Tremendous rains and the destruction of roads nearly precluded The Makanyi Conference (hosted by ARC foundation). A Spring of Hope SA board member, Mannie Osband, and his friend Scott McRae traveled from Joburg to Hoedspruit on Wednesday and didn’t let the storm get in their way.
Brendon and I told the group about ASoH’s beginnings and where we saw ASoH in the coming years. We met separately with the Timbavati Foundation, a group who runs a bush school and is involved in the community. They have drilled a few boreholes, sponsored some garden projects and have installed eco-toilets at a school. Brendon has contacted the company making the toilets and we are very interested in using them in ASoH’s schools. Dennis with Timbavati also spoke to us about the netting systems they use around their gardens. It is possible that they will partner with us on the netting.
On Monday, Brendon and I visited Hoedspruit Independent and Beretta schools. Axon, the founder of Hoedspruit Independent, is close to completing the girl’s dorm. We then went to divine at Nhlenglelo Primary School (this is the school where ARC will be adding additional classrooms). We met with the principal, Lyson, who is enthusiastic about his new school. The school was started in 2011 and has 60 students, and 4 educators teaching grade R at the moment. They have 2 classrooms. They will eventually have grades R-7 learning there. Brendon found a great place to drill.
Brendon and I met with Zani, from Eco-children at Brendon’s home on Tuesday. Zani’s group organizes garden projects at schools with the students having their own portion of land to grow. She uses a “keyhole” design, which features a compost area in the middle of the plot. It’s a clever approach to feeding the plants. The great news is that Zani has agreed to implement her system and educate the administration and students at 5 of our schools.Our immediate goal is to provide our 14 schools with gardens, improved sanitation and rain catching devices.
On Tuesday, Brendon, Sheri and I met with Clarence Setale with the Dept. of Education. Clarence is the coordinator for the National School Nutrition program. As suspected, Clarence told us that the government has no plans for borehole drilling in the district. Of the 25 schools in his circuit, ASoH or Seeds of Light has boreholes in 6 schools. He gave us a list of 5 schools that he has visited that need a borehole in order to establish a vegetable garden. Sheri asked Clarence to visit each school again and give us a written statement from the principal on why they want a borehole and their agreement to maintain a vegetable garden to supplement the feeding scheme.
A Spring of Hope has an extraordinary opportunity to grow this year. This holiday season we are teaming up with Southeast Florida Rotaries with a “Challenge Grant”. Rotary will be matching our contributions up to $250,000.00! Yes, for every dollar we raise Rotary will match it.
The situation regarding clean drinking water continues to deteriorate and each day the number of children without access to this precious resource increases. We hope that we can have your support as we strive to improve our impact on thousands of children’s lives. Any sum would be greatly appreciated to bring sustainable solutions for the drinking water needs of children. Thank you in advance for your assistance.
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season,
Joanne Young
Below is a letter we received earlier in the week from Brendon, our program manager in South Africa. We are committed to the long-term operation of each of our school’s wells. Brendon oversees the day-to-day operation of our wells in South Africa.
Hi All,
Sekoko Primary phoned me and said that their pump was not working so I had to go out there. I got it all fixed up and running again. There was a piece of damaged cable that was causing the control box to keep tripping when they turned on the pump. I tested the hole and all is fine. While I was there I took some pictures of their vegetable gardens. I was really impressed with what they have done since having access to water and how nice the school looks. It is so rewarding to see these guys flourishing and using the resources we have provided them with productively. They are so proud of their school and it is quite heart warming.
I am waiting for Michael to get the rig sorted out still, but hopefully it won’t be too long. I know he is battling to get spares. Okay, enjoy the pics.
VOTE for A Spring of Hope to win $1,000,000 from the Chase American Giving Awards!
We have been invited by Chase to participate in its American Giving Awards, which will grant $2 million to 5 organizations in December. During round 1, the 25 charities, divided into 5 categories, must compete within their category for 1st place. Each of the 5 1st place winners will move onto round 2 in December to compete for the grand prize of $1 million. To win, we must receive the highest numbers of votes for our organization on Facebook. If we win round 1, A Spring of Hope will be featured on national television as part of the American Giving Awards, where we will appeal to the nation for votes. We are optimistic and determined; in fact, we’ve already won this type of competition before. Last year, we received $130,000 from Chase after competing with 17,500 charities for votes. This time, there are only 25 in the competition. We strongly believe that we can win this with your help. To vote:
Go to http://on.fb.me/voteasoh
Log into Facebook
Click the thumbs-up “like” on the Chase American Giving Awards Homepage
Click “Vote” and share with your friends!
What could we do with $1 million? A Spring of Hope would finally be able to have a full-time staff on the ground in South Africa and Uganda ensuring the long-term success of our projects and constantly looking out for the well-being of the students. $1 million could also mean for us about 100 wells, or about 500,000 lives impacted. Water is the most basic human necessity. There is nothing more fundamental, and nothing is needed more urgently in these areas than this human right. Please, VOTE!
Thank you so very much! Please pass this message along!
Sometimes A Spring of Hope is asked, “Why South Africa? Isn’t there greater need elsewhere?” These are great questions, but they also suggest that misconceptions abound about African poverty.
South Africa successfully reached its Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people without access to save water supplies by 2015 (40% to 19% since 1994). Yet, some 9 million people are still without access to clean water, 64% of which live in rural areas (UNESCO). Even more importantly, water availability significantly reduces poverty in very complex ways, not only by simply reducing illness through hand-washing and the prevalence of water-born illnesses. Where South Africa truly lags is in its HIV/AIDS prevalence. 5.6 million people live with HIV and AIDS in South Africa, more than any other country. With weakened immune systems, many of these people live in the same areas that lack proper sanitation and water availability, significantly increasing their chances of becoming ill. The death toll due to HIV/AIDS is inexorably tired to water availability, which can prevent an HIV/AIDS patient from contracting an illness. One study of people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda found that the presence of a latrine reduced the risk of diarrheal disease by 31% (USAID). Providing health care to these people is hampered by the lack of clean water, especially in clinics.
As an NGO, working in South Africa can result in far more effective work. South Africa already has the preexisting infrastructure (schools, drillers, builders, etc.) to make our job easy. Numerous NGOs already exist in South Africa, which can help us ensure the long-term success of our schools. Yet, with this ease, there comes a price: the “cost” to improve one life is much higher in South Africa than in other countries. This means that most children at our South African schools are at a much lower risk of dying from a water-related illness than they are at risk of not finishing school and staying in a life of poverty (which is very likely). Where water availability is a matter of life or death is where ASOH also works: Uganda.
Here, rural schools are often gatherings under trees. There is a teacher deficit and students retrieve water from polluted streams. Schools require far more than just water to produce successful students. ASOH does not believe in installing a well and abandoning the school, so our involvement in Uganda is far more vital. We may find we not only need to drill a well, but also finance a new classroom, or contribute anti-malarial bed nets. In rural Uganda, mere pennies can save the life of an ill child. Yet, it requires plenty more than pennies to achieve our mission of helping create successful schools.
For these reasons, we work both in South Africa and Uganda. We may expand into other countries in the future, but we value depth more than breadth. Sure, it may sound impressive to have wells in Namibia, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, but what many donors miss is that, beneath the list of countries, there are very few significant reductions in poverty at a community level. We believe in making the entire communities of Acornhoek, South Africa and Namatala, Uganda successes before moving on to where else our help is needed.
We like this video because we believe it captures the incredible energy of South Africans, despite great adversity.
My name is David Ferrari. I recently joined the Rutgers Chapter of A Spring of Hope, and I’m very excited to report to you the on-goings of our active chapter. It’s an honor to be able to work with ASOH, and I’m very happy to be part of the blogging team.
This week I worked with Eric, the president of the Rutgers chapter, assembling the ASOH filtered water bottles (available here: store) and selling them to Rutgers students. RUPA, the Rutgers University Programming Association, will be matching the profits of every bottle we sell! Not only are we promoting global water scarcity awareness, but we are also attempting to reduce the consumption of plastic water bottles on campus. Water-filling stations like the one pictured are popping up around campus. These make it easier for students to stop relying on bottled water. Reusable bottles are excellent for the environment, and ASOH filtered bottles help make your tap water taste great!
I’m happy to say that people have shown a real interest in the bottles. The filter is a great selling point. It’s really quite brilliant. To all you Rutgers students, I’m not sure where we will be selling them next but I’ll let you know when I find out.
Like I said earlier, I’m very excited to be part of ASOH and I look forward to writing about future successes.
On December 10th, A Spring of Hope struck liquid gold (WATER!) at Maahlamela High School in The Oaks, South Africa. The school’s 700 students can now benefit from water throughout the school day, and the school plans on cultivating a garden in the near future. The site was first surveyed in May of 2008 and was added to ASOH’s list of schools to adopt. Yet, with weak funds, ASOH could not drill there immediately. With the help from our generous grant from Chase Bank, we are able to finally complete this well at Maahlamela and begin a productive relationship. In time, ASOH hopes to see Maahlamela become self-sustainable and more able to provide valuable educations for its students. The pump for Maahlamela is expected to be completed in January. Thank you for all of your hard work, Brendon!
A Spring of Hope is proud to announce the internet release of its updated documentary! The 30 minute short video details ASOH’s founding and projects. Most importantly, the documentary provides accurate depictions of water-stressed African communities and puts faces to the global water crisis.
The new documentary can be seen here. Please, share this video with your friends. It not only aids in understanding how ASOH works; the information in the documentary serves as microcosm of small NGO’s, the world water crisis, and impoverished African communities as a whole.
If you are looking to start a chapter of A Spring of Hope at your high school or university, ask us about receiving a DVD copy of our video to screen!
An A Spring of Hope Volunteer working in The Beretta School's Garden
At A Spring of Hope, we are constantly surprised by the true power of just adding water. With water comes growth and life, a fact exemplified by our schools’ flourishing, award-winning gardens. Providing sustenance for students who might otherwise starve, the gardens’ short-term effects have surely been impressive, but new research suggests they may offer far more than we imagined.
Most people, at some point in their lives, receive a lecture on the true value of a vegetable: they’re nutritious, good for digestion, and posses all kinds of seemingly mythic powers. At Beretta, we’ve seen the influence of their monetary value as well, as sales of their garden’s fresh produce now provide the school with much needed supplies and textbooks. But what else do the gardens have to offer?
According to a new study by England’s National Foundation for Educational Research, there are enormous educational advantages to students participating in growing a school garden. After surveying over 1,000 teachers and studying 10 schools, the Foundation composed a list of the direct results:
“1. Greater scientific knowledge and understanding.
2. Enhanced literacy and numeracy, including the use of a wider vocabulary and greater oracy skills.
3. Increased awareness of the seasons and understanding of food production.
4. Increased confidence, resilience and self-esteem.
5. Development of physical skills, including fine motor skills.
6. Development of a sense of responsibility.
7. A positive attitude to healthy food choices.
8. Positive behaviour.
9. Improvements in emotional well-being.”
Organizations in both England and the United States are now attempting to incorporate gardening into school curriculums, purely due to their educational influence. While the concept of the school garden may be something new there, students at A Spring of Hope’s schools have used this exciting educational tool for years. Not to mention the fact that nothing on earth compares to a delicious, crispy Beretta salad! So, here’s to staying ahead of the curve: Three cheers for the Power of Produce!
If you’re interested in reading the full report, you can download it here.
Brendon and I told the group about ASoH’s beginnings and where we saw ASoH in the coming years. We met separately with the Timbavati Foundation, a group who runs a bush school and is involved in the community. They have drilled a few boreholes, sponsored some garden projects and have installed eco-toilets at a school. Brendon has contacted the company making the toilets and we are very interested in using them in ASoH’s schools. Dennis with Timbavati also spoke to us about the netting systems they use around their gardens. It is possible that they will partner with us on the netting.
