Christmas letter 2012

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St Francis Outreach Trust

Supporting disadvantaged communities

                                                                            Patron : the Most Reverend Njongo Ndungane

Dear Friends,

Christmas – the time of children unwrapping their gifts with sparkling eyes, a time of reflection and the joy of sharing, a time of home coming and celebration of the birth of Christ in the circle of the family. Thanks to you , the five children of our Home to Grow can celebrate with their new family a

Joyful Christmas.

Our children are making progress in school. They show a kind and caring attitude towards

each other.Yazini, now 8 years old, is very protective of his sisters. Aleeyah, 7 years in

January, will start school next year. More exciting for her is that she then will receive her

“love-quilt.” Athini is 6 years, small in stature but bright and already “being a mother”

to her siblings. She encourages her brother with his home work and reminds Molly to

pronounce words correctly. Molly, 4 years old, continues to make steady improvements in her speech. Therapy has made a big difference. Kim, our 2 years old, absorbs anything the children are bringing home from school. She knows the words of all their songs (including the National Anthem) and charms everybody.

On the 19th October the St Francis Outreach Trust celebrated its 3rd anniversary with enthusiastic

Friends and supporters, whom the dreadful weather could not keep away. His Grace, Archbishop

Ndungane, our patron, opened in prayer and Dr. Lutz van Dijk, founder of the children’s home Hokisa was the guestspeaker. As chairlady I reflected on the successful and devoted work of the trustees during the last 3 years. I emphasized that our foster mother is the heart and soul of our home

and that she has changed the children’s initial fears and tears into laughter again. Joyce our

foster mother and the children attended the function and sang 2 songs for us. Kim knew all the

words by heart.

We are grateful to our partners, Home from Home, who organized regular meetings and

Occasional fun days for our foster mother and through generous donors, events for the children. Our foster mother is managing her finances and knows her home economics much better, thanks to the knowledgeable training by Michelle, our tireless and patient trustee.

As the project continues to evolve the trustees are keen to expand and build a second home for

Vulnerable children affected by HIV/Aids, close to the existing house. The continuing search for

a plot has until now been unsuccessful.

The idea of an educational fund for our children’s tertiary education has also been discussed.

The members of the St Francis Outreach Trust wish you a blessed Christmas and Health and

Happiness and many more blessings in the coming year.

Monika du Sautoy

Chairlady

Chairlady's Report for 2012

  -  St Francis Outreach Trust  -  Chairlady’s Report 2012 -

   At the “Home to Grow” the beginning of the year is always celebrated with two birthdays.  The first is that of  

   our foster mother, Joyce, and a few days later it is Molly’s.  She was the first child who came to us in October   

   2010, and she is now four years old.  How she has changed!  The once scared and restless 18-months-old

   who had been passed from one institution to the next, learned to bond with Joyce and settled down into the

   little girl she is today, able to communicate with a gentle touch and a smile. She attends kindergarten and is   

   very fond of her youngest sister, Kim. Every one of the children is fond of Kim and Kim is fond of them.

   Joyce has a wonderful way of teaching the children to love and care for one another.  One of our visitors  

   once said, “You can feel a special atmosphere in this home, one of love and happiness!”  

There was a lot going on at Kanana Road in 2012:

1. By February, all the children finally were receiving Social grants.

2. We installed Astro Turf on areas still filled with the sand which had once  

    accommodated five shacks.

3. Two shade trees were planted over the playground area, which is now fully cemented.

4. The vegetable tunnel was dismantled and only a small area left for planting vegetables.

5. The water was tested by the water department at our request and found to be all right.

6. To accommodate our children’s urge to paint on walls, our builder suggested painting several panels of our   

    wall with black-board paint.  Now our children and the neighbours’ children can go wild writing and drawing   

    on the wall.

7. We again received a visit and support from our friends Germa and Con from the Netherlands who    

    established a trust to help us. They have not only transferred a remarkable amount of money in a very short   

    time, but are also always interested to hear about the wellbeing of the children and spend time with the kids   

     when they visit South Africa.

8. The monthly cost of running the home varies between R4500 and R7000 and we are very grateful to the  

     regular donors who make it possible for us to take care of the children.  Whether it is the monthly R100  

     which somebody has been transferring since the trust was established, grants from companies, or the

     generous donation of the Salty Sea Dog restaurant which allows us to deliver fish to our own and other

     foster homes at least once a month, these donations make it easier for us to continue our work.

9.  Several of our children have medical needs, but with the involvement of a speech therapist one of the girls

     has very much improved, and another has just returned from hospital after a successful osteotomy of her

     hip. The third little girl receives daily medication for her HIV status and has very low levels of the virus,  

     according to the clinic.

10. Joyce regularly participated in workshops given by Home from Home for their foster mothers.  The  

      assistant foster mother replaced her during her time off.

11. Our “Cape Peninsula” calendar is gaining more and more popularity, even overseas.  The 2013 sales have

       been very heartening.  Thank you all for supporting us in this project!  It is our largest fundraiser for the

       year. St Paul’s Episcopal Church has again sold 50 calendars and several local churches have done the

       same, including our congregation at St Francis Church in Simon’s Town.

12. In May we gave a presentation to the Good Hope Rotary Club, who promised us help with tracing building

      material for our second home.

13. We received blankets from AP Jones at the beginning of winter.

14. A kind lady sent our children scarves and gloves she had knitted for them

15. October saw our 3-year SFO Trust anniversary  party. Friends of the Trust came out in the pouring rain.  

      We welcomed Archbishop Ndungane, Lutz van Dijk, our children, Joyce and Elizabeth.  The children sang

      one song and the National Anthem.  Even Kim knew most of the words.

16. …and then came Christmas!  Home from Home invited all the foster mothers and their children to a party

       on a Kenilworth sports field.  Santa came and presented each child with a fairly substantial gift.

17.  We wanted to do something in the spirit of Christmas with the children, so we baked cookies with them.  A

       few days later these were hung on the newly purchased Christmas tree.  Michelle explained to the children  

       where New  Zealand was, while Irma and Henry gave them each a gift from their daughter and her family

       in New Zealand. They were life size birds in their actual colours. Each bird also made its real sound, when

       it was squeezed.

       Maggie filled the lovely Christmas boots, which she had made last year, with goodies for the   

       children and others decorated the tree and sang and listened to Christmas songs.

       The next day a parcel with educational toys arrived from a very kind lady in Germany .. So, we had  

       another party a day later. Each child received one more educational toy. It was much fun to watch, how

       they managed and played it with us.

18.  Dr.Sophie Billington found a donor for Yazini and Aleeyah’s school uniforms, and a lady who will cover   

       Kim’s kindergarten expenses for a year.

19. Although it happened in January 2013, the event needs to be mentioned.  Gretchen Ginnerty, a member

      of St Peter’s Episcopal Church in Arlington, Washington, came with her mother, daughter and a friend to

      deliver  36 beautiful love-quilts to the foster children of Home from Home. An exhibition at the Fish Hoek

      Civic Center, organized by the St Francis Outreach Trust on the 12^th and 13^th January, displayed these

      wonderful creations,  made with the purpose of showing love and encouragement to the children of Africa

       from the children of  the USA.

20. The only thing we have not been able to accomplish in 2012, is to find a plot for our second home. We trust

      that when it is time, the Lord will intervene. We continue with our intensive search.

Thank you all for your encouragement, prayers and support, we would not be able to manage our work

without you.

Come and see our home and our happy children. We are ready to introduce you to them.

Please, contact  me at  074 915 7747, if you would like to visit in the new year.

Monika du Sautoy

Chairlady

Raffle Winner

The draw for the raffle was held on the 21st January, and the winner of the beautiful wall hanging crafted by the American art quilter, Cindy Grisela, was Gill Gray pictured here on the left.   Monika, chairperson of the trust is on the right.  All funds raised will be put towards the "Homes to Grow" project.

The St Peter's Love Quilt exhibition held in Pretoria on 6 January.

Well done to Diana Higgs for arranging the exhibition of the St Peter's Quilts in Pretoria 6 January.  The press article covers the event and the photograph shows Gretchen Ginnerty, the coordinator of the project on the left, with Diana and her husband Rear Admiral Robert Higgs at the St Francis Church in Waterkloof.

Photos from the St Peter's Love Quilt Exhibition

The St Peter's Love Quilt Exhibition at Fish Hoek Civic Center 12 -13 January, 2013

In the photograph above, Gretchen Ginnerty, the co-ordinator of the project speaks about the making of the exhibited quilts.  The quilts are gifts,  bearing messages of love from American children to South African children orphaned through the Aids pandemic.   The quilts are designed using a modified Log Cabin pattern.  The design has a central square in each block and within each quilt twenty hand-drawn children's squares make up the integral design.  Light and dark strips of fabric are used to symbolise the counterbalance of life: sad times / happy times, hardship /bountiful with the central square representing a core of universal love.

St Peter's Love Quilt Exhibition at Fish Hoek Civic Center

The St Peter's Love Quilt Project will exhibit thirty-six quilts and two large wall hangings at the Fish Hoek Civic Centre Minor Hall this coming weekend 12 - 13 January from 9am till 3pm.

Come and be inspired!  The co-ordinator Gretchen Ginnerty will be talking about the project at 13h30 on each of the days.  It's an extraordinary story of a committed community who hope to bridge divides and drive forward a worthy cause.   For each quilt is not only a marvel in design, but also has it's own unique message.  American quilt making has a long proud heritage and these traditions are shown anew with the spirit and generosity of these works. 

Members of the St Peter's Episcopal church in Arlington,Virginia partner in a venture with the St Francis Outreach Trust (of the Anglican Parish in Simon's Town) in their "Home to Grow" foster home in Masiphumelele. The original vision for the quilts was spurred by a visit to the home in July 2011 when seven quilts were given as gifts to the foster children and house mother. The idea was that the quilts would wrap the children with warmth and carry messages of love from the children of the St Peter's parish.  

The quilt project expanded as a result of this mission and the very positive response. The thirty-six quilts exhibited here will be distributed to various foster homes identified by SFOT and the "Home from Home" organisation caring for orphaned or fostered children.  These superb works of art are the result of many hours  given by teams of talented quilters and by the incorporation of the fabric squares hand drawn by American children with their message of love for the orphaned South African children, who have been affected by the scourge of the HIV/Aids pandemic.  

Raffle tickets for the two wall hangings are being sold to raise funds.  Come along and take a punt, who knows you may be a lucky winner!

Further background information on the St Francis Outreach Trust:

-The trust was launched in May 2009 by members of the Anglican congregation of Simon's Town, with the goal of fulfilling a need to support disadvantaged children through the Hiv/AIDS pandemic.

 -Through the endeavours of the trustees and the local community funds were raised for the purchase of a plot in Masiphumelele and in June 2010 the patron of the trust, the retired Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane blessed the foundations for the first "Home to Grow" in Kanana Road, Masiphumelele. 

- Shortly after the foundations were laid, an additional boost was received through the support and the partnering in the project by the St Peter's Episcopal Church in Arlington, Virginia.  It paved the way in getting the building work complete and by October 2010, the housemother and first of the fostered children took up residence.

-With the continued support of St Peter's, the "Home to Grow" project flourishes. In late July 2011, a group from the church arrived to further their mission and cement their links with the project.  Their hands on approach, and magnanimous gift of 7 quilts to the housemother and children were gratefully received.   

- St Francis Trust arrange for the two Exhibitions for the quilts, at Pretoria 6 January and Fish Hoek12 - 13 January.

Further links:

http:// www.stfrancistrust.org

http://www.saint-peters.org/wp/ministries/mission-commission/st-peter%E2%80%99s-love-quilt-project/