Did you see that? March..ing on?
Time for more feedback..
4th March 2022 as we move forward with more urgency and determination it appears as if we need a WordPress Volunteer..anyone? Please reach out to info@uptome.org.za if you have the skill and time to assist us. This would be of great help to us in chasing our vision of implementing sustainable programmes that help every abused woman in South Africa reclaim their dignity and independence.
5th March 2022 Rock Painting
I don’t know how to describe Saturday’s workshop – Rock Painting Skills Training I guess, but it was so much more than that. When Karen Van Niekerk suggested that they would love to help out at Wolwe and we set the date, we had no idea to what lengths they would go to make this an amazing day for everyone that attended. From getting all the art supplies sponsored..I know Ouskip played a role as did @OK Melkbos, I know the ladies themselves were most gracious and giving and above all SUPER organised..they put together a day to remember. 16 beneficiaries from Wolwe learnt to decoupage, to dot and to paint and as they said this is a skill that can never be taken away from them..the next step is to see how we can turn it into an income generating tool for them..we have some ideas..can you give us some more please???
AND a huge shout out of gratitude to Karen, Theresa and Marie, for the amazing day you put together and for the beauty you helped create..and I am pretty sure you agree that there is some incredible talent just waiting to be uncovered in this community..so looking forward to it!
7th March = International Women’s Day event
Up To Me celebrated the power of women yesterday with a thank you luncheon to our onsite volunteer group in Wolwerivier. It was an amazing day and here is the story of how it transpired..
The event was put together and organised by our own Marida Flack from the Enchanted Forest in Somerset West. Her venue is simply stunning and in no time at all, we, the core Up To Me group found ourselves organised into putting together a delicious lunch with the more capable foodies being Dee Coetzee and Shanaaz Sulaiman getting busy in their kitchens delivering delicious eats and treats. Martené Brits ,Benje from DC Angels and myself were roped into additional tasks and that left us with a dilemma..how could we say thank you without including our much loved Charlie Bezuidenhout-Hollingsworth from Jhb..and again Marida to the rescue..she simply put a plan out there and in no time it was finalised..Charlie was winging her way “home” ..and so the plan was set.
Arrive the day and our special guests were welcomed to a magnificently decorated table beautifully set under a glorious white stretch tent and a day of celebrating sisterhood. We were so honoured to have two guests from the @ACVV Melkbos join us @Rebecca and Irma , Lize Testa (Up To Me Board member) and brand new baby Iain as well as @Bronwyn Springfield se Merrem and a newly introduced volunteer (whoop whoop) Kashiefa!
Our first special presenters was @Lee-ann Flack author of www.constitutional-kids.co.za who is passionate about teaching our kids their rights and responsibilities and has done so through publishing an easy to read and beautifully illustrated booklet which is in it’s 10th year of print. To celebrate this occassion she has now made it available for free download from her website. Thank you Lee-Ann, may your kindness and love for humanity continue to flourish in all those you touch.
Secondly the powerful Haroldene Tshienda presented a reading from her new book, titled, I am Number 7 and performed a poem. Haroldene you stand victorious in your power and we are in awe. There were many tears shed, but at the same time you shared a recognition of the power in all of us and especially as a collective..and that knowledge is now ours to hold and pay forward. May you be richly blessed and thank you! http://tshiendapublications.co.za/haroldene-tshienda/
In addition we want to thank @Aviwe, Haroldene’s musician and supporter, a cast member from Arendsvlei, a youngster working extremely hard to be the best possible version of himself and a true gentleman. Thank you for joining us for the day.
And finally, none of this would have been possible had we not been inspired by the women from Wolwe, who are coming together as a team, who amongst the most difficult of circumstances rise up every day and work, wish and fight for a better life for themselves, their kids and their community. The indomitable Magdalene Minnaar , we see you, we love you and we support you. The fierce Xolelwa, your drive and passion is a breathe of fresh air for all who meet you. The supportive Lilly, we hear you, we honour you and your consistent work ethic is highly appreciated. The brave Ziyanda, your spirit is rising, we see the strength, we celebrate the hunger for more. The incredible Nonkululeka, we see your strife, we support you as you support us. The young but brave Kuhle, we recognise the rising of a warrior, we celebrate the drive in you and we thank you for being part of the group and last but not least the determined Nasiphi, we celebrate your passion and your determination for better, for knowledge and for compassion. You are the true warriors and the true success story of this International Women’s Day celebration. We salute you. Much love
11th March 2022
As we step up our efforts to assist the women of Wolwerivier, it seems that the needs and demands but especially the possibilities just keep on expanding and opening up. We as you know are a small NPO with much more passion than funds available..and a firm belief that making things happen is entirely up to each individual..it is also where our name stems from..and we are calling for assistance in the form of a professional fundraiser..if YOU think you can get behind our mission to provide dignity for the women of SA through a 4 pillar approach of:
Formal learning and qualifications
Coaching and Mentoring
Emotional well-being and healing workshops
Networking and resource assistance
Please do reach out on info@uptome.org.za ..we look forward to hearing from you!
15th March 2022
Our First Ambassador Haroldene Tshienda
Introducing Haroldene Tshienda proud Ambassador to Up To Me “I am everything that darkness could not kill” these were the words Haroldene used to introduce herself to our guests at Up To Me ‘s recent International Womens Day event. What came next simply blew our minds! A passionate supporter of women, a motivator and confidence builder, a fighter, a victor, these were the words that ran through my head as I watched this powerful woman give of herself so freely, in her quest to uplift those around her. It came as no surprise then to learn that her names mean: Army Ruler, Commander, Queen and Warrior! You will find more about Haroldene at www.tshiendapublications.co.za You will sense her passion for her fellow South Africans with every word she speaks. And believe me you want her to speak at your next event!We cannot thank you enough Haroldene Tshienda for believing in Up To Me ‘s vision of implementing sustainable programmes that help every abused woman in South Africa reclaim their dignity and independence. After all #TogetherWeCan is not just a hashtag!#uptome#mychancemychange#haroldenetshienda
16th March 2022
We are back at the ADDING VALUE programme ensuring that our wonderful WolweRivier ladies are earning whilst they continue to give back to their community..remember the clothing bank? Well we have put together an informal co-operative agreement for them and they drew up their own co-operative rules..Each person in the co-operative has a duty to perform and there is a treasurer in place with all double checks that ensure ethical and legal handling of the money, we have looked at the potential challenges and pitfalls and they are happy they have made contingencies for all the potential risk factors..our job is to help them source product until such time as we can get to the part where they source their own..we have also looked at how they can go about improving their visual merchandising and how to improve profitability. Step 2 is underway..
We are appealing to anyone living in the Northern Suburbs of Cape Town to please consider donating your second hand clothing to this group of women who are selling to make an income whilst simultaneously ploughing back into their community for skills training..we need to get to Step 3 which is encouraging the upcycling of clothes and opening up to online markets..this is a long term approach and one that will need a huge input into technology training, pcs , data as well as produce for habedashery and other items that will stimulate the creativity and originality of the ladies who will be doing this handywork..
22nd March, there is a lull!
But we will not make it a lullabye! No sleeping allowed..2022 is the year these beneficiaries get to the point where they are empowered and skilled in the running of their co-operative and where they never go to bed hungry again..neither will their children..and neither do any of them have to feel trapped in a cycle of despair nor abuse.
Our current challenges are:
Internal lack of manpower …Up To Me is exclusively powered by volunteers and most of us have full time jobs too..
Lack of substantial funding…and this is easily remedied with enough volunteers as we have a number of fundraising opportunities for which we just need manpower to execute..
Wolwerivier continued challenges with Eskom lines being stolen and leaving the onsite volunteers/beneficiaries without power to charge their phones..this makes communication virtually impossible
A critical volunteer who heads up the ADDING VALUE programme is without a phone.
We do however know the way forward and whilst we may be crawling for the next week or two, we know we are crawling in the right direction.
29th March 2022
#Hearmetoo – a brilliant concept and facilitation that has highlighted quite a few of the networking avenues Up To Me can pursue to improve the services in the community providing the mental wellness aspect of our 4 pillar approach.
29th March, Wolwerivier #Hearmetoo Dialogue..Thank you W/O Blom from Philadelphia SAPS, Counsellor and Facilitator @Hanim Smith and Acvv Koeberg @Lebogang and @Irma for joining us. We were delighted with the outcomes and we have some easy and practical implementations that we can facilitate to ease life just a little for the residents of this community. Thank you 1000 Women 1 Voice for the funding and pamphlets and to Veronica who runs the programme for the elderly in the community, for allowing us to use the hall on what is essentially your day to do so. And then last but by no means least thank you to the Up To Me onsite community workers who continue to work with us to find solutions for themselves and their community. We will see you soon
#Togetherwecan#Uptome#Mychancemychange
Please see the full pdf report in closure…
And that’s a wrap for March Folks..we look forward to what April brings..