Seed of Hope’s expansion plans to empower local community

Expansion plans at Seed of Hope in Bhekulwandle are moving full steam ahead.

Inkosi Nathi Maphumulo and the Maphumulo Traditional Council visited the organisation’s headquarters in December to officially allocate its property in a traditional ceremony.

In 2003, SOH began refurbishing part of the former Bible College campus, which had sat derelict since the late 1980s.

The organisation has converted several buildings for educational, health and skills programmes, and has plans to develop other initiatives in the newly acquired buildings on its property.

“Since April we have officially had the full use of the property, and we are in the process of renovating, ahead of our expansions,” said CEO, Kierra Ward.

This is a two to five-year plan, as the previous illegal tenants left the buildings in a state of disrepair and it will take a lot of work and repairs before the organisation can utilise and secure them.

“We have started renovating certain parts, such as our primary school Simunye room, which had massive foundational cracks due to drainage problems, and this will become our new academic support programme room to facilitate more extra lessons for our local high school pupils.”

SOH currently has between 50 and 60 high school pupils attend on a weekly basis.

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The Simunye primary school building, which used to be a dining hall and kitchen when the property was still a Bible college, is being given a complete facelift to accommodate four classrooms, new kitchen area and small library room to help motivate and equip pupils to develop a love for learning and reading.

This project is being done by the CommUnity project started by City Hill Church.
“On average we have between 120 and 140 primary school pupils being impacted through this programme,” said Ward.

“We have recently finished renovating and securing what from mid-August will be our computer lab, which will offer basic to intermediate computer lessons, typing and teaching community members how to make their own CVs.

We hope to move our community care department, which is currently squashed in two small offices, into one of the old houses.”

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The department facilitates many health and social-related programmes, including a healthy homes and families parent-support course, Gogo support group, HIV and pregnancy testing, counselling and follow-up, health visits, and family crisis care and assistance.

“We hope to have this new home ready before the end of the year.

We are still in the planning process regarding our other dilapidated buildings, but we would love to offer more skills trainings and entrepreneurial training for the community and help connect graduates of these programmes to workplace opportunities.”

Since overhauling its sewing training programme in January 2016, which now includes four modules from basic sewing to fashion design, SOH has seen nine students graduate, four of whom found relevant employment and two have started their own business initiatives.

“At SOH, we realise the importance of journeying with the community over the long haul, and we are committed to seeing Bhekulwandle and its surrounding areas becoming thriving communities where people realise their God-given value, their skills and resources and learning how to use them well, and seeing more and more individuals being empowered in their role in their community’s development and transformation,” said Ward.