NEW ROOMS! ZOO OUTING!, so much on the plate

So much on our plates at the moment. Hard to keep up.

• We are busy with full on training of Care Givers working in Children's Homes.
• We are planning the renovations of the new treatment rooms and offices.
• We are getting ready for the Annual Zoo party.

All of this while the little mundane day to day things have not disappeared:

• Assessment of babies up for adoption. (yeah some will be with their new families before 2010!!!)
• Treatment for those who are showing signs of developmental delay.
• Monthly outings for children living in a Children's Home to The Glen Shopping Centre.
• Distribution of donated toys and clothing.
• Writing the Blog......

Be the way. . . . THANKS to ALL who are donating to the Zoo Party. It is happening on the 21st of November and is going to be loads of fun for the 108 kids that are attending.

The impact of the slowing down of South Africa’s economy.

Even a Non Profit Organisation like Thusanani is affected by the economic slowdown. The Thusanani Childrens Foundation had high hopes for 2009. Now with the end of 2009 coming closer we are faced with the reality that we will not be able to make all those dreams come true.

We were unable to secure funding to open up a branch in Cape Town. It would be most unwise of us to appoint the two keen Occupational Therapists waiting in the wings if we cannot sustain the service. We’ve done all the research and we have a number of Children’s Homes eager to make use of the service because they realize how the babies in their care need the stimulation. However in our line of business the need for the service is not the only factor so consider when looking at sustainability.

We are thankful that with the partnership of the Big Shoes Foundation we are able to render a service in Durban. Assessing babies that are up for adoption and giving therapy to those who need extra stimulation before they can be adopted, is our core focus at the branch.

Funding for a once off outreach to Port Elizabeth to do training for sixty people had to be shelved. The plan was to get a local business to sponsor the training of thirty Care Workers, twenty Volunteers and ten professionals. The training was planned to cover the topics of the importance of play, the use of toys and the identification of babies that need professional intervention. We had hoped that this training would start the process of building capacity in the area, making a significant impact on the outcomes for babies in Children’s Homes in Port Elizabeth and surrounding area. Unfortunately we could not raise the twenty thousand Rand needed for this project.

Perhaps even more tragic is that we have lost funding from the Cycle for Kids Foundation who has consolidated their focus areas and we now no longer fit their criteria. The Turffontein Charity Mile Horserace has also made changes in their structuring which literally “leaves us out of the race” this year. This affects our current service delivery in Johannesburg and renders us unable to employ the valuable service of a Speech and Language Therapist for 2010. Since all children growing up in Children’s Homes have delayed language development this is a terrible blow and loss to the children’s normal development.

We’ve had a significant drop in donation of educational toys (new and pre-loved), especially the toys in higher price brackets that are durable and from brands with proven durability. We are thankful for those organizations that area indicating that they will again have drive for toys over the coming Christmas period. This will help us to stock up for redistribution to Children’s Homes where it is needed.

For the past seven years our training has been free and this past year was no exception. The cost of providing the lunches and having the manuals for the training printed and bound, plus the expense of the toy making kits we provide at the training has escalated dramatically. Coupled with the fact that we ran 45% more courses than in 2008, this is reflected in our training expense being higher by a projected 30% for 2009. The demand for training in 2010 is even higher and it is likely that we will not be able to render this training free of charge.

Outings to the Glen Shopping Centre have been as regular as we could arrange. It is however a sad fact that most Children’s Homes do not have transport and those that have also have to budget carefully around their transport budgets. On the positive side the outings have been as much a pleasure as always with huge benefit to the children who is treated like royalty at the Wimpy, the Magic Toy Company and welcomed by shops all through the Mall.

Despite the many obstacles facing us we remain focused and of the opinion that we are privileged to work with the children most vulnerable in our society. We continue to value the partnerships we have with our funders and volunteers and we keep on striving to make a difference!