TWENTY gogos who are beneficiaries of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust participated in a parenting skills course that was funded by the 31 Club.
The six-week course was held to equip them with basic parenting skills as well as knowledge of child development, children’s rights, HIV/AIDS and was delivered by Smah White from Fli Hi Training.
“The grannies are all from HACT’s granny support groups programme which aims to educate, empower and support grandmothers in the Valley of 1000 Hills, particularly those who have lost their children due to various causes and are now responsible for raising their orphaned grandchildren,” said Claire Hodgkinson, the marketing and fundraising manager at the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust.
There are currently more than 2000 grandmothers participating in the outreach an upliftment project across eight communities in the Valley of 1000 Hills.
“This course was funded by the 31 Club in line with our 2016 motto to uplift as many people as possible through adult skills development training in order to empower them and enable them to continue to be of service in their community. These grandmothers play a vital role in the lives of the many orphaned children they are raising,” said the club’s chairman, Jo Behr.
After the certificate handover celebrations, the 31 Club members visited HACT’s on-site Respite Unit to hand over love bags that were filled with much-needed toiletries for the 24 patients.
“The 31 Club has financed several skills development training courses throughout the year and we will be following up on the various recipients of these funds in order to monitor their progress and encourage them to find suitable employment as well as self-sustainable projects. We also have a love bag project whereby members of the public can donate toiletries to us and we will make up and deliver these essential basic items to various desperate people in the community,” said Jo.
To assist, contact Jo Behr on 083 326 6634.