|
|
Three2Six newsletter - May 2023
|
|
|
Artworks made by our children and their peers
|
|
|
|
|
|
Africa Day
|
|
Africa Day is celebrated to commemorate the establishment of the Organization of African Union and the progress the continent has made. It is a day we use to celebrate our similarities and differences.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This year to celebrate the children dressed in traditional clothes, attended workshops on African history and diverse cultures and played fun indigenous games.
|
|
|
|
Exciting partnership
|
|
French judoka Gevrise Emane, an Olympic medallist as well as World and European Champion, visited South Africa this month and we took the opportunity to partner with her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
She very kindly held a session with our children, who have weekly judo lessons with their coach Moses from Judo for Peace. They were really impressed by the various holds she showed them and were eager to try them with their judo partners. What a treat to have a lesson by such an inspiring top-level athlete.
|
|
|
|
|
The partnership didn’t stop there, we had the pleasure of holding a joint event at Alliance Francaise of Johannesburg. This was thanks to French Consul General Etienne Chapon and the director of Alliance, Lionel Schutz. It also involved our partner Judo for Peace.
|
|
|
|
|
The event was centred around judo and the impressive life and career of Gevrise Emane. She explained how she managed to overcome challenges and enjoy a successful sporting career before retiring and embarking on a new journey. It was wonderful to be able to launch our very first photo exhibition on that night.
|
|
|
|
|
Very talented South African and foreign photographers are behind the photographs that are on the walls of Alliance Francaise for our “Leaving no child behind” exhibition. These pictures of our learners and their homes tell the stories of the many refugees in Johannesburg who live in appalling conditions and are deprived of their basic human rights. The exhibition also shows the support provided by Three2Six, which includes judo classes, to some of the many refugee children in the city who are in need of an education. The exhibition will be up until 30 June. Don’t miss out!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Maya, a yoga teacher associated with the Consulate General of India visited the project and the children. With an eye on the upcoming International Yoga Day, Maya presented two yoga classes, one for the Grade 4 to 5 classes and one for the Grade 6 to 7 classes. Thank you for your time, the children really enjoyed the yoga introduction and learning what the practice is about.
|
|
|
|
3D model class activity
|
|
|
|
Our Grade 7 children went above and beyond during a Social Sciences project! They created 3D models using household waste. The instruction was to research model options online and create their own.
|
|
|
|
|
Not only did this test their creativity and fine motor skills, but it also tested their language and comprehension skills. They had to explain what the model looked like and why it was made in that specific way. They came up with the most beautiful and creative models that sparked joy for everyone who saw them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The school leaders prepared a surprise party for their teachers and gave them heart-warming notes thanking them for the work they do at school. This show of love and appreciation came as a very welcome surprise, thank you to our school leaders.
|
|
|
|
Donations
|
|
|
|
|
Life is hard and people are struggling, making food donations is something we are always grateful for and makes a significant difference for our families. Thank you to Neville Latchmiah for the food donation he gave the project. The 75 bags of porridge and 75 bags of soya mince were distributed to our families.
|
|
|
|
Thanks to Tom Miles, we were able to give many of our children shiny new shoes. The shoes are made from recycled materials. They are from a project called My Walk Made with Soul which is funded by Netcare and Adcock Ingram Critical Care. They make use of non-hazardous IV drip bags from various hospitals to make these shoes.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Activities with our parents
|
|
Information-sharing meeting
|
|
|
|
The Outreach Foundation joined us for a meeting where parents were taught by our project coordinator Justine about what it means to safeguard children and how to go about it. There was a motivational talk by a Three2Six alumnus and her father, encouraging parents to overcome the challenges they face and to not lose hope.
|
|
Our partner had social workers and legal counsel present who did a presentation to our parents explaining how to access their services and education. They assessed the families to determine where help is needed and how they can assist. A total of 140 beneficiaries were assessed, they were parents seeking documentation for their children. Additional services were offered to them where relevant.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Social cohesion is critical to build peaceful societies that thrive and benefit everyone. For Mother Month, a dialogue was organised by Regional Psychosocial Support Initiatives (REPSSI), Three2Six, the Outreach Foundation and Church World Service (CWS). It brought together South African and migrant mothers from our respective organisations. They shared with each other what being a mother means to them and what it brings them personally, but also the challenges they face in motherhood. The participants were split into groups and discussed questions such as: “How do challenges affect our parenting?” and “What do you wish people knew about how it is for you as a mother?”.
|
|
|
|
Each group of mothers presented to the rest of the participants the highlights of their discussions, which showed that despite having different backgrounds, the experiences of mothers are universal and that supporting and encouraging one another is important. The event provided a caring and accepting space for mothers to share their personal stories, as well as a healing space where they could be celebrated for what they do for their children. They were also pointed to the participating organisations for assistance with their various needs.
|
|
|
|
Advocacy update
|
|
|
|
|
|
It is important to continually invest in relationships and understanding. With this in mind, we hosted a workshop for the teachers at Dominican Convent, our host school, to discuss how to talk about refugees.
|
|
|
|
|
We have a fantastic resource called “Talking and Thinking about Refugees”, that is available free of use to the public. We introduced it to the teachers and explained how to go about making use of it with their students. It details topics such as identity, empathy and human rights.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Exhibition for refugees in the United Kingdom
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Dorking Museum in the UK in collaboration with The Poppy Collective will be hosting an art exhibition for National Refugee Week, and the children of Three2Six and of their host school will be featured. Sophia Cowx, an alumnus of Sacred Heart College and Three2Six supporter, is the founder of The Poppy Collective, an initiative that aims to create art works that invite interpersonal dialogue about what our words and actions communicate in order to build bridges. It provides opportunities to recognise that every voice matters, to bring generations together and to build strength in community. Sophia is also the driving force behind this exhibition whose purpose is to highlight the plight of refugees across the world and to celebrate their contributions, resilience and creativity.
|
|
|
|
|
What makes it more moving, is that the artworks all feature sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine. The Three2Six children and their friends spent a few weeks working on their artistic contributions which will be displayed at the museum. We are grateful to be part of this initiative and proud of our children’s work. If you are in the UK, you can visit the exhibition between the 17th and the 24th of June. You are also welcome to contribute to it by making your own collage sunflower and naming it. Other types of contributions are also encouraged and will be possible at the museum. Some Three2Six booklets and pamphlets will be made available to the public.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our project coordinator and advocacy officer attended a two-day workshop in Cape Town which was organised by the Scalabrini Centre in collaboration with UNICEF. The “Children on the Move Conference” was attended by about 80 people that included social workers, governmental representatives, NGO workers, community leaders, lawyers, and academics.
|
Presentations were done by the Scalabrini Centre, Equal Education, the Centre for Child Law, and Kids Haven. They detailed birth registration and related challenges, statelessness, access to education, pathways to documentation for children on the move, and migrant children in the alternative care system. Some of these topics were illustrated by short videos which were voiced by children and youth on the move to tell their individual stories. It brought home the impact of these issues on children’s lives.
|
|
The barriers that were mapped out in day one were discussed in small working groups the following day and the participants agreed on how to address them through joint advocacy work in 2023 and 2024.
|
|
|
|
Alumni day
|
|
This month’s alumni day was largely centred around academic work. The alumni had recently returned to school from their school break and saw fit to plan an academic alumni day. Keith Witelson, a past volunteer and facilitator, provided Mathematics test scripts that the alumni used to practice and sharpen their skills. The morning began with a few drama games that were planned and hosted by Sarah, a frequent facilitator. The alumni also played a hilarious game of 30 Seconds and showcased their acting and miming skills.
|
|
|
|
After the exciting games, they headed into the Sacred Heart College Media Centre where the alumni were split into grades and collaboratively completed their school tasks and projects. Nyasha Bowora and Pamela Paton-Mills arranged a meal of hot soup and lunch packs for the alumni, who showed their gratitude by leading a prayer, and everybody sat together to feast.
|
|
|
|
Fundraising update
|
Three2Six’s core project costs are supported by large local and international and donors and we are always on the lookout for additional donors who would be willing to come on board to partner with us!
|
There are also other needs within the project that anyone can assist with! The project recently ran a health screening intervention for the children and some of them require glasses. It would be fantastic if you felt like you could donate towards a pair of glasses for one (or more!) of the children. An assessment plus a pair of glasses costs R1200. You can send us an email or donate via the Snapscan QR code on our website.
|
We are also looking for preloved or new soccer boots and tackies for the children who would like to play sport but do not have the correct foot wear. Donations can be delivered to Dominican Convent School in Belgravia or collected by one of the project team members from anywhere in Johannesburg.
|
We would like to offer the children an additional snack during the day since they are now spending a full day at school. A small snack (e.g. fruit, energy bar, popcorn) costs approximately R5 per day. We would like to provide snacks for 225 children per day which totals approximately R22500 per month. The children would be most grateful if you were able to contribute towards an additional snack each month to keep their tummies full each day, especially during those cold winter days.
|
|
We are also very grateful to receive donations of long life, dry and/or tinned food that we can package into parcels for the children to take home. Items can be delivered to Sacred Heart College or Dominican Convent School.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Each donation counts and helps us make a valuable change in the lives of our learners.
|
|
|
|
    
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
