No: 1085470
Write to:
Zisize Trust
c/o David Cooper
The Garden House
Trellech
Monmouthshire
NP25 4PA
Projects
Zisize Projects we support from the UK are only a small fraction of the total projects forming holistic support for the most vulnerable in Ingwavuma. These come under the categories of Education and Psycho-Social, including Ekukhanyeni Cluster Foster Scheme. Projects exist in a total of fifteen communities.
Education projects include:- running of 4 Zisize creches (nursery classes); training workers in 18 community creches; training care givers in child stimulation and the importance of play and reading at home; provision of toys and books for homes on a lending library basis; running a certified ECD practitioner course; primary school teacher training; primary school management training; creation of class library corners and training; annual competitions in reading, creative writing, dramatizing a book, book quiz; provision of teaching assistants; curriculum packages; lending library; mobile library; careers guidance; assistance with accessing tertiary education places and funding; homework clubs.
Psycho-social Projects include:- a mentor in each community, who supports vulnerable children and acts as liaison between a child’s home, school and Zisize; weekend and holiday feeding schemes; emergency food parcels; support for child headed households; home, school and community gardens; lifeskills clubs; holiday programmes; peer education in High Schools; health assessments by Zisize nurses; family resilience programmes; community dialogues; social work interventions including child protection work, reunification of families, assisting with accessing Identity Documents and Government Grants, counselling; Psychologist interventions; Women’s programmes; Income generation programmes; Borehole provision.
These can be seen in more detail at www.zisize.org.za and their Facebook Page Zisize Educational Trust | Ingwavuma | Facebook
As Zisize – The Heaton Lee Memorial Trust has limited funds, (between R300,000 and R500,000 per annum, garnered from supporters’ monthly donations), we focus our grants to Zisize in Ingwavuma on what we regard as basic, i.e. food and early years ( School Feeding Schemes; Food parcels; Home Vegetable Gardens; Community Vegetable Gardens; Creche meals and Early Years Development; Ekukhanyeni Foster Home ).
When given funds for projects beyond this, we are happy to ringfence that, e.g. boreholes, water tanks, reading books, house building, classroom building, toilet building, school uniform etc. and pass on to Zisize via additional grants.
FOOD
Weekend & Holiday Feeding Schemes
Our very first intervention as a charity, was for Feeding Schemes, because hunger meant children were falling asleep in class on a Monday, having eaten little or nothing over the weekend. It is hard to imagine the levels of hunger experienced. Feeding schemes operate every non- school day in each of our partner schools. We employ a cook, who herself lives in extreme poverty, and use the school’s pots. The mentor, and often Zisize’s nurse, are present to provide their services. Children bring wood for the fire and containers to take food home for the rest of the family, after they have had some precious play time.
Food parcels
Zisize means “self-help” and this is our aim for project participants, but extreme poverty over generations means that many people in Ingwavuma do not have documents to prove they are South African. Without a birth certificate, they cannot obtain an Identity Document and without this they are not eligible for Government Grants. Ingwavuma’s location bordering both Swaziland and Mozambique, complicates things further as people cross and re-cross as family circumstances dictate. There are few employment opportunities and without an ID Document, many are ineligible even to apply for a job vacancy.
Zisize therefore endeavours to give people skills to self-sustain. Meanwhile, we provide them with a monthly food parcel to survive. Food parcels are also given to child headed households, families fostering children we have placed with them, and to families with extremely vulnerable children, who are eligible for participation in the feeding schemes, but who live too far away to walk. Food is delivered to schools monthly for those able to get it home by wheelbarrow.
For those living far from school, Zisize driver and mentor deliver either to the home, if accessible, or close by, if not, where family members await the delivery. Clothes and uniform, when available, are also delivered on these food runs. The amount of food varies according to household composition and kind e.g. foster homes receive the most.
Food gardens – Homes
Families are encouraged to create a home garden and hundreds of families have been helped to do this, trained in permaculture and organic methods and given seedlings and tools. Children in school life skills clubs are also encouraged to create gardens at home and were incentivised with a competition in 2024. Ekukhanyeni children also have a Veggie garden which helps with feeding them. The challenge is always lack of water, but for those who can access water, their gardens flourish.
Community Food Gardens
In order to address water shortages, Zisize began installing boreholes at sites given by the Tribal Authorities to create community gardens. These have (with the exception of Mgedula where water dried up) been very successful. The advent of a tractor for Zisize made a huge difference, rather than using oxen or waiting for the use of one for hire, which was always in great demand. The garden trainer, Bongani, is a wonderful asset. Participants are trained, a seedling nursery created, land is ploughed, fenced, stones cleared and seedlings sown and nurtured. Most participants are women but there are a few men and whole families pitch in to tend their section of the community garden, the whole of which is between 1 and 2 hectares. Families have become independent through selling their excess produce. The boreholes not only provide water for the gardens but also are a resource for the whole community who come to collect water and contribute a small amount for the diesel to run the pump.
Cabbages, spinach, pumpkins, onions, peppers, maize, sugar beans, lettuce, beetroot, tomatoes and potatoes are grown
Early Childhood Development, Creches, Home based & Grade R
Zisize runs four creches where children from 2 to 5 years receive a daily meal and healthy snacks. Zisize – The Heaton Lee Memorial Trust provides the food for Manyiseni creche children.
All 4 creches provide a stimulating and caring environment with opportunities for gross and fine motor development, language and social skills development. They are able to ride bikes, play outdoors, play indoors with puzzles, learn action songs, paint, draw, play dress up, and learn pre-reading skills using Intaba Yemisindo (Mountain of Sounds) method. This is similar to Letterland, so that before they enter school aged 5 in Grade R,(reception class) they know their sounds and can begin reading isiZulu.
A good foundation in the earliest years is crucial to optimal development, so we endeavour to ensure their health, welfare and education. In addition, Zisize ECD trainer trains staff at 18 community creches, who have far less equipment and have been trained to create resources. She also trains Grade R teachers in all partner primary schools. Their children participate in annual Festival of Books Competitions.
Zisize mentors have been trained as well and use this knowledge to work with mothers so that they can work with their children at home. They are encouraged to play with them and read to them and are provided with toys and books on loan to do so. This innovative approach is increasing the number of children having a good pre-school experience.
Zisize Creches Outdoor Play – There are no community resources like this
Imaginative play
Fine Motor Skills, Construction, Art, Shapes
Circle Time
Story & Play Time at Home
Grade R Competitors & Prize Winners
Ekukhanyeni Foster Home
Ekukhanyeni started its life in 2000 as an informal refuge for teenage boys living in the bush, having run away from abusive situations where they had been cowherds. They lived in a stick and stone building that had once acted as a classroom at Mpontshini. It underwent many transformations over the next six years.
In 2013 Ekukhanyeni moved to Ingwavuma Town where it is now a cluster of three brick built houses and has electricity and a borehole for water – a far cry from its humble beginnings. The yellow building above is now one of our creches, attached to Mpontshini School.
Children live with a foster carer in groups of up to six. While registered with the Department of Social Development as a Cluster Foster Home, this does not attract Government funding and so Zisize receives only the small foster care grant for each child, which does not even cover the monthly food bill, let alone staff wages, clothes, school expenses etc. Zisize is therefore dependant on grants such as ours to feed and clothe the children.
