About six months ago, Ernestina and I were chatting about the sewing skills training program (video) at Seed of Hope. We wanted to find more local markets for our sewing products. Even while our sewing students are learning their craft, they are able to make some income on the products they sew while in the […]
As we develop our skills in engaging communities, we have begun using Umoja tools at Seed of Hope. One of these tools in community mobilization is called community mapping. The basic idea is that community members gather, and a process is facilitated whereby groups of people draw maps of the community, and outline various things […]
Everyday of the week, the sewing room at Seed Of Hope is a bustle of activity. Sometimes the humming of machines can be heard out in the hallways. Other times a quick glance into the room reveals a group of women leaning intently over some patterns and material. The enthusiasm within the room was always […]
We commemorate Women’s Day every August 9 in South Africa. It is a wonderful opportunity to focus on celebrating the contributions that women make in their daily lives to building a country that is safe and free for all citizens. We see women every day in our communities who make huge sacrifices for their families, […]
Something both new and highly significant happened today. It started with a phone call last week. A church leader in Amanzimtoti called me to ask for my help. His church was scheduled to host the monthly pastors’ fraternal luncheon, scheduled for today. To make a long story short, they weren’t able to, and he didn’t […]
You’ve met Sibongiseni before in previous blogs and you may know him by his English name, Robert. Sibongiseni roughly translates, “Be thankful with me.” What a great name! I first met Sibongiseni in June 2008 – on our first trip to South Africa. At the time, he was a leading regional sales manager of pool […]
I’ve never really thought of myself as a project coordinator, but I certainly am at the moment! As I write, we are having 2 new rooms (photos) built within a very large room, and giving major facelifts to 2 other rooms. In what used to be our Social Services (crisis food and clothing) room, we […]
January in Kwazulu Natal is extremely hot and humid. We applaud our Simunye children’s workers for their dedication to investing in children no matter the weather. This photo taken above was on a 32 degree C day with an indoor temperature of 30 degrees. Humidity of 70% or higher makes the temperatures feel 5 to […]
We recently celebrated a long time Seed of Hope staff member. Her name is Beauty and she is pictured above in the blue floral dress. Beauty has truly inspired us with her courage and strength. Beauty has lived with an HIV diagnosis for a few years now. She was one of the first women we […]
I like playing squash. Back home, I played once a week with a great group of guys. We weren’t great squash players, and we knew we weren’t great, but we had a lot of fun getting some exercise and especially just hanging out. Though I knew we were far from pros, I honestly thought we […]