Uplifting Wentworth community through gardens and employment opportunities

THE Hope and Grace Foundation, a non-profit company, has kicked off its Men of Hope project in Wentworth and is now appealing for assistance.

Karin Gough, managing director of the foundation, said the project was close to their hearts as Wentworth is well-known for the violent environment that the community has been faced with.

She said their goal is to now curb hunger, create employment opportunities and uplift the lives of the youth.

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“We, as a foundation, have set out to make a change by enabling the men of the community to join hands and start the change that is needed for their family’s safety and well-being,” she said.

Gough said one of the initiatives under the project would be the planning, planting and maintenance of compact vegetable gardens made from recycled items such as bottles and paint buckets.

“The aim is to start planting in these gardens with our volunteers to make sure that we have fresh produce in our food parcels. We want to then extend the vegetable gardens to other members of the community. This would ensure that families have access to vegetables, which is seen as a luxury in this community riddled with unemployment and severe poverty.

“Furthermore, each vegetable garden will be carefully monitored and recorded. This will also have a positive economic influence on the community as the dream is to have enough gardens to be able to sell and make money,” she said.

Gough said they also want to start a callisthenics training programme within the community.

“The idea is to initially start by training 10 teenagers. This will be intense training, giving them a positive outlet for any anger, frustration and feelings of helplessness. By starting this venture, we will ensure that those 10 teenagers stay away from drugs and gangs.

“We will also expose the children to motivational speakers who don’t necessarily have the degrees but have first-hand experience in the life that the children are leading. We have a qualified substance-abuse counsellor on our team who will give a talk. We also have recovering addicts who have been clean for 10 to 20 years. They will share their experience with these children and try to have a positive influence on the youth,” she said.

Gough said another initiative was to make furniture to sell, using pallets that have been donated.

“This money would enable us to buy more supplies for the vegetable gardens so we are able to expand the reach of this project. We will also pay the makers of this furniture 50% of the selling price, giving them a small income, but also boosting their self-worth and contribution to the economic growth of their community,” she said.

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Gough added that the project is run by the foundation’s area manager, Thomas Ryan, who is assisted by the women of the community.

“This is a project by the people, for the people. We are not asking for money, but we won’t say no.

“We are, however, pleading to local businesses to start the change by being the change. Please consider donating at least one of the items that we need or more if you feel generous,” she said.

For further information or to donate, contact directors Karin Gough on 078 121 4874, Billy Gough on 083 300 7307 or Debbie Oberholzer on 068 021 0546.

WISHLIST:
Vegetable garden
compost
potting soil
seed and seedlings

Callisthenics training
concrete mix
round steel pipes

Furniture-making
wood (various sizes and forms)
circular saw
jig saw
belt sander
orbital sander
workshop bench
drill and drill bits

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