SKIP Bristol - South Africa

SKIP Bristol work in Cato Manor, a township outside Durban in South Africa. Working in conjunction with their local partner, KZN-YEP (Kwa Zulu Natal Youth Empowerment Program), we aim to improve the lives of children in this impoverished community through health promotion, nutritional support and community empowerment through youth and women’s groups.

History

In summer 2006, 3 medical students from University of Bristol visited South Africa to perform a needs assessment of several NGOs and community groups around Durban. They selected KZN-YEP as potential partner as their aims of community empowerment and child welfare mirrored those of SKIP.

The following year a pilot project commenced, developing and piloting a number of interventions. We launched a nutrition program that we fund throughout the year and we ran several teaching sessions in schools and the youth club.

In 2008 we really cemented the relationship between SKIP Bristol and KZN-YEP. Recognising that they are the one’s who are best able to implement the teaching interventions sustainably, we evolved more towards capacity building and strengthening the group, through training, building links with local NGOs and assisting with proposal writing and strategic planning.

What does our project do?

Our main aims for the project are:

1. To provide support and knowledge to the community of Cato Manor by:
• Continuing our nutrition program within the local school.
• Running youth club sessions through out the period of our stay, which provide knowledge brought from the volunteers and creating a safe environment for the young people of Cato Manor where they can discuss issues free from prejudice and discrimination.
• Help disadvantaged families apply for identity documents and child support grants.

2. Working in conjunction with KZN-YEP to further their skills and standing within the community by:

• Providing workshops that target issues within the community, thus providing KZN-YEP with different viewpoints and different teaching skills.
• Capacity building: forging links between KZN YEP and other NGO’s, local business’ and local establishments, strengthening their contacts and training opportunities and thus better enabling them in their valuable work.

3. We will promote health education in the community by:

• Continuing our dental and hygiene programs in Pre-schools.
• Running a health awareness day involving local health professionals and the community.
• Provide KZN-YEP with resources, ideas and skills that they can take into their community and classes.

Our main interventions are:

• Nutrition Program – Provides one meal a day to 250 identified orphaned or vulnerable children at Wiggin’s Primary and Secondary School. In 2008, it was chosen as one of 3 feeding programs from the KZN province to be broadcast live in South Africa’s biggest breakfast show “Morning Live in SABC 2”.
• Capacity Building – We run workshops with KZN-YEP to enhance their skills on social educational issues including gender inequality, stigma and HIV/AIDS and professionalism. Capacity building also covers helping KZN-YEP to prepare official documentation as well as forging links within the community with other charities and local organizations.
• Garden Project – We have helped KZN-YEP obtain a free plot of land from the local municipality, to allow them to grow produce for the nutritional program and generate community involvement.
• Youth Group – Run with KZN-YEP, it provides a safe environment for discussion with local young people on issues they feel affect them.

What are our goals?

• Our main aim for this year is to develop and implement plans to secure the future of KZN-YEP. We are currently researching potential volunteer incentive proposals.
• Maintain and develop our existing interventions.
• Assist KZN-YEP with an application to the Government’s Nutrition Program in Schools fund to ensure the long term sustainability of the nutrition program.

How do we raise money?

• Bag packs, bar crawls and street collections
• Sponsored SKIP 10km run
• Cake Sales
• Ticketed fundraising events and parties

Contact us

For more information about SKIP Bristol or our project please contact us at skipbristol@gmail.com.