Annual report 2013-2014

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

12

17

19

22

24

25

26

27

WHO WE ARE

CEO REPORT

CHAIRMAN REPORT

WHERE WE WORK

THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN

ORGANOGRAM

EDUCENTRE

EDEN

LIFESKILLS

BOUTIQUE

INFOGRAPHIC

INCOME

EXPENDITURE

OUR FUNDERS & FRIENDS

GET IN TOUCH

CONTENTS PAGE

WHO WE AREVISION “A restored community living with dignity,

purpose and hope”

MISSION •We participate in the community by being part of the community

•We create opportunities for holistic development through various initiatives, focusing on education, social upliftment and food security

•We encourage sustainability through equipping and empowering individuals with the right tools, skills and knowledge, to be the change they want to see

•Through relationships, we help people to help themselves, so they can help others

CORE VALUES Relational participation, Empowerment

Sustainability, Joy

1

CEO’SREPORTFor South Africans and many people around the world, the year 2013 will be remembered as the year the great ”Madiba” said farewell. Nelson Mandela died on 5 December 2013, leaving us as custodians of a huge legacy. His passion for education and transformation was evident to all. So I find it fitting that this quote of his would be a theme for Sozo 2013

“There is no passion to be found playing small - in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.” -Nelson Mandela

2013 was indeed a year of exponential growth for Sozo. A year that has expanded our vision and increased our impact. Our staff grew by 50% from 8 to 12. We added a third office to our current site. We launched two new projects, Sozo Lifeskills and Sozo Design.

We hosted our first staff conference and developed our capacity through numerous training and development opportunities. We helped, equipped and empowered more beneficiaries this year than ever before and saw the Educentre grow to 45 students. We excelled in accolades, receiving the Soil for Life 2013 award for best Food garden enterprise in the Western Cape and we were nominated to receive the Unashamedly Ethical award for NGO sector.

Finally we experienced a total miracle when almost a million rand was spontaneously generated at New Wine Church Conference in the UK during a passionate message brought by Steve Morris as he shared his family’s heart for the Vrygrond community and how we are together hoping, trusting, dreaming to see the first ever purpose built youth education centre in the history of Vrygrond. Shortly before we received a generous offer from the Vrygrond Community Development Trust to occupy a plot of land on which to build this “dream centre”. Plans were submitted in February with building work poised to begin…“There is no passion to be found in playing small…”

Thank you for your support, encouragement and partnership.

Anton Cuyler CEO

2

Judging by the quality of committed resources for next year, mainly new people, we know that God has a lot of good things in store for us all.

Thank you to our trustees and CEO. It is a privilege and a pleasure to journey with you, as we discover and refine our purpose together.

As we continue to tend our garden, we are thankful for this rich soil that gives us all so much.

CHAIRMAN’SREPORTThis has been our third year of operation. It has been a period of deeper establishment. We have reflected on our initial period, learned the lessons from our mistakes, and refined and improved various aspects of purpose, governance, structure and communication.

We are thankful and appreciative for the loyal and excellent support from all of our stakeholders

We have received increasing community acceptance and support as relationships have developed, which has been significant for us.

Our funders have partnered with us in many ways. They have supported us with direct funding, support and training. Thank you for all that you are to us.

Our staff, interns and volunteers have all passionately supported their roles, striven for excellence, and grown to facilitate improved support to our beneficiaries. Thank you for being there with us.

Our project visions have evolved as they have developed and integrated into our community. Details are contained in their sections of this report.

Roy KempsterChairman of the Board

3

WHERE WE WORKThe Vrygrond community is a multi cultural community with more than 40 000 residents living in two areas; Vrygrond, a formal settlement and Overcome Heights, an informal settlement. The cultural makeup is approximately 50% colored and 50% black, the latter being split approximately 25% local black and 25% foreign black residents. This diversity is unique for a South African township and also has a huge impact on the challenges faced within the community. Our primary focus is Youth Development and this is mainly because of the huge lack of services within the community for this particular target group.

4

We are focusing on the transition of youth to self-reliance, as we have realised that in this community of Vrygrond/Capricorn the youth have been severely overlooked. Vrygrond boasts many early childhood development centres, an excellent Primary School that is achieving wonderful results but the services and opportunities end there. The young people are forced to walk far distances through gang-infested areas to the high schools in Lavender Hill, Steenberg, Retreat and other areas. In the evenings and weekends, there are no facilities or safe places for these young people to go, nor any facility that offers information about opportunities for youth employment, development and education.

THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE IT HAPPEN

(L-R) Kimmy Nicholas- Intern, Anthea Kieghlaar - Catering Manager, Arlene Bock - Educentre Project

Manager, Sophie Olivier - Resource Manager, Sasha-Lee Moolman - Design Manager, Natasha Thomas -

Operations Manager, Kate Ellis - Eden Project Manager, Nelisiwe Nomadwayi- Grade Mentor, Franscisca Jeftha - Garden Manager, Nomthandazo Magadla - Educentre

Admin Assistant, Anton Cuyler - CEO

This year we have seen huge growth in staff with 4 new full time staff members.

5

Organogram

6

EDUCENTREWHAT WE SEE IN THE FUTURE “A generation of young leaders who inspire positive change in their own communities”

THE GAPS WE’RE CLOSINGThere is currently no high-school and no youth Education facility in the Vrygrond community and with very high levels of gangsterism, crime and violence this community offers no safe space for youth to further their academic development.

The World Economic Forum 2014’s Global Information Technology Report recently ranked South Africa 146 out of 148 countries for the overall quality of its education.

THE INS AND OUTS OF WHAT WE DOThe Sozo Educentre, provides a safe space for 45 high school learners (between the ages of 13 – 18 years) to be equipped and empowered within their own community so as to achieve their full potential. After-school tutoring and academic assistance is offered four days a week to young people at a central accessible venue, the Vrygrond Community Library. The program provides alternative role models who are committed as mentors to help grow and develop every individual to be able to take responsibility of their own dreams through commitment, perseverance, shared learning, giving back and fun. Our mission is to see every child finish high school successfully and to assist each learner with an opportunity of further post schooling opportunities that will lead to a dignified job.

7

Tutoring This year we were able to provide 45 high school learners with a safe space for after school tutoring and academic assistance, 3 days a week for 2 hours. We received a donation of brand new textbooks from All Copy - Mind Action Series. At Sozo we believe in rewarding the Sozonites, and we had a joyous and entertaining End of year Education Celebration Prize Giving.

Maths DevelopmentWe launched Sozo Super Saturdays with specialised maths tutors who offer support to the learners. This year we hosted a 4 hour Maths Workshop and Parrot Products sponsored a movable white board for the use in Educentre – particularly for maths tutoring sessions.

ACHIEVEMENTS THIS YEAR

8

Excursions- Design Indaba 2013 & 2014 Expo

- UCT & False Bay Open Day - One of our learners has been accepted to False Bay College to complete a Vocational National Certificate in Hospitality which is fully funded by a bursary.

- Sisanda FunDaytion – Fit Footy Fun Day, Wonderful Women Fun Day, Sisanda Connect

Nutrition

Over 10,000 meals provided

In March, we employed a full time caterer who provides the learners with nutritional meals during a session. We also started a partnership with Foodbank, receiving donated goods and produce.

Short Courses- Justice Creates (creative expression 7 Week workshop) – In partnership with Justice Acts International

-12 Learners where involved in the 6 week graphic design course facilitated by Wonderland Collective

ACHIEVEMENTS CONTINUED...

Computer Centre In June, 12 Computers were donated from the UK and the learners are enjoying having access to computers for their projects and research.

9

Grade Mentorship This year we had Sozo-staffed grade mentors on board, each went on a two day Emotional Intelligence Workshop. We introduced Grade Learner representatives, which encourages leadership among the Sozonites.

Psycho-social Intervention In May we had a ‘Refresh 4 Sozonites’ – Child Protection Workshop, which raised awareness about their rights and responsibilities. Through our due diligence to child protection, each Grade Mentor and tutors have been through the police clearance process. We collaborated with a local stakeholder to engage in a 4-day annual youth camp based in an area of natural beauty. 18 learners were part of the Six Thinking Hats Workshop by Verity Price which encourages creative thinking. Also, an 8 week Toastmasters workshop facilitated by Two Oceans Toastmasters in Fish Hoek was offered to 10 learners. This gave learners a safe platform to build confidence and self-awareness working in a group and leadership position. A few of the learners conducted their powerful speeches from the course at the Prize giving with such boldness and energy!


2013 - 80% OVERALL AVERAGE ATTENDANCE

2013 - 97.5% OVERALL PASS RATE

10

STORY OF SUCCESS Nhlanhla Lucky Dendera joined Educentre as an eager Sozonite during 2011 which is the year we launched, and we have journeyed with him ever since. He is a cheerful, humble, committed and a really ‘happy-go-lucky’ young fellow! Raised in Zimbabwe and arriving in foreign Cape Town five years ago, he never allowed change in environment to stand in the way of pursuing his goals! Last year, 2013, being the only Grade 12 learner, he always encouraged (and still does) the younger Sozonites in their endeavours. He made the most of every opportunity that could inspire him creatively and career wise at Educentre and now holds his National Senior certificate with a bachelor pass. It took a journey to discover his passion, so he is extremely thrilled to be attending Damelin College to pursue studies in Electrical Engineering. He is enjoying every part of the college experience and is keen to sow it forward by tutoring current learners of Educentre.

WHAT A PARENT HAD TO SAY “ I would like to say thank you for everything you have done for Nhlanhla Lucky Dendera from 2011-2013. You kept him busy after school. Sozo Educentre moulded him into a good, reliable and respected kid in the community. A lot of people have commented about his good behaviour and wanted their sons to be friends with him, this is because Sozo taught him good ethics. Thanks you very much for sourcing tutors and providing stationery. I am very proud of my son who is now studying Electrical Engineering at Damelin College which has been his passion to study. Thank you for organising outings to differ -ent places. I say big up to you as you are changing the perception of our kids in the community and one day they will realise how impart you have been in their lives. Please keep up the good work”.

- Mrs Francisca -

11

EDENWHAT WE SEE IN THE FUTURE “A self-sustaining, food secure, community of organic food gardeners”

THE SOIL WE’RE TURNINGThe vast majority of people living in the Vrygrond/Capricorn community are either unemployed or earn minimum wage. Without economic security, they are unable to feed themselves properly. An unhealthy diet leads to many health problems which, in some cases, lead to the inability to work and earn a living, resulting in abject poverty. Most people are unfamiliar with urban agriculture farming methods. In areas such as Vrygrond, less than 5 percent obtain food by growing it themselves. A recent survey on food insecurity in Cape Town’s low-income areas (of which Vrygrond forms a part) found that over 80% of the households were food insecure (Crush, J. and Frayne, B. (eds). 2010. The state of urban food security in Southern Africa. AFSUN Series No.2. Cape Town: Unity Press).

THE INS AND OUTS OF WHAT WE DOSozo Eden is a holistic programme that equips and empowers low-income families to be able to provide nutritious food for their household by developing individual gardens within their own community. Through an established hands-on training course, follow up support visits, access to the community garden centre and a full time gardener we are able to provide the resources and increase knowledge and skills in urban agriculture. Our mission is to see every home-gardener grow their own vegetables successfully, through commitment, perseverance, shared learning, having fun, assisting each other, giving back and selling or bartering their produce within the community.

12

Home Gardener Training Course Over 4 separate courses Eden trained 32 home gardeners in our 10-week interactive programme, based on the Soil for Life course. These 32 were equipped and empowered to grow and maintain vegetables at their own homes. 27 out of the 32 were women, majority of which are unemployed, vulnerable mothers.

Resourcing Gardeners The home gardeners were provided with essential start up materials provided on completion of training course. Coupon books were used in exchange for raw materials, seedlings and compost.

Four-Seasons Support: Our Field Trainers were able to offer extra support with follow up visits to each home gardener for 3 months after the course. We had a great annual competition in Novem-ber where the Gardeners achievements are celebrated.


13

Community Garden CentreOur Central hub for the home gardeners really took off this year as Francisca (Cisca) Jeftha was employed full time in April 2013 as the Sozo Eden Garden Cen-tre Manager. Having Cisca in the Garden Full Time has resulted in the garden receiving much more attention and it has been developed to a point where garden-ers are able to come and trade the coupons they get in their training starter-packs for compost, mulch and seedlings to take home and use in their home-gar-dens. The vegetables that are grown in the garden are sold to the tenants of the Vrygrond Community Cen-tre at a reduced rate. The proceeds from the sale of vegetables are used to maintain the garden and are adding towards covering Cisca’s salary.

The seedling nursery was built during this year and managed to produce 1600 seedlings! We also managed to plant 8 trench beds of vegetables, with the help of a team of 16 volunteers from Community Church Chafford Hundered (CCCH) in the UK!

Skills DevelopmentIn partnership with Learn to Earn, Sozo Eden held an 8-week Business Skills training course for 5 home garden-ers. They learnt about budgeting, time management, marketing and SWOT analysis.

The Sozo Eden Garden Centre was awarded the title “Best Food Garden Enterprise 2013” by local environmental NGO Soil for Life at their annual Prize Giving in November 2013. Well done Eden team!


14

Income Generation

Sozo Eden produces Self-Generated Income by selling the organic vegetables we grow at our Garden Centre in Vrygrond to local community members. Out total income was R2300!

15

STORY OF SUCCESS Edu-Eden Course - This year we had an exciting project merging course where Eden trained 12 youth from the Educentre in home gardening. garden at library.

Sharon Beziek is a single mother to a teenager and 2 younger children. She first completed the Home-Gardening course in May 2012 when her back yard was an empty space covered in beach sand. Now, almost 2 years later, she has an enormous back garden full of a variety of organic vegetables which she feeds to her children. She has encouraged others in the community to do the course and often works in the Garden Centre in return for seeds or seedlings she wants to plant in her garden.

16

LIFESKILLSWHAT WE SEE IN THE FUTURE “A community equipped with skills that enable them to love living life.”

THE ISSUE’S WE’RE RESTORINGThe families we are working in Vrygrond experience a number of detrimental issues including high levels of crime, substance abuse and unemployment; lack of emotional stability; relationship breakdowns, inferiority due to lack of self-respect, self-confidence and self-esteem.

From a survey taken, more than half (59,2%) of the population in Vrygrond and surrounds have been victims of crime and in the home, the children, youths and adults are also confronted with violence (15,4%) and are in contact with alcohol (43,9%) or drug abuse (29,9%).

THE INS AND OUTS OF WHAT WE DOSozo Lifeskills facilitates courses that equip people emotionally, spiritually and socially. We believe teaching people these essential skills enables them to gain a restored identity, self- respect and to develop their own potential to the full. We apply a holistic development approach in order to help people become whole persons

17

The Sozo Lifeskills programme was launched in August 2013 out of the Boutique Project. We realised that more than just a ‘home makeover’ needed to be done, people’s lives and relationships within the families we were encountering needed intervention and our work.

Relationship Restoration and Personal IdentityOur focus this year was on relationship restoration. Through a partnership with Clinical Psychologist Colleen Anderson, we offered an intense counselling course for 4 couples over 6 sessions. These 8 participants gained skills and insight into themselves and those around them through learning about self-development, communication and understanding their partner.

We have found that, with regular monitoring and evaluation, we have been able to gain the trust of families as they open up to us.


Fire and SafetyWe first piloted the fire and safety course in July with the Sozo staff and Board members. We learnt the theory and had the practical experience of training in how to use the big fire hoses. The staff had an enjoyable and informative day with the fire engines!

Then in August we invited 20 Vrygrond community members to take part in fire and safety workshop with the City of Cape Town Fire and Rescue Ser-vices. The participants were trained in understanding different kinds of fires, identifying and extinguishing them, including how to use a fire extinguisher.

All participants agreed that the quality of the presentation was good and the workshop was informative - “I learned how to distinguish different fires and the importance of safety.” This day was about imparting information, building community and having fun!

18

BOUTIQUEWHAT WE SEE IN THE FUTURE “A communities’ dignity and hope restored through home renovations”

THE ISSUE’S WE’RE RESTORINGMany of the homes in the Vrygrond/Capricorn community are small one or two-roomed basic dwellings. These government houses have bare concrete floors and walls that are cold and damp in winter, causing an array of health issues. They were also fitted with very poor quality kitchens and bathrooms including plastic toilets, which once broken, residents could not afford to fix/replace

39% of the residents in Vrygrond live in informal dwellings or ‘shacks’.

THE INS AND OUTS OF WHAT WE DOThe Sozo Boutique aims to uplift the physical environment of vulnerable families by restoring basic essential living conditions such as windows, flooring, painting, electricity, bedding, furniture and sanitation. These restoration projects have a direct impact on family health and hygiene, safety as well as emotional and psychological welfare, resulting in a safer happier home.

19

Home Renovations

The De Villiers family was chosen for this Boutique make-over as the 13 year old daughter is one of So-zo’s Youth beneficiaries. This young girl has recently gone through chal-lenging circumstances, including ne-glect and abuse whilst staying with an aunt. Four people currently live in this house and when we did the initial assessment there were many concerns. These included health and safety, lack of privacy, no furniture and we determined that this envi-ronment could potentially place this girl in another vulnerable position.


We recommended the physical inter-vention with the house in the form of a Boutique, but also other forms of family intervention with our social worker and Lifeskills programs we offer, including re-lationship building. This project has made a huge impact on the quality of life for the whole family and we continue to stay in contact with them and support their development.

Forming Relationships

Through the work in people’s houses, we have been able to build lasting relationships with the families in the community. This has led to the development of the Sozo Lifeskills Project.

20


Training Workshops

Empowering families by facilitating health and safety workshops.

Skills Development

Equipping young unemployed men of the community to facilitate home ren-ovations.

Building Community

Helping to create community by connecting beneficiaries of home renovations

21

INFOGRAPHIC

22

23

Income 2013-2014Individual Donors R40 800,00 2%

Local GrantsR106 000,00 5%

Local Corporates R26 408,00 1%

Local Churches R84 000,00 4%

Local Trusts * R180 000,00 8%

Interest R9 880,00 0%

Social Enterprise R2 016,00 0%

New Building Income R973 643,20 44%

Overseas Donations 744 550,80 33%

* Claude Leon Foundation

Fundraising R64 560,00 3%

24

Expenditure 2013-2014 R408 646,00 Central Administration 34%

R50 949,80 New Building 4%

R422 046,00 Educentre 35%

R203 072,25 Eden 17%

R120 100,55 Boutique 10%

25

Chafford Community Church

CRC London

Creative Change

Fringe Hair Studio

Grandslots

Harcourts

H2o International

Ikamva Youth

Individual TAG Donors

Jacks Paint

Out The Box Training

Redsand Golf

Sisanda Fundaytion

Soil For Life

Stichting Projecten Zuid Afrika

SWAGG

The Bay Community Church

The Eventful Group

The Harry Crossley Foundation

The Learning Trust

MLT Drives

Our Funders and Friends

Thank you to every person who contributed to the work of The Sozo Foundation in 2013-201426

Get in touchOffice: 021 825 5529/7Cell: 071 403 5516Email: [email protected]

Address: Corner Vrygrond Avenue and Trevor Siljeur Road, Vrygrond,MuizenbergCape Town,7945

Please find and “LIKE” us on Facebook

NPO Number: 036-344 PBO Number: 930013534

Donate Direct Debt/ EFT

The Sozo Foundation 072043776 Standard Bank Blue Route Mall 025-609

For International Donations

Swift code: SBZAZAJJ Branch Code: 025-609 Standard Bank Blue Route Shopping Centre C/Vans and Tokai Road Tokai 7945 Cape Town Western Cape , South Africa

www.thesozofoundation.org.za 27

Documents

Annual report 2013-2014