May 2014 - Born In Africa

Newsletter
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Two wheels - together we can do it!
Thank you!
Born in Africa handed out 130 bicycles at Wittedrift Primary School on 13 March 2014 and there were
lots of happy faces...
Now, as residents in Wittedrift drive to work, they pass a caterpillar of children with huge smiles on their faces
riding their bicycles donated by Rotary Stuttgart International and Rotary Düsseldorf-Schlossturm. This
project was the dream child of Klaus Schuler from Germany, an honorary Born in Africa member. He
approached Isablle in 2013 with his plan to facilitate the collection of bicycles in Germany. Born in Africa
agreed to organise their distribution on a local level among learners who were seen to have the greatest need
for transport between home and school.
For more info see page ...
30 children had never cycled before
The container is now used as a bicycle repair shop
Our mission is to develop well rounded, independent and successful young adults acting
as role models in their communities by providing educational and social support to school going
children and young adults from disadvantaged areas in Bitou, South Africa.
Bicycle project follow up!
BEN BIKES in Cape Town assisted the company DB
Schenker in facilitating and sponsoring the transport of a
12 metre container containing bikes, thanks to Stephan
Strauss. Behind the scenes Born in Africa equipped the
children with intense bike riding lessons and road safety courses. Thank you Deon from Plett Sports, Loer & Marnix
Hellemans and Kitty & Kees Van Helbergen for sponsoring
the 130 helmets and locks.
The bikes were handed over on 13 March 2014 at Wittedrift
Primary School during a festive reception where Mr
Chalmers, school principle, paid homage to Born in
Africa. Ate Bos from Rotary Plettenberg Bay has agreed to
help to start up the repair shop for the bikes. This shop is
now managed by a member of the community. Big thanks
also goes to Dr. Reinhard Schydlo and Nike Better World for
assisting and the Green Valley community for welcoming
the project with open arms.
Thanks also goes to the
Bitou Municipality and the
Bitou Traffic Department
who plan to construct a
pathway in the future to
secure the safety of the
cyclists.
Born in Africa - How we do it!
There are many facets to Born in Africa as an organisation,
the combination of which ensures the success of the
programme. Here is a short explanation of how we do it!
Firstly, our godparent sponsorship programme forms the
backbone of our organisation. Presently we have 400 children
in the programme. Godparents support a child through a payment of €300 per year. We give godparents feedback from the
child and send pictures and information about activities that the
child attended through Born in Africa on a regular basis.
Tertiary education is another very important facet of
our programme as a whole. It is our aim is to equip our
Born in Africa children with the required skills and
education to become successful young adults in South
Africa. Therefore we encourage and assist them to study at
skills schools, colleges and universities. There are currently
20 students studying at tertiary level and their costs are
significantly higher than those of learners at school. These
students are assigned more godparents to cover the costs.
We have 20 students in our tertiary program
Our 400 Born in Africa children posing for our 10 year
celebration
The children are entitled to receive a full uniform at the
beginning of each school year. They are expected to attend an
educational camp as well as an educational holiday outing
hosted by Born in Africa. Each child falls under the guidance of
a mentor throughout the year and attends group sessions
during the week after school.
Furthermore, we also have a parenting programme and
here we hold hands with our Born in Africa parents to
ensure the progress of their children. We host six informative parenting meetings per annum as well as parenting
workshops and conduct one to one house visits a minimum
of three times per year. During our visits our parents are
also informed about financial budgeting, HIV / Aids,
alcohol, drug and domestic abuse. Our mentors offer them
much needed guidance to become the best they can be for
their children.
Many of our parents have started up safe houses, home
baking industries, sewing businesses and one group of
Born in Africa mothers even export their goods overseas!
This business is situated in the Crags and they call
themselves “Siya Phambili”, translated as “together we
move forward”. They manufacture handmade beaded
jewellery items.
Mentor Catherine with her children during a group session.
Born in Africa employs three Assistant Teachers who work full
time at foundation level with reading and maths. Born in Africa
staff and volunteers assist with educational activities such as
after school homework classes, music lessons, computer
classes, gym lessons, sewing, swimming lessons, public
speaking and career guidance to name but a few! Without our
volunteers Born in Africa would not be able to boast such a
variety of activities as part of our educational programme.
The mothers in their own bead shop
VOLUNTEERS to be proud of!
Volunteering is an incredibly rewarding opportunity in life. This goes for the volunteer as well as the those involved
who receive the benefits. Born in Africa’s success depends on our fantastic team of volunteers in Plettenberg Bay, as
well as those in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. There are various activities our volunteers apply
themselves to. Most of them are educationally and socially based as these are the fields where our main focus lies.
Assisting at after school programmes such as homework assistance classes, various educational activities, sporting
activities, teaching skills such as reading and writing and computer lessons are just a few of the things that happen
on a daily basis.
Together we can make a difference!
My name is Loes Dhelft. I am a third
year
student
studying
Applied
Psychology at the Howest University
College of West Flanders in Bruges. I
arrived in South Africa in February to
do my four month internship. The
school I work at mainly is Kranshoek
Primary and I give life skills classes to
Gr 1 - 4, help with mathematics classes, give homework classes to Born in Africa children in Gr 2 & 3 and I also teach Gr6
learners how to play the flute and read music. During my time
here, I have also had the opportunity to visit families in their
own homes - something which I love doing. This has been
an exciting and illuminating experience which I am very
grateful for.
My name is Lore Kriekemans. I am 25
years old and come from Genk in
Belgium. I graduated last year with my
masters in Biology and then continued
with training to become a teacher.
Before my life as a working adult
begins, I have had a dream come true
by coming to beautiful South Africa. I
am currently working at a school in the Crags for a
period of four months. Together with another volunteer, I
organise individual tutoring, homework classes, art
lessons and life skills workshops. I have gotten
tremendous satisfaction from this experience and I am
thankful toward Born in Africa and my parents for this
wonderful experience.
Hello everyone, my name is Jolien Nijs. I studied Architecture and got a specific
teaching degree afterwards. My big dream was to do some social volunteer work for a
project I believed in. By talking to people about it in Belgium and doing some
research I found Born in Africa and decided it was the right project for me. During my
time here, I have worked at the Crags Primary School where I help the teachers of Gr
1-3 children with individual tutoring and life skills lessons. After school I also run the
homework and art classes for Born in Africa children, together with Lore Kriekemans.
I’m very thankful to Born in Africa, my boyfriend and family for this great chance and
the support I receive from them.
Dr. Edwin Demuynck is checking...
Born in Africa was visited this year by doctor Edwin Demuynck and his
lovely wife Annie. He volunteered his services as an ear, nose and throat
specialist, doing check-ups for more than 300 Born in Africa learners. His
days were spent at the various schools with one young patient after the
other as he set up a personal record for the most patients seen in one day.
This was a great initiative as he wrote diagnoses detailing his findings as
well as what type of medical attention was needed. These children can be
taken to the nearest clinic for treatment or medication. The doctor and his
wife also got to know Born in Africa, staff, volunteers and children a little
better, joining us to experience what we do first hand. We appreciate the
time and energy they gave toward improving the wellbeing of Born in Africa
children. It goes to show the positive impact compassion and a willingness
to help can have!
Educational Activities
Camp
Word & Excel - Greek to you?
Another brilliant camping experience was had by the
Gr 9-12 Born in Africa children during our first school
term. Tharfield Estate in Harkerville has now played host
to two educational camps. A total of 80 children attended.
Many social topics were brought in as activities which
gave the children the opportunity to learn and grow in
areas such as team building, leadership, friendship, the
dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, sex education and
much more. These somewhat sombre and serious topics
were turned into fun filled learning activities by the Born
in Africa team.
Karien Malan, Born in Africa’s marketing and computer wiz
lady, recently started giving computer lessons to the older
Born in Africa children in Grades 7, 11 and 12 living in the
community of Kranshoek. As you all know nobody can escape
the clutches of the computer and it is of the utmost importance
our learners develop computer skills before they complete Gr
12. In an increasingly technologically driven world, it is
becoming ever more essential to be able to keep up with
trends in order to be effective in almost all spheres of
employment. Computer skills taught in this class aim to give
learners a good foundation.
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It’s music to my ears
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There is nothing like the sound of
music ringing from a classroom,
especially when it is a Born in Africa
volunteer presenting that class! Loes
Dhelft, Belgian volunteer, developed a
music lesson plan to suit a group
of Born in Africa learners from Kranshoek
Primary school. We know that while children come
into the world ready to decode sounds and words,
music education helps enhance those natural
abilities and for this reason Born in Africa is very
excited about her classes. It consists of 20 Gr 6 pupils who have learned to read music. She is also
teaching them to play the flute and the plan is that
they will then construct their own instruments.
We love swimming
This term was the Wittedrift Primary Gr 2-7 BIA children’s
turn to learn to swim. It is important for our readers to
know that when our 40 kids first enter the pool and start
lessons, most have never swum in a pool before.
After receiving 12 swimming
lessons, a fabulous improvement was seen. Afterwards,
they were treated to an outing at
the beach which was filled with
lots of information from the life
savers and Sea Rescue. What a
fun afternoon! Thank you
Adventure Land for allowing us
to use the venue and we are
always indebted to Lief and Ivo
De Bisshop of Belgium for
supporting
the
swimming
program.
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Needle work class
There is nothing more fulfilling for children than to be able to
express themselves freely. A very special lady called Amanda
Allum approached Born in Africa earlier this year and offered
to teach sewing classes to the Born in Africa children. It was
then decided that the Gr 4-5 Born in Africa children from
Kranshoek would be the recipients of these creative sewing
lessons. To date, the girls have made beautiful hand stitched
bags and the boys are working on their own handmade pencil
cases. Amanda teaches them various stitching styles and
encourages them to be creative.
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Outing to the Police Station
Born in Africa took a total of 100 learners from Plett
Secondary School (Gr 7–12) to Plettenberg Bay Police
Station for a holiday outing. They learnt about the
consequences of crime, the life of a Police Officer and about
how it feels to be in a prison cell. Afterward we went to the
beach to swim, relax and have a bite to eat.
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Tertiary Update - meet our Carpenter
This newsletter edition we are interviewing one of our true success stories. Success in the sense of never
giving up, always showing maximum enthusiasm and incredible dedication. None other than Gino Luiters,
hailing from Kranshoek is our tertiary star. Gino lives with his mother and his two brothers, Shane and
Doné. He has another older brother and two sisters, but they have moved out of the house recently. The
family’s financial situation is very difficult as his mother is unemployed. She suffers from severe asthma
and receives a small disability grant. This amount does not go far and for this reason Born in Africa
supports Gino’s studies fully.
We met this young man at his boarding school, Olympia,
during a rainy Wednesday morning, yet the weather could
not dampen his positive spirit.
Hello Gino, please tell us a little about yourself:
Well, I am 17 years old and I really enjoy carpentry. In fact,
this is what I am focusing on at school. I am following
academic subjects as well as carpentry. When I am at home,
I collect old pieces of wood and transform them into
ornaments or furniture.
When thinking back, what is the most challenging
situation you have been in?
When I was at school at Kranshoek Primary, I was not a
very good academic student and I was teased a lot by my
fellow peers. That was a very hard time for me.
Tell us about your dreams for the future?
One day I am hoping to open my own woodworking
business in Plettenberg Bay where I can make special
pieces of furniture for people. That way I will also be able to
use my creativity in the creations I manufacture.
Do you have some advise for other young people out
there?
Of course, I would like for young people to know that you
have one chance, my chance is with Born in Africa and I
took it. Look where I am today. Super lucky!
Wittedrift High Update
With 2014 well into its second term, we are so thrilled with
nine new students’ progress. Coming from all Plettenberg
Bay’s communities, they have truly settled in brilliantly. We
now have a total of 28 Wittedrift High students who we
sponsor with a full study bursary. Our students are all weekly
boarders which means that they are able to benefit from
extra circular activities without worrying about transport
issues. This puts them at an incredible competitive level with
many of the sporting and cultural activities.
DREAMS
Born in Africa has made two dreams come true every month since the start of the Dream in Africa project in April 2013.
It is wonderful to see so many dreams become reality and the smiles on faces reflecting hopeful hearts.
Dream It...Believe It...Achieve It!
Judy’s dream house
Judy has been involved with Born in
Africa for many years now. She is a
single mother, studying through Unisa
to be a teacher while working as an
Assistant Teacher. Her dream was to
move out of the shack she was living
in with her young son, into her very
own home. Born in Africa received money and supplies from
various sponsors allowing us to build her a brand new home!
Skate boards
Three boys in Kranshoek (Kabelo, Katleho
and Aldain) wanted their own skate boards
and skating kit to enjoy with their friends and
be able to practice a hobby they love. Born in
Africa thought this a great dream to make
come true, as it is a way for them to get
exercise and exercise their motor skills while
having fun.
Cooking & guitar classes
Elze, Tanya, Tiffiny, Danielle and
Rayneesha, all at Kranshoek Primary
School, wanted to learn to cook so they
can make meals for their families. They
were each given four lessons, learning
to make a selection of pastries and
bake bread, using eggs in various
ways, cooking vegetables and pastas.
Jaimie-Lee,
Jose,
Nazli,
Sandy and Sjang-Sju dreamt
of learning to play guitar and
having their very own guitars.
Most of them would also like
to write their own songs. Born
in Africa helped to start them
on this journey!
Sha
Mentors in Action and Parent Meetings
Mentors
Parent Meetings
In the first quarter of 2014, our mentor team - Sarija, Marita,
Catherine and Belinda - enriched the hearts and minds of the
Born in Africa group session children by presenting them with
two age appropriate themes. The younger brigade learned all
about the human body, hygiene and privacy thereof. Our
older groups delved into the dark side of depression which is
such an important issue to discuss and which many
teenagers in the area face these days. These issues were
also shared with our parents at our first three parent
meetings of 2014 which took place in February.
The Born in Africa team presented the year’s activities
via PowerPoint to our enthusiastic parents who always
enjoy seeing their children up on the big screen!
Uniforms
380 uniforms, complete with shoes and a backpack,
were handed out this year to proud new owners.
House Visits
House visits are a necessary part of
how we work, keeping in touch with
parents and the circumstances under
which children are living.
Happy Birthday to you!
MAY
3
7
8
11
13
15
16
17
18
19
20
22
23
25
27
30
31
Lauren Camphor, Darchen Damonds / Skuy
Mervin September
Sharne Christoffels, Shanice Davids, Suwaida Groot
Tracey Thombe
Thumurney Davids, Ayesha Baartman
Charnell Ockhuis, Donovan Paulse, Jemiell Witbooi
Karabo Mphafa, Kimberley Plaatjies
Maroshaan Blaauw
Lucille May
Chemonique/Themba Malgas
Nolin Jordaan
Katleho Modise, Angelique Abrahams, Ivan Smith
Thansoneria "Kally" Blaauw
Luciano Louw
Rashied Adams
Marcellino (Lino) Ruiters, Nicole Christoffels
Tarric Davids
JUNE
1
3
4
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
15
16
17
18
20
21
21
23
24
26
28
Cameron Windvogel, Britney Oraai, Hillion Davids
Angone Smith
Megan Myburgh
Anja Branders, Breyton Lourens
Mandy (Malibongwe) Mngomezulu
Shenise Stuurman
Tamia Oliphant
Danielle Damonds
Leshwin Barnardo, Monique Bailey
Zoe Willems
Breyton Paulse
Clevorne Barnardo
Suzette Vaaltyn, Micalyn Gysman
Keashwin Samuels
Narswhin Jacobs
Shamiella Ruiters, Kimberley Palmer
Meghan Barnardo, Shanita Le Fleur
Alyonay (Lindsay) Cloete
Granville Cloete
Esme Philander
Antonio Aaron, Torique (Christopher) Steward
boom
JULY
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
10
11
13
16
18
24
25
27
28
28
29
30
31
31
Megan Vaaltyn
Justine Links, Matuschka "Tussy" Oliphant
Savasio McClean
Zoe Karnie
Simone Kamfer, Courtney Klazen
Tameryn Zondage, Fazela Kiewiets
Claudene Windvogel
Joslin Sam, Chardonay Philander
Danielle Sputa
Maria / Vuyelwa Bonase
Casuraan Blaauw
Jaydine Constable
Emodean van Rheede
Rosline Blouw
Zanelle Kamm
Meredy Salmans
Angelo Abrahams
Thoman Roman, Jaime-Lee Mouton
D'vandre Oliphant
Rickell Williams
Ashlene Wildeman
Dezire Williams, Chloe Krigga
AUGUST
1
Sibahle / Jessica Thobela
2
Anetta Luyters, Eunica Jones, Camrin Jacobs, Ellen Kleinsmidt,
Rohlene Jansen
3
Mercia Hendricks
4
Roslin Kerspuy
5
Renesha Van Wyk, Nasiphi Mbukulu
6
Shavon Prins, Rubaine Arendse
8
Shaun / Beertjie Kham, Jody-Ann Mapondo
10
Roxanne Olivier, Burton Kam
11
Rouvay Powie, Guillermo Windvogel
12
Estee Quinch, Embrochia Zondage, Marshell Brendon Williams
13
Sjang-Shu Jordaan
18
Merilene Hartley, Roxanne Davids
19
Anastacia Olivier
21
Myraldine Brown
23
Lorenzo Baartman, Jason Plaaitjies
25
Alexis Zeng, Danika Julies, Charde Martins
26
Mariska Plaaitjies
28
Vio-nett Van Rensburg, Lucian Attwood
31
Tamryn Attwood
Thank you!
Wonderful initiatives!
Thank you to family Verschuren for linking us to Computers for
Africa. Thanks to you, 10 computers, a printer and three
laptops were donated to us. This will make a huge difference in the
lives of Born in Africa children. The children are able to do
educational activities and research for projects.
Thank you to Dolf Wieërs and the VZW Grauwzusters from
Hasselt for your donation which has assisted with refurbishing our
computer class as well as the programming of the computers.
What a great help this has been!
In Norway Born in Africa fundraising has also been very busy.
Born in Africa board member Toralf Nordbotten organised a golf
day. The funds raised, more than €3,000, were used for the study
bursary programme. Thanks Toralf and the Norwegian folks for
your incredible help and your dedication to the Born in Africa programme.
Luc, Monique en Patricia Scheepers, the godparents of Kyle
Lottering, held a celebration with the G.I.B.C. Vriendenkring and
S.V. Limburgia Hasselt for Born in Africa’s benefit. The funds
raised amounted to more than €600. Born in Africa also received
soccer tops from them. Thank you so much!
Godparent Mia Vanhoudt will celebrate her 60th birthday in
September 2014. Her wish is that her guests donate money
towards the Born in Africa vegetable garden project which will
commence in May 2014. Well done!
Thank you to Mr. Seeuws of Smet Insurance for your yearly
donation towards our study bursary project.
The entire December was car wash month
organised by Guy, Jacqueline, Johan
Proost and the amazing team at XL
Carwash in Kontich. Many items for
washing vehicles were sold to the benefit
of BIA students. Many thanks!
A huge thanks goes to KBC bank and Insurance as well as Frank
& Freddie for your donation of stationary and T-shirts. They are
all coming in very handy!
Big thanks towards the clubs:
Rotary Club Asse, Rotary Meise,
Rotary Geraardsbergen, Lions Club Lokeren, Rotary Club Wolvertem
Dreams can come through:
Judy’s house: The Triangel school Beuningen, Jozef & Adrie Wiegers,
Henk Oerlemans, Geert & Mien Loeffen & the Netherlands Born in Africa
team
The guitar dream: Jane Bradley, Liesbeth & Chris De Handsetters,
Matti Emondts
The cooking dream: Mrs. Andri Combrinck and Ton & Kora Coenen
The desk, beds & bedding dream: school VBS Westkappelle – Duinberen
The skate boarding dream: the Blauwe Vogel visitors
Jo and Hilde De Baets raised funds for Born in Africa with
their acting club “t Meibloempje’ in Zottegem. Thank you so
much!
Our volunteer Nele Schroyen is not only our trusted translator,
thanks to her school Agnetendal and her colleagues a great
amount of money was raised for Born in Africa students at the
Wereldbeurs in Peer on Saturday 23 November 2013.
Thanks to Sharon and Joost Schuil- Helderson for your support
of the computer classes. We are now able to offer our Kranshoek
learners weekly computer classes and we can see their
improvement already.
Thank you once again to Lief and Ivo De Bisschop from Idee Consulting cvba for once again sponsoring our swimming
programme. We are so grateful for this.
Our Dutch friend Jan Noordegraaf was the guest speaker at
Wageningen Academy and donated €720. Thank you Born in Africa godparent Jan!
Dr Reinhard Schydlo and his wife Doris organised his birthday
party while being in Plettenberg Bay and all donations went to Born
in Africa’s study bursary project. Thank you to our Born in Africa
friends from Germany!
The welfare organisation VZW Geuzenhoek from Horebeke
organised a celebration recently and the funds raised there of
€1,000 were donated to Born in Africa. Thank you so much!
Thanks to Born in Africa volunteer Veronique Claes who is running
a project where she sells donuts in aid of Born in Africa. She sells
five doughnuts for €5. Place your order now!
Born in Africa was part of the ‘Music For Life’ fundraising campaign in December 2014. Thanks to the kind initiative of the Koning
Boudewijn Stichting and Studio Brussel, Born in Africa was
put in the limelight. Listeners were able to request a song at Studio
Brussel and donations were made in aid of Born in Africa. Well
done!
Kitty & Kees Van Helbergen recently celebrated Kees’ 75th
birthday! All the gifts were donated to Born in Africa and with this,
and the help of Loes and Marnix Hellemans, we were able to purchase 130 bicycle helmets and locks for the children who received
bicycles. The support of Nike Better World (Nike ELC in Laakdal)
was also invaluable. With your competition, Born in Africa won a
fantastic donation with which we were able to cover the costs involved in the organisation of the bike project. Thank you to Mieke
Geypens for
connecting BIA with Nike and for attending the
Sadly Karen Konings passed away on 14 December
2013. A wish she had was that no flowers were to be
lain on her grave. Instead she requested that donations be given to Born in Africa. With the donation
she requested that her godson Tony Aaron would be
given a better future. Karen, Anthony is extremely
happy in large part due to your positive influence and
you were truly an unforgettable godmother.
Thank you for the monthly donations:
Tinneke en Joost Bogaert-Verlinden, Victor Poelmans-Lambrights, De Schouwer Henri en Martine,
Fons Cools, Meeus-Verheyen, Moers-Scheepmans,Marc en Roos Hollanders, Yvan Vandenabeele, Gilbert Verheecke, Van Steertegem-De Temmerman,
Leona De Smet, Van Den Eynde- Lemmens, Geert & Sandra Vandermarliere, Rosa Flamand, Hans Vermeersch, Moers-Scheemans, Noor Hallegraef
Thank you for the donations:
M. J. Wolter, fam. Kurth, Agten-De Baets, M. Bastiaensen, E Vanderheyden, Delhaize Marie-Paule, T. Noukens,
Vliegen-Goris, Dutra SA, S. Goormachtig, L. Neyens, E. Coenen, R.J.M. Titulaer, J. Bernete-Diaz, M. Iacutone, L. Westhoven, A. Roex, Roex-Damoiseaux,
T. Campisani, V. Hungenaert, Konings-Dauwe, I. Zimmerman, Steenaerts-Deprez, T. Elsen, De Smet-Matthys, G. De Smul, Peuters-Peuters, PeddoniCherchi, Goormachtig, A.F.Brokmann, M.H.A.Jutten, Meijssen-Bruwiere, M. & C. Maddelena – Delforche, K. Heidemarie, Willekens-Sliepen, C.Brooks, Luc
Van der Linden, M. Hillemans , F. Van Laer, R. Goossens, F. Peersman, R. Nanivadekat, Maria Bergen, Peggy Van Est, Business Connected BV, Schuil –
Henderson, J. Van Den Bossche, De Smet-De Meyer, D. De Beule, Leers P. en Co BVBA, Geertrui Desmet, L. Sanfilippo, AM. Six, JF. Vandenberghe,
A.Vandeweyer, Sirolo BVBA, Clerckx-Jamar, M. De Mol, H.Ballon & Partners BVBA, Crombe-Dierickx, Coolen Sylvain, Devos-Vandevyvere, Keupers Hilda, H.
Anna Koch, Gilbert Verrijt, M. De Meyer, Cuypers-Theuwissen, Claeys-Van Damme, Derkinderen-Verbruggen, I. Haelvoet, OLV Instituut, Hendrix-Vanmuysen
Vankelecom, H. Vanhoudt, Stroker; Stad Peer, Gemeente St-Lambrechts Woluwe, Cauwe-Vanlede, Claudine & Ria De Rijckx
Klaus Schuler, left alongside Isabelle, recieving his honarary member jacket. Thanks for
your support Klaus. On the right hand picture we can see our Dutch friends also receiving
their honarary membership jackets. They are Kees & Kitty van Helbergen and Loer & Marnix
with Remi De Backer, in the middle, proud Born in Africa chairman of South Africa.
Born in Africa receiving more awards
ING Solidarity Award
Thank you so much to Jaak Leenknegt, our new Born in
Africa board member, for working effortlessly to promote
Born in Africa and thanks to all our loyal Born in Africa
friends for ultimately securing our 5th
place of the online ING Solidarity
Award competition.
Alongside the online competition, the
ING jury judged the 65 participating
Belgian NGO’s. Born in Africa was
the favourite with the jury who found
that our organisation was one with
the most credible when it comes to
community impact, the originality of
Georges De Smul,
our organisation’s ideas as well as
the implementation of our strategies. chairman Born in Africa
Belgium & Jaak
The €10,000 received in funds will
be used towards the Born in Africa Leenknegt at a Born in
Africa corporate
study bursary.
fundraiser
Paul Harris Award
Isabelle De Smul received an
incredible honor, bestowed upon
her on the eve of 28 November
2013 during a formal evening
hosted
by
Rotary
Club
Plettenberg Bay. She received
the Paul Harris Fellowship award
which was given to her by Rotary
District governor Vyv Deacon.
The presentation of the “Paul
Harris Fellow” is the Rotary
Foundation's way of expressing
its appreciation for a substantial
contribution to its humanitarian
Isabelle De Smul - Brink with
and educational programmes.
Well done Isabelle!
Rotary District
Governer Vyv Deacon
Tante Rita building towards a better future
Firstly Born in Africa would like to commend Rita de Smul, Tom Vermeir, Bart Laureyns, Griet de Graeve and Christine de
Meuleme for their incredible fundraising efforts. Thanks to this, Siya Phambile, local independent bead working business, has been able to add on much needed additional working space to the building which is their shop and workshop. This will
increase sales and manufacturing for sure. The extension was unveiled during a ceremony with Born in Africa as well as sponsors
and friends in attendance.
From left to right: Maria & Lea the shop owners, Adje Bos, Isabelle De Smul-Brink and ‘tante’
Rita in front of the new shop; tante Rita so proud of the ladies; the Siya Phambili team at the opening.
Service clubs, companies, schools, seniors clubs and others who are interested:
If you would like to organize something for Born in Africa you can always contact Georges De Smul or Remi De Backer.
They will be more than happy to visit you and give an informative talk at no cost. Feel free to contact them!
This newsletter was compiled by Elke Ijzerman, Nele Schroyen, Emma
Irvine, Karien Malan, Belinda Coram & Isabelle De Smul –Brink.
Would you like to get involved?
Contact person in
South Africa
Contact people between
Belgium and South Africa
Isabelle De Smul – Brink
P.O. Box 1674
Plettenberg Bay 6600
South Africa
Lieve & Remi De Backer
Cell: +32 (0) 47 528 3873
[email protected]
Tel: +27 (0) 44 533 6271
Cell: +27 (0) 82 857 2345
[email protected]
Donations are always welcome!
In Belgium:
Iban nr. BE 25 8845 03500182,
BIC-code: HBKABE22
In South Africa: First National Bank, Plettenberg Bay
62044941533, branch code: 210514
Contact people in Belgium
Arlette & Georges De Smul
R. Dalechamplaan 4
1200 Brussels
Belgium
Tel/Fax: +32 (0) 27 706 916
Cell: +32 (0) 49 612 2361
[email protected]
Contact people in: Norway
Toralf Nordbotten
[email protected]
Germany
Dr. Reinhard Schydlo
[email protected]
The Netherlands
Chantal Van Summeren
[email protected]
Corporate fundraiser:
Jaak Leenknegt
[email protected]
Have a look at our Facebook page: borninafrica vzw
& our new website: www.borninafrica.org
Tax exemption in Belgium (from €40) & in South Africa!