Etafeni Day Care Centre Trust
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Mission Statement
Etafeni Day Care Centre Trust aims to create a flourishing community in Nyanga by working together through our relevant programmes, to promote wellbeing, break the cycle of poverty and create positive change in Nyanga. As an organization we seek to create a culture that embraces people from all walks of life in trying to help children, youth and adults who are affected by HIV/AIDS. Etafeni’s culture is one that recognizes our diversity as a strength for social change and strength in delivering care and support to those-in-need. These values and principles are informed by our desire to become a best practice model of care in South Africa and developing countries.The Etafeni Day Care Centre Trust was set up in 2001 to support women, orphans and vulnerable children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS, in a time when the link between HIV and AIDS was denied and there was no access to ARVs. Central to the Etafeni model of a community-built, community-staffed centre serving the community is that it is local and provides individual, personal care for children, adults and young clients Much has changed since then, with successful PMTCT programmes and widespread access to life changing ARVS offering PLHIV a near normal life expectancy. However, many challenges remain and much of Etafeni’s work remains focused on supporting people affected by HIV and providing health, education and pathways-to-employment services.
About This Cause
Etafeni Day Care Centre Trust is a registered non-profit organization that is a multi-purpose facility that delivers a variety of educational and social welfare programs as well as outreach programs to underserved communities in Nyanga, Cape Town. The organisation was founded in 2001, as a response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic which was rampant (and continues to be presently) in Nyanga and its surrounding areas. Nyanga is one of South Africa’s most dangerous townships and has unmatched rates of homicide, assault and rape; as well as underdevelopment. Etafeni runs programmes including preschool care, afterschool care for orphaned and vulnerable children, a women’s wellness micro-enterprise program, psycho-social and therapeutic support, mobile HIV, TB and STI Testing and Counselling, Nutrition programme that includes Food Gardens, and Breastfeeding Peer Counselling Programme; and a Greening Nyanga initiative.The Etafeni Day Care Centre Trust was set up to support women, orphans and vulnerable children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS. Etafeni was set up at a time when the link between HIV and AIDS was denied and there was no access to ARVs. The Etafeni model focusses on being a local community-built, community-staffed centre serving the community. Etafeni serves the area Nyanga, which is made up by nine townships (Lusaka, KTC, Old Location, Maumau, Zwelitsha, Maholweni "Hostels", Black City, White City, Barcelona, Kanana and Europe). The mission of Etafeni is to promote the wellbeing of the local community, break the cycle of poverty, and create positive change in Nyanga. Since it was initially set up, much has changed with the development of successful Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) programmes and widespread access to life changing ARVS offering people living with HIV (PLHIV) a near normal life expectancy. Etafeni has received recognition for its excellence both nationally and internationally. However, many challenges remain within the local community of Nyanga. Nyanga is a sub-economic township, thirty minutes from Cape Town, with a population of over 60 000 Xhosa-speakers. According to the Provincial Human Development Index, which categorizes the poverty levels of communities on the basis of employment status, income, literacy and piped water, Mpetha Square (next to the Etafeni Centre) is the poorest area of the Western Cape. There is a 44% adult unemployment rate in Nyanga. The highest rate of unemployment in South Africa is amongst the youth with 51% of South Africans between 15 and 24 being unemployed. Thirty-eight percent of Nyanga’s population is between the ages of 18 – 34 years. Nyanga’s crime stats are the second highest in South Africa, and people who are unemployed and living in poverty are at constant risk of being recruited into illegal activities. Educational levels are low; there are only a couple of degree holders who live in Nyanga. Many recent immigrants speak no English. Generally, children are in school, but the standard of education is low. The unemployment rate is currently 46%. Only 23% of adults have a permanent job, which is mostly in the informal sector, and there are few work opportunities. Seventy-four percent of residents live below the Household Subsistence Level (HSL) in extreme poverty and earn less than R3 200 per month; 32% of residents live in shacks. Crime and gang culture is endemic, and Nyanga is notoriously known as the murder capital of the world. Widespread problems include substance and alcohol abuse, rape and domestic violence, and child abuse and neglect. The National Department of Health survey in 2009 revealed that the Western Cape has the lowest HIV positive rate in South Africa at 16%, compared to the National average of 29%. However, HIV positive prevalence in Nyanga is at 28%, which is one of the highest in the Western Cape. There is a direct relationship between poverty levels and levels of HIV prevalence. There is also a high TB infection rate. There are 40 community health workers at Etafeni and four Counsellors working at Etafeni. The Counsellors provide HIV testing, STI screening and family planning. The Counsellors will also provide support, advice, and education; take a lead role in community awareness and educational initiatives; and be a link between the patient, the family, the community, and the clinic. Etafeni has a professional Sister as staff that can manage and coordinate the clinic. ECD/Preschool Etafeni operates an Early Childhood Development Centre and Preschool with an intake of 80 children. The pre-school provides a dry, comfortable light-filled space for AIDS-infected/affected, orphaned and vulnerable indigent children. There is a lovely, wide, grassed outside play area for the children, with play equipment. The children in our pre-school are supported by trained educarers – substitute mothers – with whom they interact on a daily basis. Two nutritious meals are provided each day for the pre-school children, breakfast and lunch, plus they are given a nutritional supplement to take home if it is needed. We also ensure that they receive all the necessary immunization and we assist in accessing medical care when necessary. Nutrition and Home Vegetables Gardens Programme The Nutrition Department at Etafeni aims to contribute towards the Millennium Development Goals set out by heads of state in 2000 to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and reduce childhood mortality with the aim to improve the nutritional status and health of underprivileged children less than 6 yrs of age, provide nutrition support to severely malnourished HIV or TB infected adults and assist with creation of home vegetable gardens to improve the overall nutrition status of the community. Orphans and Vulnerable Children/Afterschool The programme currently has 45 children aged between 6 and 18 years in Etafeni’s ordinary after-school programme. Most of these children have been in the Etafeni pre-school and are now attending the local primary or high school. They come to the centre after school for lunch, support and homework supervision. Many of they have been with us since they were babies and some have siblings in the pre-school. The children in our After Care Programme, particularly the older ones, become mentors for the younger ones in this programme, in our pre-school programme, in their own schools and in the community in general. Then, we have another special group of up to 20 OVCs aged between 6 and 12 years who are at risk. They are referred to us by the local Social Development district office. These children have either been caught shoplifting or have fallen out of school and/or are on the brink of drug or alcohol abuse or prostitution. Many of them are orphans who are looking after younger siblings, the oldest in a child-headed household. Social Work and Community Development The extended family is still intact in a township like Nyanga, but has been made fragile by the forces of poverty, urbanization and the psychological legacy of apartheid. There is a need to train and support the women, men, grannies, aunts, neighbours and older siblings – families of whatever sort – who take on the role of caregiver to a vulnerable child. For maximum psychological support, the mothers or primary caregivers will need to be kept together with small children in their care when they are ill or depressed – in a congenial environment – and supported physically and emotionally. Our Social Worker has abused children referred to her from the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court for counselling, to prepare them for their court appearances and to educate them around their rights and responsibilities. Our Social Worker helps Etafeni’s clients access grants – the team of social workers, auxiliary social workers and community care workers is committed to seeing that better parenting practices and secure children become the norm in Nyanga. Income Generation and Women’s Empowerment The income generation / mother’s provides services to women living with HIV who are unemployed and living in violence circumstances. The women receive psycho-social support; form part of a Support group to ensure adherence; also learn a skill that will ensure that they generate income and break away from the dependency syndrome. Our social worker helps them access social grants where applicable. They learn to do beadwork, to sew, smock and quilt as part of skills development. They receive lunch every, which the weekly lunchtime menu is planned by Etafeni’s dietician to help improve their health and CD4 count. Many of the women in our Income Generation Programme have children at our pre-school and/or after-school. The crafts that are produced, with advice from local designers, are sold with great success at outlets both in Cape Town as well as internationally. Part of the Income Generation Programme space at Etafeni includes a shop where visitors and the local community can view some of the beautiful garments and place orders and make purchases. This programme provides HIV-positive mothers and caregivers with a sense of self-worth by helping them to earn an income. It also provides them with the nutrition, support and therapy they need to live. We educate these women/caregivers around children’s rights and the importance of good parenting for the children in their care. (C) Fit for Life, Fit for Work Programme The Fit for Life, Fit for Work Programme is a holistic, integrated approach to helping 200 matriculated young people (between the ages of 16 and 30) surmount socioeconomic and health challenges. Interventions work towards physical and emotional healing; establishing individual responsibility; and, critically, serve as economic and financial empowerment tools. Young people are imbued with a sense of confidence, and are equipped to begin the road towards a brighter future through work and study opportunities, or by establishing their own small businesses.