Summary Profile of Ikageng Itireleng Aids Ministry
Background
Warwick Hospitality And Events are involved with Ikageng Itireleng from a funding point of view as well as introducing kids to the exciting world of sport. We host the children in our hospitality facilities allowing them an experience that is traditionally reserved for the corporate market.
Introduction
Ikageng Itireleng (Ikageng) is an NGO, founded by Carol Dyantyi in 2002. Ikageng focuses on assisting orphaned and vulnerable children (OVC) in Soweto, Gauteng. There are currently over 1500 children in over 250 households, who have lost their parents to the AIDS epidemic, in Ikageng’s care. These orphans have no money and no food, living in a community that shuns them because of the stigma surrounding AIDS-related deaths. Ikageng’s objective is not just to look after their basic needs while they are growing up but also to ensure that these children turn into well-developed young adults who are able to contribute to society. Ikageng aims to ensure that at least 80% will be employed or continue with tertiary education after leaving high school.
What is Ikageng about?
Carol’s care is unique. Unlike orphanages, she doesn’t take the children out of their home, or separate siblings following the death of their parents. Instead, she maintains the family unit by keeping children in their own homes, helping them make contact with relatives or family friends who
may be able to assist them. Carol and her team of staff and commu nity volunteers are the parent figures to these children. They guide and helps the children, while providing for their daily necessities.
Ikageng deals with a vast range of issues, from trying to get an
18
year-old boy his birth certificate in order to get an ID book,
without which he cannot enter into tertiary education
(his parents hadn’t registered his birth), to ensuring a young girl who
is the head of a household is able to attend her exams at school, while
her younger siblings are cared for by a volunteer.
Current activities
In support of our objective, Ikageng:
- Provides for the basic needs of OVC households. These needs include food, clothing, water, electricity, school fees and supplies, health and transport.
- Provide support, mentoring, life skills and counselling through a network of caregivers and professional supporters - most of them voluntary.
- Organise and facilitate a variety of events to help in the children’s holistic development
- Raise funds and donations to help meet basic needs.
- Provide love in a harsh environment.
- Have started the “I Can Kids Club”, in which children create various crafts which are sold at church fêtes.
- The staff of Ikageng care for the children not only by providing the basics, but also through counselling and advice.
Needs list
Ikageng Itireleng depends solely on the charity, donations and sponsorships received from the community.
Children’s Needs:
- Food donations (other than tinned food). There is growing
difficulty in obtaining enough food donations
- Electricity cards that require monthly updating
- Transport to schools and clinics
- School fees
- School uniforms
- School books, stationery and supplies
- Clothing and blankets
- Furniture, such as fridges, beds and stoves
- Nappies
- Emotional support
- Social activities to be arranged for the children
- Volunteer support
- Skills development programmes
- Toiletry supplies
- Medical supplies
Ikageng Itireleng’s current expenses include:
- Office
- Personnel / volunteers
- Computers
- Fax machine
- Photocopy machine
- Telephone
- Rental fee
- Paper and stationery
- Volunteers
- Funeral funding
- Insurance
For further
information, please do not hesitate to contact:
Melina Lewis on:
+27 83 690 7340
melina@thethirdline.co.za
Please visit our website: www.ikageng.org.za
