Homework centre to uplift community’s lives

FOR Durban North resident, Arianne Hayes-Hill, putting the needs of the Malacca Road Informal Settlement first has always been her main priority. The local pastor from His Life Vineyard in Durban North has been working with the community for several years in the hopes of making a difference to the residents’ lives and especially in the lives of the children of the underprivileged community.

Recently, Hayes-Hill, set-up the Amaphupho Yezingani (Dreams of Children) Seed Fund, an NGO that seeks to equip the next generation with life skills, tools, ability and mindset to shift from a life of poverty to a life of purpose.

One of her outreach projects was the establishment of a homework centre. The homework centre which was started last year saw volunteers from the church helping several of the children at the settlement, however the logistics of transporting the children to and from the settlement became a challenge. That led to Hayes-Hill looking for a viable alternative.

One of the alternatives was buying a shipping container which would be based at the settlement to help the children with homework, and at a later stage, a life skills programme, and teaching the community English using the Neema foundation teaching material.

That all became a reality at the beginning of this month thanks to a donation by the NPO, The 31 Club Charity, who purchased the container for the settlement.

“Six months ago I was dreaming of this outcome and now that dream has become a reality thanks to The 31 Charity Club. Last year I started a homework centre and it would involve picking up the children from the settlement and then transporting them to the church for an hour. However, logistically, it became increasingly difficult and I thought to myself ‘there’s got to be a better way’. I started looking at the option of possibly buying a shipping container but when we considered the prices, it was astronomical, they range from R35 000 to R50 000, and that’s excluding the cost of transporting the container.

“The 31 Club came on board earlier this year saying they would like to get involved in the Seed Fund projects and I was ecstatic to have their support, but I never expected this. It was an incredibly emotional time seeing the fulfillment of a dream play out in front of your eyes. This wouldn’t have been possible without them or the donors who have helped us with the various projects,” she said.

Hayes-Hill said the NGO was now getting volunteers to help with the homework centre in the afternoons. She hopes the centre will be up fully operational by the end of the month.

“I’m also thinking about possibly getting another container which could be used as a crèche and an early childhood development centre for the young children at the settlement,” she said.

If residents are willing to help with the project contact Arianne on 083 440 3126 or email ariannehh@mitsol.co.za.

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