MENTORING
The children in Sweetwaters have amazing gifts, talents, and potential. But the obstacles they face are great. Sweetwaters has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence in the world. Most children in Sweetwaters do not live with their parents. Every child needs the support and encouragement of someone older and wiser to walk life’s road with them, but especially children in Sweetwaters, where abuse, poverty, and poor education are the norm. Research shows that a link to one caring person can be enough to help children succeed in an adverse environment.
Research also shows that for lasting community transformation to occur, 60-70% of the target population needs to be reached.
This “tipping-point” creates an environment where the majority of young people are well-educated and making wise decisions—establishing a new norm and making hopeful dreams a living reality. Right now, through iThemba's education and Christian mentoring programmes, 11% of the young people in the community are being reached.
These are the programmes where we’re partnering with parents and teachers to provide kids and teens with the spiritual, emotional and social support they need to be all they were created to be.
Click on the images to learn more about each program
Camps For Kids
Life Groups
Life Groups are small groups of kids that are walking through life together with a mentor. These groups meet after school in 13 different homes in the community. Life groups are a chance for mentors to build relationships with kids, have fun together, and have an intentional time focused around learning what life looks like when you’re following Jesus. We have a team of 46 dedicated teens from Sweetwaters who help us lead these Life Groups as well as our Saturday Kids Clubs.
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Life Groups
Home Visits
Home Visits
Home visits are at the heart of our mentoring work. iThemba mentors meet one-on-one each week with children and teens from Life Group, Life Skills, and Running Club in their homes. This is part of our long-term mentorship strategy of building intentional relationships with kids and teens. Through these relationships, mentors are able to provide the personal support that kids and teens need to live a life making wise choices and following Jesus.
Watch a sneak peak of Mashinini arriving at a home visit here.
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Saturday Club
Our Saturday kids clubs (Jabulani Kids Clubs) impact over 200 kids each week. These clubs provide a safe weekend activity for kids, and also provide a platform to introduce them to iThemba mentors and get them plugged in to Life Groups. At club (which is co-lead by our mentors and our “Kids Crew” teen volunteers from Sweetwaters) kids have fun with games, songs, and crafts, and are introduced to what it means to follow Jesus.
Khula Teens Club is an afternoon club where teens gather to hang out, talk about life and God, and connect with iThemba mentors. Once a month, iThemba mentors hold small groups for the Khula teens, which is a chance for the teens and mentors to build stronger relationships and go deeper together.
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Saturday Club
Holiday Programmes
Holiday Programmes
In Mpumuza, holidays are often a time when children are left unsupervised, and the 3 day holiday clubs run by iThemba give kids and teens something fun to look forward to and provide a safe, protected place for them. Even more important, these clubs are yet another way mentors can interact with kids and teens, build relationships, and get young people connected to smaller groups (like Life Groups). The clubs run during April and September holidays, reaching about 600 kids and teens. This has only been possible because of local and international volunteers. Learn more about volunteering here!
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School Outreaches
Life Skills
Life Skills
The iThemba Life Skills curriculum is based on the SA National Curriculum (CAPS) for grade 7 and 8. iThemba mentors teach these classes weekly in 7 schools in Sweetwaters, impacting over 500 students. The curriculum covers topics ranging from hygiene and time management, through to conflict resolution, HIV/AIDS, body image and gender roles. Through hands-on group activities and interaction, as well as through after-school sports activities and home visits, iThemba mentors try to show these concepts rather than teach. Life Skills classes extend beyond the classroom, as teens form positive relationships with adult role models and gain the skills and the social support they need to make successful life choices. Learn more about the Life Skills programme here.
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Year of Your Life
The Year of Your Life Volunteer programme is our “gap year” programme for recent high school graduates from Sweetwaters. Our goal is to help them bridge the uncertain time post-matric by helping them develop the skills they’ll need to thrive in life. YOYL volunteers are also paired with a full-time iThemba mentor, who meets with them one-on-one, and assists them with their personal and professional development. In return, volunteers assist us with our weekly mentoring programmes. Our dream is not for every single YOYL volunteer to eventually come on staff with iThemba, but rather, that no matter what their career or calling, they would be equipped to be the leaders and role models for the community of Sweetwaters.
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Year of Your Life
Running Club
Mpumuza has no sports or other extra-curricular facilities for after school hours, and to address this deficit, iThemba has started a running club where kids meet once a week for training. They are given the opportunity to participate in regional inter-school competitions and fun runs. The club involves about 40 students from local schools, and students have the opportunity to participate in the Midlands inter-schools competitions, as well as other local events, such as Capitol Climb (15km) and the Mandela Marathon (10km). Running club is more than a place to get exercise—it provides students with a place to belong and succeed outside the classroom.
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Running Club
Bring more mentors to the fatherless children in Sweetwaters and help them reach their dreams.
Right now, through iThemba education and Christian mentoring programmes, 11% of the young people in the community are being reached. Your monthly partnership would allow us to multiply the successes we've already experienced, playing a role in ending cycles of poverty, abuse, poor education and limited role models. We invite you to join us in this work of bringing hope to every child in Sweetwaters.
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© 2017 iThemba Projects
Phone: +27 (0)31 0200 200
Physical Address: 8 Pin Oak Avenue, Hilton, Unit 07,
Pin Oak Park, KwaZulu-Natal, 3245 South Africa //
Postal Address: Box 765, Hilton, 3245 South Africa
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