By Love to Give
Love to Give’s centre is based in Kayamandi, a suburb of Stellenbosch, where many live
below the bread line, and their health, safety, education and livelihoods are at risk or
vulnerable.
Started in 2005, Love to Give’s primary purpose is to provide tangible support for families
whose lives are compromised by poverty and to support learners with nourishment and
quality educational support. We provide meals for approximately 1500 school learners
every day, and 80 monthly food parcels to families. We offer 100 unemployed adults a 2-day
a week paid work experience together with Micro-business and other training for six
months to assist them in starting their own business or in finding a job.
As part of our partnership with the YearBeyond program, we offer 50 unemployed youth
from Kayamandi a one-year paid meaningful work experience. During their year with us,
these interns or YeBoneers work as tutors for 20 referred learners each from both Primary
Schools in Kayamandi. They support them with their lessons and homework, run after
school activities and ensure that they get to school safely with the “walking bus”. The
walking bus wends its way through Kayamandi each school day singing, encouraging and
collecting learners on their way to school.
Love to Give’s Community Garden
Pictured above: Participants of Love to Give’s programmes working in our community
vegetable garden
Pictured above: Nomveliso Xhalisile (Mveli), Love to Give’s Garden Manager
The Love to Give community vegetable garden has been an important part of our
organisation since we started in 2005. Participants are required to start their day in the
garden, and it is thriving under Mveli’s management. She joined us in August 2023 after
completing her 3-year Diploma in Agricultural management. She is responsible for healthy
garden maintenance – rotating crops, harvesting vegetables, making compost, mulching and
daily watering. She works closely with the participants of our programme who learn by
working side by side with her in the garden She also runs workshops about environmental
sustainability and is teaching eco-friendly gardening practices and healthy eating. We
encourage our participants to develop their own gardens at home for which we provide
seedlings, compost and tools. Our gorgeous garden competition is a highlight of the year.
One of our recent winners was Yonela Ngoshe whose garden is featured in the photograph
below:
The produce from the Love to Give garden - beetroot, cabbage, carrots, peas, spinach -
supplements the monthly food parcels our adult participants receive.
We have some garden beds allocated for the learners from the Primary Schools in
Kayamandi to grow vegetables. Mveli spends time with the learners and Yeboneers
to teach them about vegetable gardening too.
We are delighted to have such an energetic and knowledgeable Garden Manager. Mveli has
made a big difference to the garden and is positively changing many lives in Kayamandi.
Micro Business Development at Love to Give
One of the opportunities we provide for the adult participants in our program is a small
business course. With more than half the workforce in South Africa unable to find jobs
starting a micro business is way to step out of poverty. On this year’s Micro business course,
we have 17 participants with various different business ideas - farming pigs, making
ceremonial sticks, making and selling clothing and preparing and selling food.
Ntomboduma Mange was one of the participants in last year’s business course. She came to
the course with a fledgling business – she was making furniture from discarded materials
she found on the dump and specialised in tables and chairs but also made cots. The three
pictures below show the furniture Ntombodumo was making when she came onto the
course.
During the course, Ntombodumo expressed her frustration with developing her business.
She was dreaming of furniture designs but she did not have the skill or tools to make them.
With the help of one of our board members, Ntombodumo was introduced to the owner of
a small business making more sophisticated furniture . They were happy to take her on as an
apprentice for a few months and shared their workshop and their skill with her. She got to
use and learn about different woodworking tools and techniques. By the end of her
apprenticeship she had made a cabinet which she was justifiably proud of and her small
business has benefited greatly from the experience. The picture below is of a cabinet she
made during her apprenticeship.
We looking forward to seeing more micro businesses flourish as we continue with our small
business development training.
If you would like to find out more about Love to Give or support our organisation, please
find all the details you need on our website: www.lovetogive.org.za
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