Advent Candles Campaign for St. Kizito

SOLD OUT AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Thank you for your wonderful support of this campaign! We have SOLD OUT of candles and so have St Kizitos! Below is a very heart warming thank you letter for our support.

On behalf of St Kizito Children’s Programme, I would like to thank Constantia parish for the wonderful donation of clothing, shoes and linen. These items will assist us in helping the many families and orphaned and vulnerable children in our Movement.

Office and Funding Administrator
St. Kizito Children’s Programme
NPO: 016-929 LEVEL FOUR B-BBEE
P O Box 22205, FISH HOEK, 7974
Tel: +27 (0) 21 782 2880

As a parish we supported this campaign in two ways. Firstly we supported it by purchasing Advent Candles. And secondly, through our Parish Outreach arm we were made a donation of clothing, shoes and linen. The thank you letter below refers to both these donations.

ADVENT CANDLES

Every year St Kizito’s holds a School Uniform Drive, whereby they try to meet the school uniform needs of their beneficiaries. Near the end of each year, their members obtain details (sizes etc) of the children in need of uniforms and are able to ensure a bulk school uniform purchase. This year, with the impact of Covid-19, more families are struggling financially and so the need is expected to be greater.

ABOUT ST KIZITO

The St. Kizito Children’s Programme (St Kizito) is a community based response to the physical, emotional, intellectual, psychological and spiritual needs of orphans and vulnerable children. It endeavours to meet such needs in a loving, effective and holistic way by operating as a Church movement. For this purpose, groups of volunteers (members) from parishes in and around the Archdiocese of Cape Town are being established. While parish groups work directly with children, caregivers and families, the St Kizito office provides support, advice, training and information regarding available resources. Although an outreach of the Catholic Church, St Kizito happily embraces all children irrespective of their religious affiliation.

Overview of Activities:

St Kizito provides orphans and vulnerable children with a variety of services to improve their quality of life and address their needs. St Kizito members receive training in how best to respond to such needs. Households with children are identified and assessed and regular visits are made to provide whatever support is required.

Services to Children and Families include:

• Referrals to community services
• Food, shelter and clothing support
• Educational support (including provision of school uniforms)
• Applications for social grants, and any other necessary documentation
• Psycho-social support
• Home visits and counselling
• Kids’ Clubs and Holiday Programmes
• Educational Outings, Lifeskills and Children’s Events

Training and Support of Volunteers

St Kizito provides members not only with information but also training in how best to respond to children in need and their families. St Kizito also holds regular Forums and events which enable members from different communities to come together and share ideas. This exchange of information is invaluable as it serves both to build up and strengthen the movement and raise the standard of our work.

Families helped by St Kizito Children’s Programme

The families helped by St Kizito are often living in desperate situations and extreme poverty. Some families include parents who are unemployed or have a very limited income. Most households receive some form of social grant but with the ever increasing cost of living this is not always sufficient to feed a family. Many children are orphans and are now living with their grandparents, a family relative or even a community member. A number have parents who are ill, some of whom are known to be HIV/AIDS positive. There are also children born with HIV/AIDS who have to take medication daily. Currently their overall St Kizito database exceeds 500 children.

Through regular home visits, members learn about the difficulties and problems facing each family, while simultaneous building a relationship of trust. Children helped, begin to see St Kizito members as someone who really cares about them. Through word of mouth, more and more families are coming forward with appeals for assistance.

As a result the database of children has grown and is presenting with increasing challenges. Every family and child that St Kizito helps holds a unique story and situation. This means that from time to time, their Parish Groups face a new challenge. St Kizito then explores what can and should be done so as to know where best to refer the family or how the Parish group can be of assistance.

Examples of ways in which St Kizito has assisted children in need:

• A little boy with a badly formed foot who required a special orthopaedic shoe. His mother had asked at various clinics but without success. Increasingly frustrated, she turned to St Kizito group for help. Through networking, St Kizito found that she could apply to the local hospital. The mother acted on this advice and returned a few weeks later full of joy. Her son was now wearing the special shoe he needed.
• A member noticed a teenager that was showing signs of dropping out of school. She approached him to learn more, and noticed that his school shoes were broken. The youngster is an orphan, who lives with his unemployed uncle. Sadly, they live in an area noted for gangs and substance abuse. The member realised that the young man was simply embarrassed to go to school with his visibly broken shoes. She ensured a new pair, and noted that he not only remained in school but excelled. We have kept him on our database these past years providing school uniform and other support. He is now completing his Matric year.
• A child whose mother was a serious drug addict, often left him alone. Neighbours noticed that he was left alone for a couple of days without food or electricity. They became worried and gave him something to eat. A St Kizito member, phoned our office and was advised to report the matter to Social Services, which she did. The mother was found and the child moved to a foster home. This allowed the child to find stability in his life. He remained in the foster home, while still having a relationship with his mother. He has now completed his final year of schooling (matric), is doing well and his prospects for the future look bright.

We trust these stories will in a small way illustrate what St Kizito is all about and what it is doing for children in need of hope and a happier life. They would very much like to tell you more about their work, so please contact Wayne or Sonia at the SKCP office and they will be happy to talk to you and give you further information.