grabouw. They worked long hours to help lay out the different routes for the MTB and trail running event. Through this, they learned some skills about trail building and maintenance which is a growing market in the Western Cape.

We can thus say that the main focus of the project has been about opening opportunities outside of the project and equipping our boys with more practical skills that they can use later in their lives when it is their time to move forward.

The Jonkershoek Educare Centre

It has been quite a busy term at the Jonkershoek Educare Centre during the last few months.  We learned about the history of freedom day and the children had the opportunity to express their own opinions.  We have experienced a lot of bonding between the children.  We have seen how their friendships have grown from day to day. We said goodbye to Anna; who was a volunteer from Germany. She spent 8 months on the project.  She was involved with our Early Childhood Development projects in Kayamandi and Cloetesville as well as the Jonkershoek Educare Centre.  She did weekly creative arts activities with the children and they thoroughly enjoyed it.  We will definitely miss her.

Soph-Mari and Jana have continued to coach and mentor the young ladies in the community.  They meet up with about 15 girls once a week for mentoring them through some of their challenges that they might experience.  The main focus of the group is to create a safe space for the girls to share their experiences and challenges in life.

On Youth day the Shofar Local Missions did a fun day for all the children in the community.  The children loved it and the weather was perfect for this occasion.

There have also been a lot of new volunteers that have started to give some of their time.  We are very thankful for this.  Lucille continues to do an amazing work with the maths twice a week and we can see that it will make a difference for the children in the long run.  Currently, we have about 10 volunteers on a weekly basis.

We have also received some donations-in-kind.  We are thankful for everybody that is contributing to the centre to create a safe space for the children within the community.

 

Playgroup project:

Siyanda and Little Builders have been very busy over the last few months.  The children are learning a lot and are having so much fun at the centres.  The teachers are doing such an incredible job to create a safe space for these vulnerable children.

Siyanda went on an outing to the Aquarium and the children loved every moment of it.  Anna; the volunteer from Germany was volunteering at Siyanda for the past 8 months and she has built some strong relationships with the children and the teachers.  She went back home a few weeks ago and we would like to thank her for her input and hard work during her time here in South Africa.

Students from Wilgenhof and Heemstede did a two-day outreach in June to Little Builders and Siyanda.  At Little Builders they painted the office and at Siyanda they installed new lights and did some creative activities with the children.

We have also received the good news that Siyanda, Jonkershoek Educare Centre and Little Builders will receive Santa Shoe Boxes again at the end of the year.  This is always a very special occasion.

 

DELFT | 

Delft on Main crèche:

Prochorus Delft has a dream of building a high-quality early childhood development centre for the children of the Delft community. The vision is to build a centre as a resource to the community – not only for the children who will directly benefit from the centre but also for the crèche teachers who with little to no resources are running crèches.

Currently, the land has been bought, and the plans are in. The Prochorus Delft team are working tirelessly to raise the remaining funds, and are awaiting the approval of their plans so that they can start seeing the dream become a reality.

The project still needs R 440 000 – to complete the vision. If you would like to make a donation towards the building of the crèche, please contact durbanville@shofaronline.org or donate using the reference: DelftECD

 

RENOVATIONS: 

Prochorus is currently making use of the Shofar Delft church office to run an aftercare for the children of Delft.

Pending the new building, the Prochorus Delft team cleaned and renovated the backyard. This was to provide the aftercare children have a larger play area, and to neaten the office grounds.

 

SAY SOMETHING:

Shofar Durbanville is hosting a theatre production telling the story of love and hope. The play is based on the love story of two congregation members who undertook a journey to open their hearts and fall in love.

The show is running from the 27 – 29^th of June and all proceeds will go towards building the crèche on main on Delft

For more info- visit the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/173446430007069/