INTRO TO EKUKHANYENI

Ekukhanyeni is new and much needed day care & education center in the township of Mfuleni, about 45 minutes outside of Cape Town, South Africa.

About 60 children come here every day to play and learn in a safe and nurturing space away from the hardships of the township.  About half of the children who come live in the orphanage called Sakhumzi and the rest have parents who have to leave the township to go work in Cape Town every day.  Ekukanyeni is run on a 'pay what you can' basis - which means that most children attend for free.

Both Ekukhanyeni and Sakhumzi (the related orphanage) are the creation of this amazing lady:  Mama Amelia.  Amelia started Sakhumzi about 20 years ago and has raised literally hundreds of children.  But now her focus is on developing Ekukhanyeni.

                   

Ekukhanyeni is still new - basically a sand covered lot with two classrooms and a jungle gym enclosed by a rickety fence.

But Mama Amelia has a great vision for it.  She believes that the children of Mfuleni deserve a place where they can play safely and start to learn - and that the nurturing energy of this space can help to uplift the entire community.

In this pic I'm looking across the street toward the township of Mfuleni.  Like most South African townships, Mfuleni is mostly made up of tin shacks with no running water.  Most of the children at Ekukanyeni who don't live at the orphanage of Sakhumzi live in one of these shacks.

The playground has one large shade tree - which gets used a lot for classes and lunch.  In the foreground you can see some new trees that were just planted by a local school group.

Portia is one of the dedicated teachers at Ekukhanyeni.  Here she gives the children an English lesson under the shade tree.

The teachers set up little tables and chairs under the shade tree so that the kids can eat their lunch there. 

This is the kitchen - basically two large cooking pots in the sand.

This lady is the cook.  Mama Amelia pays her about $100 per month to cook the lunches every day.  

                                       

But in spite of all these limitations - Ekukhanyeni is an extraordinary place.  It's an oasis of safety where the children can come every day to feel secure and learn.  

When you look at the reality of life in the township of Mfuleni - it's clear that Ekukhanyeni is a little miracle - which is why I've decided to do all I can to help it grow.

Thanks so much for visiting!  : )

HOW YOU CAN HELP!

When I went to South Africa last year, Ekukanyeni had only one classroom.  Since my visit, I've raised the money for one more.    : )

Mama Amelia would like to add another three classroom buildings.  One would be a playroom for the really young kids, another would be a bathroom with separate areas for boys and girls, and one would be a kitchen.

And here's the best part:  the classroom buildings are just $6,000 each.  So - I only need to raise $18,000 to reach our goal.  If you'd like to help - feel free to email me at stuandmabel@gmail.com.  Or you can make a donation to the Ekukanyeni Day Care account on PayPal by entering stuandmabel@gmail.com.  At the request of Mama Amelia (who is VERY smart about these things!) 100% of the money donated goes DIRECTLY to the company selling the classrooms so we know that that's what our money is being used for.

When the money for the classrooms has been raised, my goal is to then start an education fund so that the children of Ekuhhanyeni can attend the bilingual school (Xhosa and English) which will enable them to seek higher paying jobs when the leave school.

Thanks so much for visiting the blog.  I'll be returning to South Africa soon and will post more information then!

MAMA AMELIA - AND HER VISION

What can be said about Mama Amelia?  Other than she is one of the most amazing and inspiring people I have ever met.

Mama was living in the township of Mfuleni about twenty years ago when she saw an abandoned child living in the street near her home.  She decided at once to take the child in and care for it as if it were her own.  Soon more children followed - and Sakhumzi was born.

Mama Amelia has run Sakhumzi for more than twenty years now and has raised hundreds of children - feeding them, keeping them safe, and making sure they go to school.  She understands that the high rates of unemployment and poverty in Mfuleni create enormous risks for children who are not looked after properly - so she is determined to provide as much care for the children of the township as she can.

Mama Amelia's new focus is Ekukhanyeni.  She envisions it as a thriving day care / educational center where pre-school aged children can play safely and be protected from the various dangers of the township, and start to learn.  Mama Amelia would also like Ekukhanyeni to become a multi-cultural center where people from other countries can spend time, learn about the people of South Africa, establish relationships, and help teach the children.

THE CHILDREN OF EKUKHENYENI

Every day there are at least 60 children come to Ekukhanyeni.

The children are either orphans or abandoned children who live at the Sakhumzi Orphanage who come to Ekukhanyeni for the day as the orphanage doesn't have an outdoor space.  Or they are children whose parents must leave the township every day to travel into Cape Town to work.

Most of the parents who bring their children to Ekukhanyeni are very poor and cannot pay for it.  But Mama Amelia knows that a safe daycare is essential to the community.

Most of the children at Ekukhanyeni are between about 5 and 8.  Children under 5 stay at the Sakhumzi Orphanage during the day and children over 8 start to go to school. 

Here's me (Stu) with one of the amazing kids.  

These gals were happy to pose beneath the shade tree at Ekukhanyeni.

This little guy was very happy with his little his spiderman toy.
(None of the kids have their own toys - they share everything.)

As the little guy in the center shows - they've all got their personalities.
The boy on the left thought my name was "Snake" for some reason!

There was a very funny misunderstanding when I was taking pics in the classroom.  The kids thought that I wanted them to pretend they were asleep - I'm not sure why!  But they were so eager to play along.

This little girl on Jenn's lap really enjoyed having a nice 'one on one' with Jenn - although she doesn't speak English and Jenn doesn't speak Xhosa!
(at least I think she doesn't!)

This little guy wanted to show off his biceps and we arm wrestled every day!  

For some reason the kids became fascinated with my
adams apple and wanted to play with it!

I asked these two children if they would make a drawing for my boyfriend Ami as a present.  

All of the children love getting just a few minutes of focused attention and affection.  This little boy didn't want Jenn to put him down.

Zanele made me a beautiful picture of the South African flag.  It's framed now and hanging in my apartment in LA.