2010 April | The Simunye Project

Archive for April, 2010

Posted on April 28, 2010 - by Paul Williamson

Low Ropes Course at Tshepang

We have cleared a new area at Tshepang to develop a low-ropes course for the children. We had to start by clearing the area of weeds, rocks and garbage. We soon discovered there was a broken kitchen drain nearby causing an awful stench, so we fixed that making this previously unusable area a great place for the children to play (see post: Trench Digging and Plumbing).

So far we have constructed a Wobbly Log and Spider Web, with plans to add additional modules on future visits. Minutes after the children laid eyes on the newly built structures, they excitedly ran up and began playing on them with a little instruction on working as a team.

Wobbly Log

Spider Web

Posted on April 28, 2010 - by Paul Williamson

Trench digging and plumbing at Tshepang

When we found the area to start our low-ropes course, we couldn’t help but notice there was a foul stench in the air. This was traced back to blocked-up grease-trap where the kitchen waste-water ended up (with repulsive doll floating in the top). Joel said “We just need is PVC pipe, we can do this”. So the following morning we got some PVC piping, joins and sealant and Mr Newman became the head apprentice plumber, leading a team of trenchers and plumbers.

Facing such obstacles as digging through rocks, tree roots and joining pipes at strange angles, the team came together and achieved an amazing result. The smell was completely gone by completion, opening up a wonderful new area to the children to play in.

Posted on April 25, 2010 - by Paul Williamson

Shoes to 240 children at Tshepang

We sorted the shoes by size then welcomed the Tshepang children in to choose a pair of new shoes! What an exciting day!

Shoe Fitting at Tshepang

Thanks to the following people for organising and donating shoes:

Jedwab Family
Syndal South Primary School Families
Huntingtower Junior School Families

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Posted on April 18, 2010 - by Paul Williamson

A Kitchen for New Life Daycare

Silence has been in contact with Susan who runs the Tshepang programme in Johannesburg. Susan helped Silence to obtain funding from Old Mutual Bank to enable her to purchase supplies and labour to build toilet blocks to the required ratio (1 toilet per 15 kids) in order to obtain minimal ongoing government funding. All the building supplies have arrived, she is now searching for a good builder to start construction.

We spent one and a half days at New Life day care this time and constructed a new outdoor kitchen for Silence. Her old kitchen has been a concern for some years – we had done some minor patch-up jobs on it on the last 2 trips, replacing logs which had been eaten completely away by termites, and patching up the roof which provided barely any protection. (more…)