"All money goes directly to helping AIDs victims and their families."
If you don't use PayPal, you could always help the cause by sending a cheque to :
Sheila Killian, _________ The Soweto Connection, "Raheen", Ballyneety, Co. Limerick, Ireland.
Thank You !
I visited South Africa earlier this year and got to see the poverty and despair in the townships. It was shocking to witness this first hand and you cannot leave the place without being impacted by it and also in awe of the people who strive everyday to make it a better place.
I hope to be able to give a little back to kids and mothers I met and help those who cannot help themselves. A small donation will make a huge difference to these people and I urge you to please donate any amount you can.
Trans-Atlantic
Row 2009
Time on the water :
2010-1-4 13:30:00 GMT+00:00!
Please Support Sean's Charity
"provides care and support to people with AIDS, supports and develops community action, and fights the stigma and discrimination surrounding the disease."
The Charity
Soweto Connection is an Irish-registered charity (CHY. No. 16369) founded by Sheila Killian and John Lannon in 2003. Sheila and John lived in South Africa for a year, and during that time did some work with community based organisations in the townships who were dealing with the Aids pandemic.
Soweto Connection raises funds for six of those groups whose work includes community gardens, a shelter for homeless boys, several daycare centres, HIV/Aids testing and counselling and nutrition. The group operates with no paid staff or overhead, so all money raised in Ireland goes directly to work in the townships among the people who need it most.
Because Soweto Connection is recognised by the Irish Revenue Commissioners as an eligible charity under Section 848A Taxes Consolidation Act 1997, donations of more than €250 in any one calendar year qualify for tax relief. More detail on this is available at www.sowetoconnection.org .
The Project
Through Soweto Connection, Sean hopes to raise enough money to build a brand new nutrition centre in the township of Khayelitsha outside Cape Town. Soweto Connection’s partner in this project is a community based organisation with almost 30 years experience in the area.
The centre will include a HIV/Aids support group with daily nutrition support and advice, a weekly medical clinic and training in weaving and beadwork so as to generate income both for the centre and its clients.
It will also include an Educare facility for the preschool children of the mothers who come for nutrition and HIV/Aids assistance.
The combination of improved nutrition, a good start in education, a source of income for their mothers and HIV/Aids support will give these children the best possible start. The centre will also facilitate other support groups and outreach clinics, and make a major impact on the whole community.
Land for the centre has already been acquired, so work on building can begin immediately. The overall cost is estimated at just over a million South African Rand – about €100,000. That is an ambitious target, but the lasting impact of a centre like this on the most vulnerable of children would be enormous.
More on what the proposed centre will provide:
The outreach workers receive a small stipend for the work, and can reach hundreds of children over the course of a year. The mothers can come to the centre and get HIV/Aids and TB testing and counselling, and training in child health and nutrition. They also learn a skill such as weaving, beadwork or screen printing with which they can generate an income for their families. An educare centre is also planned on the site, to give the best possible start in life to the preschool children of these mothers.
The need is very great in Khayelitsha. The houses are a mix of government RDP houses and informal dwellings made of corrugated iron, wood, and plastics - many overcrowded and without water and sanitation. There are problems of unemployment, poverty, poor housing, lack of basic services, malnutrition and poor health.
Women and children are most vulnerable.Twenty per cent of the population here are children below the age of six. One in ten children is underweight, and one in four is stunted. Around 30% of pregnant women here are HIV positive, leaving young children orphaned in high numbers.
All the monies you give go to the registered charity, they have no staff to pay so every penny goes directly to the project and will make a difference.
Please help us to help these kids and their mothers.
