Every third minute. That is how often a child with a cleft lip or cleft palate is born. This means that one in every 700 babies born will be born with a cleft lip or palate. This congenital birth defect causes not only major difficulties with speaking, but also with breathing, eating and drinking. Children born with a cleft suffer twice the odds of dying before the age of one, and one out of ten children in less developed countries die due to it. Operation Smile, a non-profit, international health organisation aims to help children all around the world grow up with the ability to smile.
For the last 17 years, the Mdzananda Animal Clinic has been working to provide permanent veterinary care and adoption services for the resident pets of Khayelitsha, a sprawling township of over one million people, and this past winter was no exception. Running a full service veterinary clinic out of six recycled shipping containers, Mdzananda relies on the generosity and donations of outside community members for its financial stability.
From its inception in 1958, the Peninsula School Feeding Association (PSFA) has grown from strength to strength and today it is feeding up to 330,000 children in 757 primary, secondary and special needs schools across the Western Cape, daily.
‘I arrive here on a bus and I work in the shop. I love everything here and I feel useful…’ Paul, who is intellectually disabled,grew up in a children’s home after his parents, who he has never met, gave him away. Growing up, he was tormented for a long time by the other orphans and this he explained was the worst time of his life. But Paul’s life changed completely when he started working at the Oasis Association in Cape Town. Founded by child psychologist, Everly Fischer, this homely organisation allows 450 mentally challenged people, just like Paul, to find a sense of normality in life.
Over half of women have experienced gender-based violence, while 45% of women in the Western Cape alone will experience violence in their lifetime. According to a police report, an average of seven women are murdered every day in South Africa, and most of them at the hands of an intimate partner. As various government officials and organisations hope to get to the root of the problem, there is an increasing need for safe haven centres for survivors of abuse. The Saartjie Baartman Centre for Women and Children (SBCWC) is one of these – offering not only a safe space, but empowering survivors of domestic abuse.
Even though August has been officially declared women’s month, the harsh reality is that South Africa has a terrible track record of domestic violence against women. Therefore, Sisters Incorporated is a much-needed women’s organisation working with abused women. The organisation teaches women about empowerment and self-worth and offers them guidance to repair their lives and to face a new violence-free future.
Christmas is a time for joy and celebration. But because of various circumstances, many poor children will not have the joy of opening presents this year. This is why Operation Shoebox is giving everyone a chance to help a needy child have a wonderful Christmas
Operation Shoebox allows you to ‘adopt’ a child after a registration period and choose one of the more than 15 thousand children from many different charities. By adopting or sponsoring a child, you will learn some of their important information, like for example their name, age, gender, clothing size and interests or hobbies. Helping you pick the perfect gift for a child.
In a diverse world with ceaseless conflicts arising from misunderstandings derived from different cultures, it is comforting to know that everyone around the globe shares this commonality. This could be why women play a key role in promoting tolerance and bridging differences. Woman Zone, a non-profit group designed to bring together all women from the Mother City’s multi-coloured cultures, demonstrates how women can go beyond divisions and thrive.
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