Helping Children help themselves! This incredible South African project not only teaches children the value of personal effort, but also educates them on the environmental issues around waste.
FreshStart Sedgefield is a not for profit organisation, that aims to create new possibilities, on the Garden Route, South Africa, by helping children to help themselves and break the cycle of poverty, hopelessness and helplessness. This is primarily done through projects involving the recycling and/or upcycling of waste material.
It is from an acknowledgement of the plight of the children within the Smutsville community that FreshStart developed and grew.
Smutsville is a township on the outskirts of Sedgefield on the Garden Route. As with many townships in South Africa there is huge pressure on housing and services… the majority of people are shack dwellers, do not own their land, have minimal services and their quality of life is often about day to day survival.
“Fortunately there is a good primary school. However, no senior school exists in Sedgefield or Smutsville and the availability and cost of secondary schooling in neighbouring towns is prohibitive for most. So many teenagers end up on the streets with few positive possibilities. Without mentors and role models these adolescents struggle for the chance to beat their dire circumstances and to uplift themselves.”
Alcohol and drugs present a real temptation, and high levels of teenage pregnancy exacerbate the situation.
Sedgefield has no industry, and as a result employment possibilities are limited, especially for those without senior education. So this creates a vicious circle and results in a collective feeling of hopeless-helplessness.
Many become dependent on grants and hand outs and this can further lower their self-esteem.
Community leaders on the Garden Route are mindful of these issues and they work with and positively support the founders of FreshStart to explore and implement ways of doing this and welcome all initiatives that will help create a new generation… a generation of youth who believe in themselves and are empowered to change their lives for the better.
The Smutsville Recycle SwopShop is the first FreshStart Sedgefield empowerment project.
It is based on the successful model of Swop Shops started in Hermanus in 2003. The Smutsville Recycle SwopShop now has over 600 children registered as collectors… with children learning practically to help lift themselves out of the poverty cycle.
There are at least 8 different ‘stations’ for every child to pass through at each SwopShop! Queueing at the gate with recycling in hand is the first – then the weighing and allocation of ‘mula points’ with a sticker on every little hand!
Next is registration with a pink card for girls a blue one for boys with name, age, how many points they have and a record of every visit!
A short queue as they wait for their personal shopper to take them by the hand to explore the specials or see what they are excited to purchase!
The choice is then made and they go through the shop to the check out clutching their treasure and help themselves to a fruit before going on for ‘happy time’ at Kiddies Corner.
It is a rich cycle indeed to which no parents are allowed and children are free to choose!
The challenge is to create a new generation of youth who are self-sufficient and are equipped to make a fresh start.
by 