NPO 036-971                                 Postnet Suite 8321, Private Bag X32,

Website:   www.siphumelele.org      Kempton Park 1620

Contact person: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it    Elsabé Coetzee 082 962 9953

ABOUT SIPHUMELELE 

How we got started

Almost nine years ago, a mother driving home in a downpour, stopped at a traffic light in Edleen and found herself looking into the empty eyes of a "street child". Her heart broke and she raced home to get some food and blankets. On returning, she was horrified to see the stormwater pipe that "Dumi" and his five friends called home. The woman went back every day with food, cooked in her home, and slowly these children who had known only pain, rejection and abuse, started to trust her.

Elsabé Coetzee, a Christian mother of three children, decided to make it her mission to help these street children: from basic food and shelter, to reuniting them with their parents; Elsabé vowed to do whatever was necessary to stop the waste of human potential from continuing.

For three years Elsabé found a way to feed these children even though their numbers kept increasing, weaning them off their glue sniffing habit by exchanging food for glue. But she could not provide them with shelter and knowing that every night the kids faced the very real danger of pedophiles, drug dealers and physical and verbal abuse from the community, was almost too much to bear. In July 2004 a local businessman donated a house to Elsabe's street children and thus Siphumelele (“new beginnings”) was born.

SIPHUMELELE was registered as a Non-Profit Organisation on 29 November 2004 and has been successful in securing donations of "sell-by-date" food from supermarkets on a weekly basis.  From January 2005, the children have either been enrolled in various schools, ABET facilities or crèche. Getting clothes, equipment and materials and furniture for the house are all dependant on ad hoc donations as SIPHUMELELE does not receive any formal funding from any government or corporate institutions.

Since its registration as a NPO, Siphumelele has established a Management Committee to ensure that Siphumelele's vision and the children's ongoing needs are met. Broadly, these needs include education (schooling, vocational training), rehabilitation (medical attention, spiritual guidance, life skills, trauma counseling) and where possible, re-unification with their families. (It is important to remember that none of these children were on the street through any choice of their own. Many come from homes where there is physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Most are from very poor homes where their needs for food, clothing or shelter could not be met.) They need to regain confidence in adults and in themselves, so that they can form relationships and lead constructive lives with hope for the future. They also need to be allowed to be children, protected in a nurturing, supportive environment.

Siphumelele would like to provide opportunities and support to enable these children to realize their potential and ultimately to make a positive contribution to society. Siphumelele seeks to be a community solution and welcomes all input.

Our Vision

To change the current lost generation of 40 000 street children into proud, understanding, responsible and God-fearing future leaders of South Africa.

Our Mission

Siphumelele endeavors to uplift, encourage and acknowledge the rights and dreams of abused and abandoned children through biblical principles.

To raise awareness of sexual, physical and emotional exploitation of street children.

To create a loving and caring environment within the community, to achieve optimal potential in our drive to rehabilitate and educate abused and abandoned children.

Our aims and objectives

1. Formalise Outreach Programs
   
   This is the daily task of establishing and building relationships with children on the street. It involves going out and meeting the children where they spend their days and sleep, offering basic resources like first aid and providing food and blankets.
2. Orientation
   
   This is the phase where the children have been placed in a loving, family orientated home environment. (Currently between 20 and 25 children are housed at SIPHUMELELE). It requires trained personnel, social and care workers, to provide counseling, life skills and vocational training as well as assistance with homework (volunteer tutors). Although many of the children are brought to SIPHUMELELE after being abandoned, we do not know the status of the parents.  We do, however, positively know that 2 of our kids are Aids orphans due to the fact that their parents have passed away from HIV related illnesses). It requires trained personnel, social and care workers, to provide counseling, life skills and vocational training as well as assistance with homework (volunteer tutors).

Skills Development Programmes

Some of the older children have been on the streets since age 11, without much formal education. The greatest need is to teach them practical skills (panel beating; garment making; pottery; leatherwork; metal work; building, etc.) that could lead to employment opportunities. A programme to network those in training with prospective employers is also envisaged. These programs rely on teachers or tutors and equipment. Care workers and social workers are critical to facilitate and assist with the implementation of these programs. One of the critical factors to implementation is transportation. SIPHUMELELE does not have a vehicle that can accommodate transporting the children to and from apprenticeships (or even to school).

Re-unification

The ultimate objective remains to re-unite the children with their families and to support the families to ensure that the children are not abandoned or rejected again. When the nuclear family is not able to accommodate them because of the severity of their problems, placements are sought with members of the extended family. As extreme poverty is often the reason the children get sent out to fend for themselves, it is necessary to provide the families with some financial support or at least food and basic necessities like blankets and clothing for the re-unification process to be effective. A social worker is essential to assist with the reintegration of the children and their families and the communities.

PROGRESS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

• 278 Children taken in or cared for since beginning
• ±30% of children re-united with a parent or extended families
• 49 Kids received proper schooling since January 2005
• 9 Children attended 3 different Private Schools in the past 4 years
• 4 School prefects in the past 2 years
• 1 Deputy Head Boy
• 3 Children obtained Provincial Colours in Gymnastics
• 2 Children to represent their Province at the SA’s  for Gymnastics
• 2 Children playing 1st Team Rugby
• Volunteer Social Worker does assessments
• Volunteer Medical Doctor attends to Medical needs
• Volunteer Psychologist does debriefing and group therapy
• Volunteer Occupational Therapist conducts individual therapy sessions

Banking details:

Siphumelele Ministries, ABSA, Central Ave, Kempton Park

Acc no: 9134701971

Type:  Business