Clover Mama Afrika increases support of children by 600% since inception
National Children’s Day that’s celebrated the first Saturday of November is a celebration that is aimed to highlight progress being made towards the realisation and promotion of rights of children in South Africa. The Mama Afrikas from the Clover Mama Afrika project take this seriously and they take it upon themselves to make a difference in the lives of the children in their communities. This is because they see first-hand the challenges youths in their neighbourhoods face, so are best positioned to act in their best interests.
The Mama of the project care for over a thousand children every single month and make sure these little lives are looked after is at the heart of their actions. Every child is born with the same inalienable right to a healthy start in life, an education, and a safe, secure childhood – all the basic opportunities that translate into a productive and prosperous adulthood. However, many children don’t even have the luxury of these basic needs.
“The Mama Afrikas do their best to provide basic needs to each child by giving them a home, a peaceful haven where they are kept safe while sleeping, and provided with food, schooling, love, and care. They also make sure these children attend church on Sundays. Many a time when visiting, I found the children singing and dancing which is so lovely to see! They are happy and that is so important in a child’s life,” explains Prof Elain Vlok, Clover Manager, Clover Mama Afrika Trust.
By giving them the gift of schooling, they are able to visit libraries which the children love to go to, to enjoy browsing through books and learning while using their imaginations in make-believe worlds. The Mama Afrikas also start to equip the youth in their centres from a very young age, teaching them about cooking and baking, cleaning your immediate area, sewing, washing and ironing – all things that other youngsters, when having a home, have and experience.
Children being looked after and cared for:
At inception 23 years ago, four Mama Afrikas were looking after 1 500 children every day.
Today, 10 500 children are being looked after by the appointed Mama Afrikas every day.
“The children learn to work, do and play in groups. The Mama Afrikas go out of their way to celebrate special days such as Madiba Day or Heritage Day, and the real beneficiaries are the children. I found the children at any given Clover Mama Afrika centre to be extremely grateful and humble and it keeps on being the highlight of any visit to find these happy children playing around. The children of our country and within these communities are the next generation and we are passing on a legacy to them. We must really be thoughtful and carefully consider the quality of that legacy—how we raise our children and the values we instil in them is vital and will mould these children into the adult they wills become one day.” says Prof Vlok.
About Clover Mama Afrika
Clover Mama Afrika is a sustainable Corporate Social Investment project that has been in existence since 2001. Over the years the project has hosted 440 training sessions with more than 2313 beneficiaries. Teaching and guiding strong females (lovingly called ‘Mamas’ due to their standing in their neighbourhoods) in communities all over the country, in order to build their skills and sustain and improve their own community projects. Only the most committed are enrolled and these include women looking after orphans, the elderly and those suffering from HIV/Aids.
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National Children’s Day that’s celebrated the first Saturday of November is a celebration that is aimed to highlight progress being made towards the realisation and promotion of rights of children in South Africa
The post The importance of the youth in SA – Clover Mama Afrika increases support of children by 600% since inception appeared first on The Home Of Great South African News. Read More
