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is planning to take the team to to Drakensburg Prison (Paarl) to play soccor with inmates. "This will bring a sense of community and belonging to inmates. We will also conduct a tour of the jail so that the team can learn from inmates’ stories, that crime does not pay."
"A trailer door flung open. I flashed and hooted but the driver would not stop. I caught her at a robot, left my car to lock her trailer door. She didn't know how to say thanks!"
"I was in the fruit store, and there was a young man who was standing staring at the pineapples. He would pick one up and then put it down again. As I walked past, he picked one up and asked me if I could give him the extra R2.50 he needed to buy the pineapple. I told him to add it to my trolley, and I would pay for it with my fruit and meet him outside. I wasn’t sure if he would, but I added a few other things, like a few extra bananas, to my trolley, and when I got out, there he was sitting waiting. He was so happy to receive the fruit. As I drove away, he was walking down the road eating his banana, with a big smile on his face!"
On my 24th birthday on the 21 March 2009, I went to a children’s care centre in Berea, called Christ Church Christian Care Centre. I was joined by two of my friends, Tondani & Rebecca and another lovely lady by the name of Sylvia who was turning 18 yrs. It blew my mind at how keen she was on helping out on one of the most self cherished day of one’s life. The four of us spent the day helping out wherever we could - serving breakfast, cleaning out the girls’ study area and helping with lunch and supper. It was meant to be an act of kindness to the centre but we ended up receiving more than what we had given as the day was filled with lots of laughter.
Having realised the initiative that Heartlines has embarked on in mobilising South Africans to become active citizens for good, I did my own part by taking a hundred school learners for an ice cream. I felt a sense of fulfillment in me watching the many faces smile in excitement. I also plan on spreading the spirit for doing good through my publication, Makoya magazine.
Our Director of Police, Shirley Venter, challenged the community to get involved and take responsibility for the values of our city. This would enable her and her staff to really focus on their job. Our pastor, Joshua Churchyard, (Church of the Way), took up this challenge and the project, "Polish the Jewel" was born. Our very first project involved cleaning up a part of our CBD. On this day 180-200 people from the local church and the community got together. We were called the CIA-agents (church in action) and all of us were armed with blackbags, lawnmowers, weedeaters, gloves, gardening tools etc. We cleaned up rubbish and waterways, cut grass and did gardening. What a day! Next we hosted 200 delegates from the business sector, education sector. NGO's, Church sector, government and law enforcement to an event where we agreed that 7 values for this town should be chosen - 5 from Heartlines and 2 (justice and flexibility) extra. We are now in the process of teaching the community, via the Benoni City Times, what these values mean and how to make them "Values in Action". Some more projects in planning stages: Painting the police station, cleaning up recreational parks, a training and resource centre, cleaning up our lake, beautifying our City for 2010 and beyond.
In the June holidays we are planning to conduct youth seminars in KZN Townships where people from government entities and inspirational speakers will be invited to educate our youth in terms of moral values so as to revive hope and faith in our communities.
“Yesterday we went and spoke to Khabazela High school teachers and the principal. We are so excited. We are going into the school next Tuesday to start bringing change forgood. Yesterday was amazing - when we were talking to the Khabazela teachers, they were crying cause they thought no one wants to help out in that school even though lots and lots of people can see that it is going down. But yesterday they were crying the tears of joy although we have done nothing but because we came in and told them that we are keen to put our foot in. The things we need to get for them and are trusting God for - help to build them toilets (they have NONE), funds or donations to fix broken windows and doors.
I run a discussion group through my church called Building Bridges. It's attended by migrants/refugees from my community, and our discussions serve the purpose of developing ourselves personally and professionally. We also organise class trips and outings in which we engage with South Africans in a social setting.
As a church, we've become involved with a group of migrants who've recently moved into our community from the Akasia camp in Pretoria. They are a destitute, traumatised group of people. There are 45 people living in a decrepit building with minimal access to the basic necessities. We've visited them and have been able to provide them with food for 2 months. We have visited them in an attempt to understand their stories and befriend them. In addition, we learned that one of the children, a 10 year old girl had been sexually abused. We've arranged for her to receive counselling and to be examined by a medical professional. There are two children in the group who are of school-going age who have not been in school since the xenophobic attacks last year and I am working with the local schools and the Dept of Education to find them a place.
There is a lady who attends my Building Bridges group She and her husband are from Mali in West Africa. On Friday her husband was wrongfully arrested by a corrupt police officer in an attempt to extort money from the family for his release. I took her wife and her child to my home for the weekend so that they wouldn't be alone, and then was able to engage with a senior supervisor of the SAPS who assisted us to bring about an internal investigation into the actions of the corrupt police officer. On Monday morning, her husband was released from prison and the bogus charges against him were thrown out of court.
Mpho Sibiya said he had given a foreign family some of his clothes.
“I have helped a 16-year-old girl who tried to commit suicide, and became a mentor for the young girl. I have taken 2 Zimbabweans to Bloemfontein to get the train so that they can obtain their asylum papers. A few of us clubbed in to make sure they had the funds to be able to do that.
On the last Sunday of every month we cook a meal, and invite people on the streets to come to our church and enjoy the meal. We also make sandwiches and distribute to people on the street once a month on a Saturday.
I first started with the forgood values. I studied the ideas and methods from the foundation for good. I then went and registered my company, and opened a bank account, if I will get sponsors. I immediately placed an advert on www.gumtree.co.za under artist and musicians. The ad invited all local artists, students, business and churches to get involved to sign up for Phila Promotions. PHILA stands for " P- Promote, H- Highly, I -Inspirational, L-Local, A- Artist". The response was great from struggling artists, like poets, vocalist and musicians. Hip Hop artists and gospel artists will be performing at these events, and I will promote and advertise them. The mission and vision is to get all of the artists involved to accept the values for forgood. Their mission - to do always good, during and after the performances. We want to change the way our youth and the communities are living, using these events, the unemployed and struggling artists to be the vehicle for the forgood foundation.
“I am an offender serving 5 years, I have 10 months left till the end of my prison term. I was introduced to the Heartlines learning programmes by facilitators in our centre. The values I have learnt through Heartlines have augmented my values base in terms of moral education. I would like to disseminate my knowledge to my community in Mdabtsane (Eastern Cape), by becoming a facilitator of the Heartlines programmes by visiting schools and other social institutions as community service.
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