A REACHING HAND
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Mission Statement
A Reaching Hand is a charitable organization based in Cape Town, South Africa that directly supports the upliftment of children, youth, single mothers and families that are struggling for day-to-day survival in some of South Africa’s most impoverished areas. A Reaching Hand was founded in 2006 by Karin Hoole who dedicates her time to managing the organisation and being the driving force that gives people hope every day. In 2011 Charlene Blacker joined A Reaching Hand as Director of Programmes and together they have structured the organization to increase access to innovative learning and educational support, promote social enterprise, job creation, self- employment, self-reliance and help build resilience in the face of adversity. By recognising the human face of poverty, they are able to provide the necessary support with compassion as they work relentlessly towards making a difference in the many lives they touch. Currently the staff complement stands at 3.
About This Cause
A Reaching Hand’s main thrust is the support of innovative education, early childhood development, nutrition and health, and skills development for self-reliance. We believe that the only way out of poverty is through education, a statement often made by our late President Nelson Mandela. We also believe that skills development for self help and self reliance promotes independence and dignity. In supports of these objectives, we directly support two kindergartens located in very poor communities that take care of a total of 120 children from the ages of 6 month to 5 years old. The supports covers operational costs of these kindergartens, i.e. supplying it with food for daily consumption, buying school transport vehicles, renovating the premises to meet health and safety standards, providing school uniforms for the children, and funding play day outings twice a year. We fund the education and related costs of 12 students from pre-primary education through University. Two years ago we started a children’s literacy programme called Grandpa Superbear to instill a culture of reading in impoverished communities where reading as a pass-time is considered a privilege. The aim was to encourage children to read and parents to read to children using a book that taught children morals and values and how to be the best that you can be. A Reaching Hand financially supports a children’s home where abandoned babies and children are brought to be cared for until a suitable foster home is found. Over the years more than 50 children have been raised, some from birth to completing their education. In support of caring for the heart and soul of children, A Reaching Hand also implements art therapy programmes for community children who have no other forms of recreation or escape from their often abusive daily lives. 50 children from the communities attend art classes twice a month and are provided with nutritious meals afterwards, often the only meal they will have for the day. These artwork are then exhibited at institutions to showcase their work and parents are also transported to these exhibitions to support their children’s achievements. Thus are over 80 children have been involved in these art programmes on a regular basis. Discussions with parents and teachers have revealed that these art programmes have had a positive impact on the children’s behavior at school and their attention span has improved, impacting positively on the outcome of their examinations. Apart from addressing some of the needs of children and students, A Reaching Hand promotes the development of skills for unemployed youth and adults to facilitate access to employment. A Reaching Hand has run community soup kitchens and artisan baking training projects, offered free of charge to unemployed youth in the vulnerable communities, to promote health and nutrition and to create employment opportunities. It has fed thousands of children and adults through soup kitchen project and more than 40 youth have benefited from the artisan break baking training and have found employment at local supermarkets and businesses. In support of income generation, it implements sewing projects at the local prison thereby supporting the development of a skill that will facilitate employment once paroled. We have also assisted with finding employment for the parolees through networking with its partners. A Reaching Hand also funds the nutrition and transport of these parolees to enable them to seek employment. A sewing project to make school uniforms will be started later this year to allow for income generation and also to make school uniforms available and more affordable to struggling families so that their children may also have the opportunity to attend school. The legacy of apartheid has resulted in South Africa becoming the most unequal country in the world based on the disparity between rich and poor (GINI Co-efficient). Twenty years after democracy this is still a country divided and ravaged by poverty. This is strongly reflected in the standard of living witnessed among the poorest of this country. The majority of the poverty stricken population live in shacks made out of corrugated iron, cardboard and paper. Lack of proper infrastructure and overcrowded living conditions means that most people have limited access to water, sanitation and electricity; often there are 3 generations sharing one shack and 50 people sharing one tap. Although various figures can be found on the unemployment rate in South Africa, the common thread amongst them all is that 70% of the unemployed in South Africa are youth under the age of 35. This phenomena together with substance abuse creates a fertile environment for all types of crime, including child rape for which South Africa is known to have the highest in the world. High rates of HIV and AIDS, coupled with a poor skills base in these impoverished communities mean that a large percentage of the population rely on social grants as an income thereby placing a huge burden on the government as one of the largest welfare states in the world. It is therefore evident that A Reaching Hand as a charity focuses mainly on poverty alleviation and strives to achieve its objectives by identifying priority needs within communities that they are able to fund with limited resources. For underfunded areas we look for partners who are willing to pool their resources and whose objectives complement ours, without compromising either our ethics or our mission, always ensuring that good governance is adhered to. A Reaching Hand is not government funded and depends solely on private funding and funds generated through its own fundraising activities. It partners with like-minded organisations and institutions when there is a need to achieve greater impact with limited funding. A Reaching Hand staff are very hands-on at their projects hence monitoring and evaluation takes place on a weekly basis, ensuring that programmes are implemented effectively and efficiently and that every cent raised and donated is spent ethically and that good governance is adhered to.