Tuesday 27th April to Friday 4 June 
Sunday 11th July to Friday 6th August Sunday 11th July to Friday 6th August |
9th August to 23rd September 3 October to 10 December |
2010 Pensioner’s Midweek Rate Note: Pensioners special rate applies in standard accommodation, midweek & in the low season only. This rate cannot be used in conjunction with another special |
THE CAVERN AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYNORTHERN DRAKENSBERG KHANYISELA PROJECT BUILDING STRONG BEGINNINGS FOR A BETTER FUTURE
1. OUR AIM The Khanisela project was born out of an awareness that the Northern Drakensberg tourism industry cannot exist without the upliftment of our rural neighbours. We believe that the long-term prosperity of our area and our country is linked to the prosperity of the people, and that upliftment is linked to education. Our future is closely linked to the future of the Amazizi community surrounding us. We must therefore do everything in our power to contribute to the upliftment and prosperity of this rural area. The aim of the programme is to assist in the creation of a network of educational facilities that are in keeping with national and international standards. We hope to give learners a solid foundation for life-long learning, ultimately creating a community with a sense of self-respect and empowerment. 2. OUR TEAM We work as a dedicated team in the Northern Drakensberg and have a small committee:
3. WHAT ARE WE DOING AT THE MOMENT? At present we are assisting 9 PRE-SCHOOL facilities in the following ways: Bread and Peanut Butter: Every Monday each pre-school receives a bread delivery. This ensures that each child will receive one sandwich per day. We feed over 350 children a day and this costs approximately R750 per week.
Maintenance and Repairs: Each year we assess the pre-schools and do our utmost to assist with maintenance and repairs where necessary. Maintenance is vital as it can avoid much larger costs in the future. Cleaning Equipment: Each month the pre-schools receive a 25 day supply of Biocide-D which is a sterilizing surface cleaner. Teacher Training: Ladies from these pre-schools have been attending Early Childhood Development courses in Ladysmith. Seven ladies are due to complete the Level 4 Course in June 2009. We transport the ladies to the centre and provide their food for each workshop. Course fees of R2800 per student have been paid. We hope to begin the Level 5 course with some teachers soon and will be looking at beginning another Level 1 course with a new set of assistants next year.
The training of teachers is one of the most important aspects of this programme. Monthly Stipend: We have started paying a small stipend to the teacher and her helpers at Sivuleleni Pre-School and Hlelokuhle Pre-School. This is in the region of R1000 per month per school and we would ideally like to extend this to the other pre-schools in the area in the future. Book and Equipment Donations: We receive donations of various items from time to time and these are distributed to the pre-schools. Existing PRIMARY SCHOOLS in our area are also assisted. At the beginning of each year we issue Back-to-School stationery packs for the primary school children. This consists of pencils, pens, a rubber, ruler and an exam pad. We have also had library books donated for both primary and secondary schools in the area. A trailer load of books was distributed to Insukangihlale Primary and to KwaMiya Primary School. Books have also been donated to Bangani Secondary School in the past. Refurbishment of classrooms, additional teaching materials and teacher training will benefit all the children attending these schools and help raise the level of education received. At the entrance to The Cavern there stood a sad and roofless sandstone barn. Built with blocks hewn from the surrounding hills, this lovely old building had stood empty for many a year. It has now emerged from its chrysalis and burst upon our valley as our beautiful new primary school – The Royal Drakensberg Primary School. Standing proud and glowing in the sun, this double-story thatched building looks out over the valley it hopes to serve.
We believe that there is a great need for holistic education of a world class standard in our area. Conditions in these rural areas are poor and the teachers lack resources and infrastructure. We feel that an established private school, which is properly staffed and managed, will go a long way to giving children the necessary grounding to reach their maximum potential.
To this end we opened our little school in January 2007 and in this, our third year, we have enrolled 25 children. Eleven of these children, some of which are close relatives of our own staff, have their fees, transport and packed lunches sponsored by various generous individuals to the tune of around R190,000. We are hoping to find sponsorship for more children from disadvantaged homes who have academic potential which would otherwise not be realised. Providing these children with a good primary school education will help them to gain access to good secondary schools in Pietermaritzburg and so give them a chance to excel in life. Hopefully they will then be able and willing to give back in some way to the community in which they grew up. At present we have a pre-primary group of 17 children and a junior primary group of 8 children. We have grown to grade 3 and next year will begin grade 4. We plan to grow each year and establish a primary school that will take the children up to Grade 7 (12-13 years of age). In time we will need to move the present school down the road so that it is more accessible to others in the community. We have started it here where we can keep the costs as low as possible. Our motto is “With privilege comes responsibility, with responsibility comes sacrifice” and we hope to instill these values into all our pupils. 4. WHAT WE WOULD LIKE ASSISTANCE WITH Resort guests, friends, businesses and donors, both in South Africa and overseas are essential to the continuation and improvement of our programme. Contributions, monetary or in kind are welcomed to support the sustainability of this initiative. Our aim is to maintain and expand this programme and for this, we require your assistance, and are sure that by supporting our endeavours you will feel rewarded by the positive change you are helping to make to young South African lives. We require assistance with the following: PRE-PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER TRAINING AND RE – EDUCATION. As mentioned above we feel that the training of the teachers is of paramount importance. Therefore we require money to send the teachers for further training in early childhood development. STIPEND FOR VOLUNTEER TEACHERS AT THE PRE PRIMARY SCHOOLS. In the majority of the pre-primary schools the teachers and helpers work purely on a voluntary basis and receive no remuneration. We wish to extend the monthly stipend to all of these schools to cover basic costs. BUILDING PRE PRIMARY SCHOOLS. At present there is a pre-primary school group who have no building. They have been given access to a piece of land where they can erect a school building. We need R200 000 to build a new school. SPONSOR STATIONERY BULK PACKS FOR THE PRE PRIMARY SCHOOLS. These consist of crayons, chalk, glue, gummed paper squares, work books etc. SPONSOR A CHILD TO GO TO THE ROYAL DRAKENSBERG PRIMARY SCHOOL. This private primary school is close to Amazizi and some local children are sponsored to attend. There is room at the school for more children who would require sponsorship. 5. HOW YOU CAN ASSIST RAISING AWARENESS Actively raise awareness of the project and encourage donations of school equipment, stationery and maintenance materials. GROUP AND INDIVIDUAL PLEDGES Providing financial support as an individual or a group, no matter how small, on a monthly basis and thus help to ensure the sustainability and expansion of this project. Ideally we would like groups or individuals to commit to a monthly pledge of R500. Our goal is for 100 pledges. Arrange sporting or musical events, jumble sales, raffles, business, club or school functions in an effort to raise money for the programme or a specific project within the programme. 6. ADMINISTRATION AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE We have a large support network of family and friends and we endeavour to keep the administration costs down by doing the ground work ourselves. All donations received go straight to the cause where they are most needed.
HoH provide a contact between Khanyisela and donors in order to ensure that funds donated will be used for the purposes for which they are given. HoH have based their corporate governance on the fundamental principles of fairness, accountability, responsibility and transparency as outlined by the South African King 2 report on corporate governance. Monitoring and evaluating is an important aspect of all projects and is an essential aspect of assessing the impact of the programmes that we implement. The details of Hearts of Hope are: 7. HOW TO MAKE DONATIONS Donations can be made to Hearts of Hope or contact Dave or Daphne { projects@cavern.co.za or Tel: (+27) 36 438 6270} for a credit card authorisation form if you would like to support this wonderful community. If you require a tax certificate please indicate this and it will be forwarded to you from Hearts of Hope. If you are donating from the UK please advise us, as you can donate through the Retford Rotary Club and receive a tax certificate. Please feel free to contact Dave or Daphne Thurlwell should you wish to receive more detail on specific projects that you would like to consider making contributions to. Dave and Daphne Thurlwell – Administration and fund raising. By educating our children we are helping to build our nation and ensure a better tomorrow for all. |
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