Mautse Youth Club - Corona Lock Down Food Appeal
Donativo protegido
The Corona virus and Rosendal -- Food appeal
The Corona virus is affecting Mautse township and Mautse Youth Club and the community are coming together to help by raising funds to distribute food to affected households.
After the second week of a 5 week lock down more households have passed another week without a pay-cheque. Those without income are people in casual work, the informal sector or not able to carry out their normal business or employment. South African lock down rules are strict - no movement outside the home except to buy food or medicine. A large number of people have suddenly found themselves without income. Schools and most business are closed but farms are still operating.
Mautse Youth Club is partnering with other community projects in Rosendal to create an umbrella group to organise food distribution to households who are in need or newly impacted by lock down.
Each household receives a “hamper” costed at R263 (C$20) each and containing a basket of basic food and other goods, that will last a household of 4 for 2 weeks, according to guidelines from the South African Department of Social Development.
A food distribution—our second in Mautse—will take place this week (April 15th) targeting the children in the Mautse Youth Club and other households in Mautse who are newly impacted or already vulnerable. This will be rolled out to other households as quickly as possible with funds raised.
Food distributions will continue to each family every two weeks throughout lock down and beyond – it is not known how long this will continue but it is becoming clear that the impact will last for some time. We will continue distributions for as long as possible and with whatever funds are available.
Your support
If you wish to support this there are no overheads - 100% of donations go to the purchase of food, apart from the 3% processing fee from GoFundMe.
If you have a South African bank account you can also donate instead to the Rosendal Town Committee bank account; many in Rosendal already have. Otherwise all international donations through this Go Fund Me campaign will be transferred and distributed in real time.
FNB
Account 622 479 381 21
Branch code 231 036
Community bonds
Rosendal-Mautse is a community where there are social bonds—people come together to help—local action is possible and results immediate.
Volunteers in the community are responding, either directly by helping to organise the food distributions, or making local donations of their own, channeled through the Rosendal Town Committee bank account.
This has been made possible through the assistance of our municipal manager, who has facilitated essential service permits for our group to be able to circulate in Mautse during Lock Down, and by our local police station who are working overtime to keep our community safe.
Finally, thanks are due to the community in Mautse, who are not passive participants in this, are our friends and neighbours.
***
How did the Mautse Youth Club begin:
When my house in Rosendal, a small rural town in South Africa, was broken into and my bicycle stolen I felt violated. When I found out who it was - a 10 and a 14 year old - I just felt sad. Facing youth court and more negative reinforcement, another wasted township life seemed in the making. The social profile was not unusual: parents not around, living w/ their grandmother and another 11 year old brother in a tin shack, no ID, no social grant access, not in school.
The next day I picked up Thabo hitch-hiking from Rosendal to register his NPO that works with troubled and vulnerable youth in Mautse township, Rosendal's sister city. We talked and found we had a common interest.
Thabo made contact and all three boys are now in school, have uniforms, school books and birth certificates, have applied for social grant access that will give their household a basic income and have access to a local soup kitchen. They are also receiving mentoring from Thabo and his youth club.
Who we are:
The Mautse Youth Club is based in Mautse Township, Rosendal Free State South Africa, and is run by a dedicated volunteer team who have 23 minors under care. It helps youths who are from vulnerable families or have got into some trouble for lack of adult oversight and meaningful involvement from parents and families. Typically, the profile is kids with weak family structure (parents not there, raised by grand parents or other relatives), few opportunities or positive role models, lack means to buy school supplies and uniforms, little educational support at home and weak nutritional access .
Where necessary, the club works with the families and the local school to get the kids back into school, helps them get identification so that they and their families can qualify for social grants, provides additional food for the household and buys school uniforms, books and stationary. Children who don't have mattresses, beds and blankets (the winter is cold in the Free State) at home are provided with them.
There is an after school youth club where the kids get mentoring from an adult and structured play with a peer group. This is the core of the Mautse Youth Club's day to day work. There is tutoring with math and science and help with school home work. The centre has one computer (we are getting another) for computer training and has some rudimentary furniture
Staff:
Thabo is an independent self-directed youth worker in Matuse township who wants to help his community and has been doing this by himself, leveraging his contacts in the community (the schools, the social assistance agency). He runs the Mautse Youth Club on his own and has been doing it without external funding.
What you can do:
I started by helping on my own but realised the needs are bigger than myself and turned to Go-Fund-Me. Any funding, even small amounts will help. There is virtually no overhead apart from what Crowd Funding charges - 3% per transaction.
Donations will purchase school books, stationary, art supplies, sports equipment and toys at the centre, plus additional food, blankets and beds for those who don't have them.
The Corona virus is affecting Mautse township and Mautse Youth Club and the community are coming together to help by raising funds to distribute food to affected households.
After the second week of a 5 week lock down more households have passed another week without a pay-cheque. Those without income are people in casual work, the informal sector or not able to carry out their normal business or employment. South African lock down rules are strict - no movement outside the home except to buy food or medicine. A large number of people have suddenly found themselves without income. Schools and most business are closed but farms are still operating.
Mautse Youth Club is partnering with other community projects in Rosendal to create an umbrella group to organise food distribution to households who are in need or newly impacted by lock down.
Each household receives a “hamper” costed at R263 (C$20) each and containing a basket of basic food and other goods, that will last a household of 4 for 2 weeks, according to guidelines from the South African Department of Social Development.
A food distribution—our second in Mautse—will take place this week (April 15th) targeting the children in the Mautse Youth Club and other households in Mautse who are newly impacted or already vulnerable. This will be rolled out to other households as quickly as possible with funds raised.
Food distributions will continue to each family every two weeks throughout lock down and beyond – it is not known how long this will continue but it is becoming clear that the impact will last for some time. We will continue distributions for as long as possible and with whatever funds are available.
Your support
If you wish to support this there are no overheads - 100% of donations go to the purchase of food, apart from the 3% processing fee from GoFundMe.
If you have a South African bank account you can also donate instead to the Rosendal Town Committee bank account; many in Rosendal already have. Otherwise all international donations through this Go Fund Me campaign will be transferred and distributed in real time.
FNB
Account 622 479 381 21
Branch code 231 036
Community bonds
Rosendal-Mautse is a community where there are social bonds—people come together to help—local action is possible and results immediate.
Volunteers in the community are responding, either directly by helping to organise the food distributions, or making local donations of their own, channeled through the Rosendal Town Committee bank account.
This has been made possible through the assistance of our municipal manager, who has facilitated essential service permits for our group to be able to circulate in Mautse during Lock Down, and by our local police station who are working overtime to keep our community safe.
Finally, thanks are due to the community in Mautse, who are not passive participants in this, are our friends and neighbours.
***
How did the Mautse Youth Club begin:
When my house in Rosendal, a small rural town in South Africa, was broken into and my bicycle stolen I felt violated. When I found out who it was - a 10 and a 14 year old - I just felt sad. Facing youth court and more negative reinforcement, another wasted township life seemed in the making. The social profile was not unusual: parents not around, living w/ their grandmother and another 11 year old brother in a tin shack, no ID, no social grant access, not in school.
The next day I picked up Thabo hitch-hiking from Rosendal to register his NPO that works with troubled and vulnerable youth in Mautse township, Rosendal's sister city. We talked and found we had a common interest.
Thabo made contact and all three boys are now in school, have uniforms, school books and birth certificates, have applied for social grant access that will give their household a basic income and have access to a local soup kitchen. They are also receiving mentoring from Thabo and his youth club.
Who we are:
The Mautse Youth Club is based in Mautse Township, Rosendal Free State South Africa, and is run by a dedicated volunteer team who have 23 minors under care. It helps youths who are from vulnerable families or have got into some trouble for lack of adult oversight and meaningful involvement from parents and families. Typically, the profile is kids with weak family structure (parents not there, raised by grand parents or other relatives), few opportunities or positive role models, lack means to buy school supplies and uniforms, little educational support at home and weak nutritional access .
Where necessary, the club works with the families and the local school to get the kids back into school, helps them get identification so that they and their families can qualify for social grants, provides additional food for the household and buys school uniforms, books and stationary. Children who don't have mattresses, beds and blankets (the winter is cold in the Free State) at home are provided with them.
There is an after school youth club where the kids get mentoring from an adult and structured play with a peer group. This is the core of the Mautse Youth Club's day to day work. There is tutoring with math and science and help with school home work. The centre has one computer (we are getting another) for computer training and has some rudimentary furniture
Staff:
Thabo is an independent self-directed youth worker in Matuse township who wants to help his community and has been doing this by himself, leveraging his contacts in the community (the schools, the social assistance agency). He runs the Mautse Youth Club on his own and has been doing it without external funding.
What you can do:
I started by helping on my own but realised the needs are bigger than myself and turned to Go-Fund-Me. Any funding, even small amounts will help. There is virtually no overhead apart from what Crowd Funding charges - 3% per transaction.
Donations will purchase school books, stationary, art supplies, sports equipment and toys at the centre, plus additional food, blankets and beds for those who don't have them.
Organizador
Douglas Mason
Organizador
Brantford, ON
