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CHILD & Youth Development Programmes

To support Orphans & Vulnerable Children in rural communities, the NCG launched the Child Care & Youth Development Programme. Needy children are identified, visited, assessed and enrolled in the programmes. The Programme takes care of the children’s well-being, which does not only include health, social and emotional well-being but the economic and living conditions are also taken into account and improved, with an emphasis on future development and employability. The NCG Child Care & Youth Development Program is a program which provides services “from Cradle to Adulthood”; children graduate from the one program into the other defined by need and age group.

Ndlovu Nutritional Units

Prevent and treat malnutrition of children and improve their nutritional situation through education of the mother/caregiver and change in the home situation.

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Social Work Services (Childheaded Households & Ophaned and Vulnarable Children)

Provide social care, support and social protection for vulnerable groups through the delivery of social welfare services, promotion of family and community based response mechanisms.

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Community Disability and Rehabilitation Programme

Improve the quality of life, social and economic inclusion of children and youth living with disabilities (CYLwD) through community and home based rehabilitation services, designing individual tailor-made therapy programs and educating parents/guardians.

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Early Childhood Development Programme

Improve the access of children to quality Early Childhood Development.

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After School Programme

Improve learning outcomes of children and youth through the provision of learning support, resources and a conducive after school learning environment.

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Sports, Arts and Culture

Foster physical health, social integrations and economic development of young people by unearthing and developing their talent, offering opportunities for play and healthy alternatives to harmful practices.

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PowerGirls

Equip vulnerable girls with knowledge and strategies to make positive life decisions and overcome obstacles in order to achieve their full potential.

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Food Garden Programme

Improve household food security and alleviate micronutrient deficiencies among NCG program beneficiaries and the community at large.

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Vocational School

Improve youth employability through vocational skills education and training.

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We believe that effective interventions can break the cycle of poverty but because we are not funded by the government, we solely depend on donations to continue serving the communities of Sekhukhune District. 

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Ndlovu Nutritional Units

The first thousand days in the life of a child are the most important days of their life. Malnourishment and the lack of minerals and vitamins are the root cause of neuro-developmental disadvantages. During childhood, under-nutrition causes children to have less energy and less interest in learning, which negatively influences cognitive development and academic performance. Under-nutrition will also affect physical growth and maturation, thus affecting growth rate, body weight and ultimately height. Malnutrition is often the cause of acute health problems, especially in children. At the five (5) Ndlovu Nutritional Units, affected children are thoroughly examined and nourished until they have reached their normal weight. At the same time, the parents are taught by trained advisers how to prevent malnutrition of their children and improve the nutritional situation in the family. They learn how to create a vegetable garden and how to cultivate it. They are also taught all different kind of life skills through which they can improve in their daily living.

Social Work Services (Childheaded Households & Ophaned and Vulnarable Children)

In South Africa 3.7 million children are labelled as “Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC)” of which 150 000 live in “Child Headed Households”. The care of these children is an important focus of the work. Orphaned & Vulnerable Children and people living with disabilities face vulnerabilities and poverty, which render them helpless and unable to realise their full potential. Ndlovu Care Group enhances social care, support and protection by ensuring the provision of basic needs such as clean water, food, shelter, health care and safety. Shelter provision through building and renovation of houses ensures basic safety and security of children.

The programme also ensures that Child Headed Households (CHHs) are assisted with Life Support & Social Skills enabling them to transform their extremely poor conditions of growing up without parental guidance or family support. More so, technical assistance is provided for CHH/ OVS’s to acquire relevant legal identity (ID) documents, registrations for education and specific grants which in most cases is the only source of income for the household. Most of these children, because of their participation in the programme have matured, secured employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.

Community Disability and Rehabilitation Program

Physically and/or intellectually impaired children often are not integrated into society, lack adequate medical care, and the vulnerability of these children is enormous. The physical environment is hardly adapted for needs of the child with a disability. Evidence also shows that poverty, lack of access to nutritious food, stigma and unavailability of family, and community support, and other risks factors compromise the quality of life of CYLwD.

The Ndlovu Community Rehabilitation Centre provides a multi-discipline therapy service, including occupational therapy, vocational skills development, exercise physiology (sports, recreation & leisure), assistive technology, as well as occasional speech therapy. Therapy can be provided individually and in a group. Our Occupational Therapist (OT) and CHWs works together with the caregiver to develop individual therapy goals for the child. The caregiver/parent will be educated to perform and continue these tasks in the home setting and to establish food garden in ensure food security at home. Home assessments are conducted and adaptations are made meet the needs of the child.

The OT conducts various assessments to determine if goals are being achieved. If therapy goals are achieved and a conducive home living environment is sustained, the child is placed into transition services where they receive care and support services at home. Essentially, at this stage, children are placed into home based care and supported employment/ entrepreneurial opportunities. This approach enables positive outcomes; improved quality of life of CYLwD, independent living and eventually social and economic inclusion of people living with disabilities.

Early Childhood Development Programme

The Ndlovu ECD Centres apply the government approved Early Childhood Development curriculum with an addition of the “Class out of the Box” system; a well-developed age appropriate ECD model which is an innovative and inspiring approach to early childhood education. The NCG ECD centres provide a proper nutritional and well-balanced feeding scheme. The feeding scheme intends to improve health outcomes and avoid cases of malnutrition among children. The “Class out of the Box” approach ensures children have age appropriate understanding of literacy and numeracy concepts.

After School Programme

The After School programme through Ndlovu Chill Hubs offer opportunities and a conducive environment to learners from disadvantaged backgrounds to realise their full potential and transform their communities. The After School programme serves children and youth of all ages in primary and secondary school. The Tutoring programme consisting of homework sessions and extra classes in which learners are assisted by subject facilitators is at the core of our work. Importantly, Ndlovu Chill Hubs are a safe-haven for children in an environment of deep poverty. The Chill Hubs also offer a self-study and relaxing space, computer lab for academic related research, computer literacy training, and career guidance and mentoring to enhance career pathing for youth.

 

The School Holiday Programme

While our school holiday programme is educational, it also facilitates a variety of outdoor activities and interactive fun games. This has been useful in keeping children away from the streets where they can engage in mischievous activities such as smoking and drinking alcohol. Activities during the school holiday programme include but not limited to tutoring, englisgh reading, computer games, indigenous games, board games and various sporting codes.

Sports, Arts and Culture

The practice of sport is important to the development of young people, fostering their physical and emotional health and building valuable social connections. It offers opportunities for play and self-expression, beneficial especially for those young people with few other opportunities in their lives. Sport also provides healthy alternatives to harmful actions, such as drug abuse and involvement in crime. There is also evidence that physical activity enhances academic performance among children.

 

In parternship with the Cruyyf Foundation, the Ndlovu Sports, Arts and Culture programme offeres a range of activities which include various sporting codes (soccer, volley ball, Netball, Tennis and Basket ball), indoor games, fitness and aerobics training, youth choir and many other activties. Whilst the main purpose of the programme is to nurture talent of young people promote fitness among the participants, this prorgamme also provides a safe haven for young childern who might be victims of maladaptive behaviors after school.

PowerGirls

The PowerGirls programme was launched towards the end of 2019. The innovative PowerGirls programme transforms vulnerable South African girls to become outspoken and powerful young women capable of becoming change agents within their communities.

Food Garden Programme

The COVID-19 impact on our economy and food insecurity will be with us for some time and with this in mind, NCG took a long-term view to make sure that we create better access to healthy food for more than 15.000 people. In an endeavour to improve household food security and alleviating micronutrient deficiencies, NCG initiated a vegetable garden campaign, targeting the recipients of foods parcels and the community at large. All vegetable gardens at the five Ndlovu Nutritional Units were repurposed to “seedling factories” in order to supply seedlings to our food garden beneficiary households and other interested community members for them to initiate food gardens at their homes. Due to intermittent water shortages in our area of reach, beneficiary households are taught the drip irrigation system (using empty 2 litre cool drink bottles) to cultivate the land with minimal water consumption. It is Ndlovu Care Group’s intention to extend this service to as many community members as we can reach and who are open for this initiative.   Ndlovu makes, with the assistance of donors a water wheelbarrow available for carrying water for those compliant with the program and making a vegetable garden at home. This self-contained unit talks to daily challenges in the struggle of water in this community.

Vocational School

In 2019, NCG has made a major step in its development towards Healthy Sustainable Employable South Africans. In the current reality of South Africa, this seems hardly possible as we see that over 60% of the school leavers, in our rural area, have a doomed future of long-term unemployment. NCG developed the idea for a Vocational School providing top class trade education in Masonry, Carpentry and Painting. Ndlovu Care Group is successful in long-term retention of children and youth in its variety of development programmes but it remains a major

problem to deliver the “Employable” part. Skills development for youth is not available in our area. The Vocational School is envisaged to bring development, expansion, employment and will contribute towards socio-economic upliftment.

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