amcare

Annual Report 2022/2023

chris@digitalzoo.com (Chris Van Wyk) — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 12:50:02 GMT

Get a summarized view of all our activities in the previous financial year. The Annual Report gives a preview of our services to the most vulnerable in the community as well as our accountability to being good stewards of the funding we receive.

Download Annual Report 2022/2023

Positive Testimonial from Johannes

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 09:23:12 GMT

With the help of generous sponsorships from Widney, Amcare has been able to help many in need, Many like Johannes.
We know that there are still many individuals who need our help, but we hope to reach as many as we possibly can. We hope to bring relief to more like we have done here.
This is what Johannes has to say:

"Dear Amcare
I am Johannes Khambule a client of Nontsikelelo who is a care giver of Amcare.
I joined Amcare this year, I want to let you know about what I feel also to say thank you to amcare people about the food that they gave me. I am so gratfull about what you did to me, as I am not working for now but you Amcare made a difference to me, you bring joy to me and girl friend. I wish God can bless you as Amcare, can you please continue doing what you do to other people like me. I am so greatfull to join Amcare and with your support that you give me special with a care giveer that is looking after me. THANK YOU SO MUCH AMCARE.

Yours faith fully
MJ Khambule"

With the help of our sponsors, social workers and caregivers we will continue reaching the most vulnerable in our communities.

Course was for 7 days

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 15:00:49 GMT

I receive victim empowerment services from am care. I started classes of catering at Amcare on the 4th of October 2018. The course was for 7 days.I enjoyed everything,starting from cooking to baking, but what I have enjoyed the most was baking.The recipe that I liked the most was Roman Cream with melted white chocolate and ginger biscuits.I also now know how to make platters for events,and I am going to explore it more and add my own twist to it.

I have learned how to make delicious meals without having to spend too much money but instead by using what you have.I have also learned how to present your meal in the plate after cooking.

I am going to use this experience to start a small business that I have always longed for.I wanted to open one but because of lack of skills I couldn’t. I am going to start baking cakes and selling them to people.I am very much thankful of what Amcare has done for me. I really cannot wait to start my own business.

Financial support from July 2017

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 14:43:53 GMT

I am writing this letter to you on behalf of the rest of my family to express our gratitude to you, for agreeing to be our financial supporters from July 2017

As a family we lived in desperation because we struggled to provide for ourselves the most essential need and wants, such as food, clothing and education.It has been a terrible condition as I and 3 siblings are being raised by a single mother who is currently unemployed and having to depend only on the social grant she receives for the other two children. I would like to give much thanks to you as Widney for having financially supported us as a family, for if we had not received your help we would have lost all confidence and hope to continue our lives.Now we feel warmth and are extremely honoured with your generous support.Through Amcare's assistance you gave given us loved and restored our hope.Your kindness means a lot to us, as great as a mountain.

Sponsoring the studies is not an easy take to do but as for you, you did very well on your side. I am the first one I am my family to attend university and in my Second year at UNISA studying education.

My family are no longer starving as Amcare buys and delivers the groceries every month.I am happy that my mom now does rest do to not having the stress about buying us good clothing for that is all been done through Widney. Last but not least I am very glad that my younger sister has been placed at a school where she receives good physical training and knowledge, well there is hope for a brighter future for her.

Growing up in an underprivileged community has not only offered finical and academic challenges, but also helped me to realise the value of a higher education.Your sponsorship has convinced me to believe that my dream to be able to serve in an educational position will come true. My educational pursuits would not be possible without your magnificent support from Widney and Amcare.

Thank you for enabling this opportunity

Phola park adult therapeutic group

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 14:42:06 GMT

A therapeutic group for Adults living with HIV/AIDS was established in Phola Park in February 2018.The group consisted of 10 female members living with HIV/AIDS. The aim of the group was to provide the group members with the platform where they can be able to express their feelings. The group would be talking about their experiences and also give support to one another. Individual counselling would be given when necessary.This was also to create a sense of belonging within the group and to acknowledge themselves as being worthy and to create independence within themselves.

The group consisted of females who were largely coming from outside of Gauteng e.g Eastern Cape and Limpopo. They are unemployed and dependent on recycling.

The group has started a savings club where they are saving R50 a month and they will use the money to buy groceries for year- end/Christmas. The group members were also selling second hand clothing so that they can start a skill of sewing blankets and then generate income from selling those blankets to people. This is still in progress.

Aannah Moloi

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 14:40:05 GMT

The client lives with her mother and two of her sister’s children.The client is a single mother to 3 children. The client was diagnosed in 2008 and has been on treatment since 2009. The client has been supported and taken care of by her mother. The client’s health has been on and off and has been bedridden most of the time.

Through the intervention of AMCARE the client has shown some signs of thriving.The caregiver has been giving her support in terms of monitoring treatment,AMCARE has been providing the family with food parcels when necessary.The client together with her children have been provided with counselling.The client is now up and about and is able to eat food and feels that she is eating too much.The client is able to go outside the house and socialize with other people e.g she has attended a Women’s Month Celebration that was held in Greenfields. The client is able to go to the clinic on her own to get her treatment. The client has gained a little bit of weight.

The client has thanked the caregiver about her support and has told her that she did not think that she was going to make it but through the support and counselling and encouragement that she was getting from AMCARE she feels better. She is able to get involved with her children.

I am Sanna Moloi, I stay at 1267 Umtholo Crescent, Greenfields. I started being a client of AMCARE by 2018.I have experienced a lot of love, care and support from AMCARE when I was bedridden. AMCARE took care of me and I saw them visiting me regularly when I was sick.I got more support with my children like food parcels, school uniform and so on.I appreciate what they have done for me when I was sick. In times of sorrow I felt their love.

Martha

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 14:14:50 GMT

When a vision is born

By Lida-Marie Saayman

I am living in hell from one day to the next. But there is nothing I can do to escape. I don’t know where I would go if I did. I feel utterly powerless, and that feeling is my prison. I entered of my own free will, I locked the door, and I threw away the key.

-Haruki Murakami

My child was taken by the social workers when the abuse started,in 2014 they said they need us to sort our things first, then they can give back the child to us.She started staying at Cotlands, but then Cotlands closed down and then they moved her to Rosettenville, to a baby home and now she’s still there, she is three years old.We didn’t sort our problems; the abuse went on and on, until 2016 and then I was invited here.The social worker said I needed to do all the right stuff and then they will give me my baby back. I just want my baby back.

The boyfriend is no longer involved; we are separated. There was a time that I told him I need him to help me with the things for the child, but I told himI can’t go to the maintenance court and force him to support her. He’s no longer doing those bad things. He says to me that now he is a good person, but I cannot trust that,because leopards don’t change their spots. I need to raise my daughter in a good environment.

I grew up in the Free State; I was adopted, because my mother, when I was born, she just left me,she was in matric and dropped out. I went to school, but I dropped out in matric, also because I was pregnant. My first-born is 13 years old and he lives with the father there in the Free State.

At AMCARE they help me to know where to draw the line,because I cannot say that guy was the only one who was wrong. There was alcohol abuse;we were drinking, just drinking. They taught me that I could be independent,not to be dependent on that guy.

My child’s social worker came to our place and she found me there with bruises, she said to me I mustn’t lie and say I hit the cupboard,tell me the truth and then I told her the truth, what is happening and for how long.She asked me what is the problem and then I told her, we keep on drinking, and then the abuse go on just like that, it didn’t stop, the drinking. Always when we are drunk,that’s when the abuse happens, cause when we were sober no one was abusing anyone.But once we drunk, both of us, we’re drinking, then boom, started the abuse.And then the social worker told me about AMCARE. I had nowhere to go,and I am scared of starting over. I am scared, but they told me it would be ok at AMCARE.I don’t drink anymore; if I keep on doing that they won’t give me my daughter.

I haven’t seen my daughter since August started, because the first week I went away,my father passed away. My father that raised me was involved in an accident,he just lived for two weeks with the machines and after they switch off the machines they think he will breathe for himself, then gone. And I had to go home, bury my father.Now I just need to sort out that I get to the child, because I am staying alone and the thing is I am scared that I might go back to that life and they will say no,it is the same thing, they are not bringing my daughter. Let me just go and drink again,drink again! It’s not right. I want my daughter, then I will have meaning for life.

They did want to bring the child, it was 2015, late, they wanted to bring the child,but when they get there I have bruises. They say no, we can’t bring the child here,you haven’t sorted out your messes. You still hitting one another, I said he’s the one who’s abusing me. They said, leave him, you can’t stay here, he will end up killing you,and then you won’t even have the chance to raise that baby.It’s better you leave him. When he didn’t drink he was a good guy, he even did my laundry.But once alcohol is involved everything’s changing.

I am trying by all means to be a good mother, to not do those things again,then I can have a chance to raise my daughter, cause if I go back there, where I was before,I don’t think I will make it to 2020, I will be dead.

The abuse took me from a size 36 to a size 28, I was so thin, but after I lived here you will never recognize me. If I said to someone I was abused they say they don’t even see a scar.

But inside, if you could look in here, you will see everything.

- Martha

Domestic violence statistics in South Africa are limited and it is hard to come by exact numbers,as so many incidents are often not reported. But,according to the SAPS over 64 000 rapes and over 15 000 murders were reported in 2011 and 2012,suggesting incredibly high levels of violence in our homes.The South African Medical Research Council has reported, after conducting surveys,that 40% of men have hit their partners and one in four men has raped a woman.

Martha, referred by her daughter’s social worker, was given a place at AMCARE in 2016.She immediately became part of the victim empowerment programme where she was sheltered,counselled and given the opportunity and tools to get her life back.The victim empowerment programme at AMCARE, based in Alberton,has been operating since 2002 and specialises in domestic violence and rape. AMCARE believes that once a woman ends up in the system she becomes prone to keep ending up in the system. Thus, their approach is to empower the women that they work with, to keep them from returning to the same cycles, so that the system does not become their rescuer.As is the case with Martha, many of the women do not have matric and often times,never held a job before, which made them completely dependent on their perpetrator and placed them in a position where they were unable to leave. In the four to six months that women spend at AMCARE they are looked after completely, social grantsare applied for and in the interim they are provided with three wholesome meals a day, and anything else they would require. Once a woman is employed, or has been given a social grant,she is asked to take some financial responsibility, thus teaching her to take control in becoming independent in all aspects of her life, so that upon leaving AMCARE she is truly capable,and in charge of her own destiny.

No woman goes to AMCARE to forget about life; instead it is a safe haven in which she can adjust herself to live a more positive life. AMCARE takes the trauma out while the responsibility continues,giving women the opportunity to be self-reliant, free of abuse and to know that they are worth it. AMCARE’s vision is to be the leading faith based organization empowering individuals with tools and skills to generate an income, uplift themselves in order to get out of abusive circumstances, and to live a sustainable life that they can be proud of.

Martha, inspiring others to choose against domestic violence.

System fails women desperate for safety

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 14:10:25 GMT

If Beauty’s husband hadn’t hit her 17-year-old daughter in the mouth and kicked her in the chest the same day he knocked Beauty out cold, there is a chance she may still be with him. She may still be living under the same roof as him, her two older daughters with a previous partner, and her two youngest girls who call him Dad.

He usually left the children alone. But this changed on February 6 this year. It had only been a few months since he lost his job as a motor mechanic.

“And after that he got worse. He was obsessed that I was cheating on him. Anyone I spoke to, even it was a woman, even if it was his own brothers – he would accuse me,” said Beauty, a safety, health and environment coach with one of the country’s parastatals.

“He would invite people to the house and if I didn’t give them food, I was bad. If I did give them food I was ‘jolling’ with them. So at some point I didn’t know what to do anymore. Everything would be wrong.”

Escaping the cycle of violence

His paranoia escalated to the point that he banned Beauty from having a cell phone because he said she would use it to “cheat with men on whatsapp”.

On that day in February, however, he had discovered she had been using two cell phones and became so violent that he put Beauty in a coma and attacked her daughter after she pleaded with him to stop beating her mother. Beauty was in hospital for almost two weeks and when a social worker approached her before being discharged, she agreed to relocate to a shelter for domestic violence survivors with her children.

“It was an eye opener,” she said, sitting in a church in the south of Johannesburg. “For the first time, I realised I really could survive without him.”

Battle for a protection order

According to Nadine Mason, head social worker at Hanna House, the shelter Beauty called home for over three months, abused women are usually referred to them through hospitals or police stations and are almost immediately encouraged to apply for a protection order against the perpetrator.

“Initially the main aim is to secure the woman and her children if she has any and then we start developing a safety plan – part of which is looking at applying for a protection order,” she said.

“Many shelters actually don’t accept women without a protection order which can be a problem because, without education and assistance, they can become stumped in the system,” said Mason.

The process is relatively simple on paper: women need to fill in the necessary documentation, file it in court and wait for the presiding magistrate to grant an interim protection order – or not.

“If given, that order is valid from the time she leaves the court, and then we would go straight to the nearest police station – and they have the responsibility of serving the order to the perpetrator,” said Mason.

The system and secondary trauma

But the police often ask women to accompany them to identify the perpetrator, according to Delisile Dube, a social worker who runs the Victim Empowerment Programme for Amcare – a non-profit started by the Methodist Church. She said this forces a woman to experience secondary trauma and is only usually rectified when a social worker steps in.

It is the police’s responsibility to get the order back to court within the stipulated time frame – which does not always happen.

Claudia Lopes, from the Heinrich Boll Foundation, said many women struggle with uneducated police officials and the court system. The HBF is advocating for the government to ensure that survivors of domestic violence have access shelters, and Lopes has been travelling the country, visiting different shelters.

“Court action can be time consuming, taking between two and six hours in court, and it doesn’t necessarily happen on the same day – a woman might have to come over and over again which has cost implications,” said Lopes.

She said in a third of cases women are filling out official forms unassisted because “clerks don’t always fill their mandates”

Trouble navigating the legal system

Beauty had to return to court six times, but because of another common problem – her husband fought the order accusing her of injuring herself and the presiding magistrate seemed to believe him. He claimed her daughter’s injuries were self-inflicted too. She said he had family connections within the court, which may have stalled her case.

According to Mason, most magistrates have enough sensitivity and experience to see “where the truth begins and ends” but for many women, including Beauty, this stage is another stumbling block they have to navigate in the criminal justice system.

It was only when, with the assistance of a social worker, her private doctor wrote a statement accompanying her medical records to affirm her injuries could not have been self-inflicted that she was finally granted the order.

“How is that fair?” she asked. “Imagine I was using public health. They were going to say there was nothing they could do and I would not have got a protection order at all.”

Need for specialised courts for survivors

Addressing survivors at a shelter on the West Rand recently, Justice Minister Michael Masutha said it was for this and other reasons that government had “resuscitated the notion of specialised sexual offences courts”.

“We want to leave very little to chance in the handling of a sexual offence through the courts in order to maximise the current low conviction rates, which might prevent some survivors from coming forward – feeling the system is alienating,” said Masutha.

“We need to [ensure] the victims of violent crime, who in our view are currently lingering on the periphery, in the shadows, are brought back to the centre – where they belong.” – Justice Minister Michael Masutha.

According to advocacy organisation Rape Crisis Trust, there are currently only 43 of these courts operational in the country which is far too few to serve the annual 53 000 reported survivors of rape. Court officials in these facilities are trained to handle these cases and provide for the special requirements including witness privacy.

“We need to fix the problems women experience in the criminal justice system and central to that must be ensuring that the victims of violent crime, who in our view are currently lingering on the periphery, in the shadows, are brought back to the centre – where they belong,” said Masutha.

Although she now rents a flat with her four children and is “feeling stronger, happier, more independent”, Beauty still fears for all of their lives.

“Now and then he used to tell me he was going to kill my kids and then he’ll see how I’m going to enjoy my life. Since I left I haven’t heard a word so that silence makes me scared. So that’s my worry – and I’m glad I have the protection order but although that piece of paper might get him in trouble after that, I don’t see how it will prevent him because now he has nothing to lose.” – Health-e News

Growth Pods Report

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 13:33:14 GMT

The project started on the 28 February 2018 with two elderly clients in Phola Park. These clients were provided with a short training on how to plant and care for vegetables using growth pods. On this day clients were assisted to plant spinach in the pods.

This project had a good impact on the older person’s life because:

It does not need to be watered regularly
It saves time and energy
Weeds do not grow
There is no need to plant from the soil
It is easy to store

Mandela Day Celebration

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 13:30:56 GMT

On the 11/07/2018 the Elderly programme of Amcare celebrated Mandela day by undertaking 67 minutes of giving back to the community. The aim of the programme was to celebrate the life of Mandela and honor the invited guests. A group of 40 older persons were singing for joy, celebrating Mandela day with Amcare staff and guests from the Kathorus forum.

The event was hosted at Amcare offices in Alberton and it started at 10:00 and carried on well into lunch time with the groupof older persons from Alberton north squatter camp, Eden Park and Phola Park.The event was completed with food gift boxes filled with presents and a warmblanket for everyone.

Clients attended this event were pampered and honored on this day.

Older persons active ageing group

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 13:28:02 GMT

A group for older person’s active ageing activities was established in Phola Park on the 13th of February 2018.The group consisted of 10 female members who are 60 years and older.

The aim of the group was to empower them with knowledge,skills and provide opportunity for the clients to discuss life in general and challenges that they come across as older persons.
To help older persons maintain their level of physical and emotional well-being in order to prevent onset of illnesses.

Clients attending the group showed dedication and they fully participated on all activities during sessions. The group members were able to share their stories and learn from each other. The body exercises during sessions made them feel young and strong. Socializing with other group members made them feel part of the community.

Warning: Amcare Warns About SMS Scam

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 08:06:52 GMT

Amcare’s name is appearing in an SMS informing individuals that they have been employed by Amcare Alberton Children’s Home and need to pay towards a uniform.

COMMUNITY members are warned to not respond to any SMS pertaining to employment at Amcare. Amcare’s name has been pulled into a scam where people have arrived at Amcare to start their new job. This is an SMS scam. The SMS refers to Amcare Alberton Children’s Home and states that money need to be deposited into an account.

Amcare is not a children’s home and has no employment positions available.

“We have been made aware that Amcare’s name is appearing in an SMS, informing individuals that they have been employed by Amcare Alberton Children’s Home and need to make a payment towards a uniform. This is a scam and does not involve Amcare or its staff,” said Nadine Mason, Amcare’s marketing manager.

“Amcare deals with all employment on a very professional level and would not ask for any money in terms of one’s employment. It is also important for the community to note that no individual will receive any message informing them that they have been successful in a job application via SMS.

“In addition, all employment is administered, advertised and communicated via a human resources department,” Mason further explained.

Amcare is asking the community to please share this message on their social media platforms to get the message out there about the scam.

Donating to Amcare Creates Jobs for Others

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 08:01:38 GMT

“AMCARE teaches many people independence and the ability to sustain themselves through pro-activity.”

AMCARE’s charity shop not only provides people with second-hand items at a very low price, it also empowers people to buy and re-sell items as a means of taking care of their families.

“We teach many people independence and the ability to sustain themselves through pro-activity,” says Nadine Mason, AMCARE fundraising relationship manager.

Pinkie Masango (53) has worked in the AMCARE charity shop since it opened in 2002. She is the shopkeeper and helps sort out all the items.

Donations received are used for the following purposes: Clothing individuals in need (victims of shack fires, vagrants, orphaned and vulnerable children and the poorest of the poor), AMCARE’s beneficiaries, such as the elderly, those who are part of the HIV Care and Relief Programme and Victim Empowerment and AMCARE’s economic empowerment programme that consist of clients buying the clothes and re-selling these.

Richard Nxumalo (46) has no source of income, except for the profit he makes from re-selling some of the charity shop’s second-hand clothing in front of the old Natalspruit Hospital. He has been doing this for a living since the charity shop’s birth. Richard supports his family and puts his children through school using only this income.

“I am happy to make money, because it is so hard to find a job,” says Richard.

This is his last resort to generating money, as it is for many other people.

To support people like Richard, and AMCARE, donations are always welcome. Any items that you don’t use anymore, that can be re-used or empower someone else, can be donated to AMCARE’s charity shop – clothes, books, toys, bed linen, homeware, shoes – anything!

Your second hand goods empower and impact the community at large. Help make a change and please donate.

Amcare Reaches Out To The Elderly

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 07:58:38 GMT

Amcare provides relief to the elderly in the form of psycho-social support, health support and transport.

This week in our journey with Amcare we joined them to have a look at their Elderly Care Programme which was established when a need was identified by Amcare for home-based care for elderly people who are unable to look after themselves.

Further services provided by the Elderly Care Programme is transport services to clinics and back as well as community-based care. According to Nokthula Mtshali, project coordinator for the programme, the support given to the elderly clients is to provide them with a measure of independence. The programme allows clients to be less dependent on family, and to be able to organise their own lives.

Initial aim

The initial aim of the home-based care was to help elderly clients unable to wash and bath themselves. Caregivers from Amcare visit home-based clients two times a week helping them to bath and clean themselves. This task is vitally important as the older people and their caretakers are not able to handle this task themselves. Further support given to home-based care clients is ensuring that the clients take any medication they need to take as well as to identify problems that the elderly clients deal with. This includes things like taking a blood pressure test and to advise the clients to go to the clinic.

Another branch of the programme is community-based support within areas surrounding Alberton. The community-based support is psychosocial in nature, supporting the elderly in the townships with basic needs, and with technical and document support. “As a lot of the community members we work with are illiterate, we help them with, for example, checking their appointments,” said Nokthula. Amcare also assists the elderly patients with an application for grants. Food parcels are given to the clients in need for a period of three months. Another facet of the community care is the active ageing activities. Once a week the clients of Amcare come together to sing and pray together and to do physical activities such as playing with balls. “It’s a bit of fun for them, to be more active and get together instead of just sitting at home. They enjoy it very much,” said Nokthula.

One of the most important facets of the programme is the transport service provided by Amcare to elderly clients. Doctors book transport services with Amcare for elderly clients who are unable to make their appointments at clinics. Amcare has started a new programme in partnership with Ligstad to provide a shopping transport service for the seniors. The service transports elderly clients to shopping centres on the first Wednesday of every month to give them the opportunity to do their monthly grocery shopping. Nokthula hopes this programme will grow and provide a good service to people in the future.

Speaking to the Elderly

During our day with Amcare and the Elderly Care Programme, the RECORD got to speak with some of the clients that Amcare has touched with their services.

Henry Mncube (67) is a resident of the Alberton North squatter camp. When he started his journey with Amcare he was very sick. Henry suffered from TB which had gotten to the point that he could not walk anymore. “Amcare helped me so much,” said Henry, who was very emotional about their help. “They helped me with a wheelchair and with food all to help me get healthy again.”

Henry is now healthy and enjoys the weekly meetings with Amcare. According to him, the meetings give him an opportunity to meet with other people and be civil with them. He says this is contrary to the usual environment of being worried the whole time.

Shelly Short spoke to the RECORD about the care given to her mother, Roma Joubert (90) by Amcare. Amcare has been helping Roma with her baths since an operation she had in June. “They helped so much because I can’t move her,” said Shelly. They helped her with advice on how to care for her mother, and she says it is wonderful to just have them around to help.

Yvonne Lombard (70) has been with Amcare since 2011. Amcare helps her weekly with her transport to hospitals in Johannesburg for various medical conditions she lives with. According to her, the transport she receives is a necessity. Recently, Yvonne has asked the ladies to assist her with bathing. “It’s a godsend,” said Yvonne. She is unable to reach her hair and nails. Amcare assists her with bathing and cutting her nails which has drastically improved her quality of life.

Volunteers Show They Care

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Fri, 27 Sep 2019 07:54:47 GMT

Volunteers at AMCARE Centre of Faith, Hope and Love spent Saturday, March 26, at various traffic intersections in Alberton, raising funds for the AMCARE “Feed a Family” programme

VOLUNTEERS at AMCARE Centre of Faith, Hope and Love, spent Saturday, March 26, at various intersections in Alberton, raising funds for the AMCARE Feed a Family programme.

AMCARE is a multi-purpose health and social development organisation which serves the poor and vulnerable individuals in the Greater Alberton area. One of the many services they offer, is their Feed a Family programme.

“With the R5 000 we raised on Saturday, we can actually feed 20 families for a month,” says Percy Howroyd, general manager at AMCARE.

n a recent article in the RECORD, AMCARE’s Love Bucket programme and the subsequent Feed a Family project was explained and members of the public were asked to assist with this. If someone wants to help, they are given a Love Bucket and a list of food items with which they can then fill the bucket. The full bucket is then returned to AMCARE where it is emptied in their food store. From there, the food parcels are then packed and distributed.

“The recipients of the food parcels have to meet certain criteria,” explains Percy. “We recently had a member of the public coming through our gates, demanding a food parcel. When someone is in need, our social workers would normally interview the person and assess the full circumstances, as we find that there is possibly more involved than just a need for food. We would never just hand out food and not investigate the circumstances.”

For further information on the programme, contact Percy Howroyd on 011 869 5856.

Join the Journey with Amcare

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 20:48:30 GMT

Who is Amcare?

AMCARE was founded by the Alberton Methodist Church in 2002. The non-profit organisation (NPO) was founded with to provide relief for those suffering from HIV/Aids in the New Redruth area.

At the Alberton offices, the original clients were housed in the horse stable in the New Redruth area. Since those early days of Amcare, the organisation has expanded and grown, recognising the need of vulnerable groups not just in New Redruth but also the surrounding areas.

Their vision is to be the leading faith-based centre serving communities. They aim to educate, inform and care for the people in the communities in which they serve so they can empower themselves.

Amcare services are divided into four legs that form the basis of their support and relief efforts in the community.

The first leg is their Victim Empowerment Programme that aims to protect and empower women and children who found themselves in abusive and destructive relationships.

The second part of their service is their HIV/Aids Programme that provides support to those affected by the disease, both directly as well as orphaned and vulnerable children.

The third support leg is the Elderly Care Programme which provides home-based care which includes transport, relief, assistance at home and social aspects, as well as support in the community.

The fourth leg is the Skills Development Programme which equips people with the skills needed to gain independence through training at Amcares catering facilities.

All of these legs will be explored more fully by the RECORD in the coming weeks.

Sustainability

Amcare as an NPO needs to have a measure of sustainability. They need to have sources of income should they no longer receive grants from the government of other donors.

While grants and donations do make out the major part of Amcare’s funding, Amcare’s catering services and charity store provides a source of income for sustainability of the centre.

Amcare’s charity store takes donations from people, then clean and prepare the objects for sale in the store. Another aspect of the store is the scratch patch which serves as an economic empowerment method.

Black bags full of clothes are bought by patrons who resell them on their own initiative. The catering programme, which forms part of their skills development programme, is a large source of income Amcare hopes to expand in the near future.

The catering services cater for corporate, community and households. The expansion of their kitchen facilities would allow them to cater to government and large corporations. The catering and skills development will be discussed more fully in a later publication.

With further growth and development in mind, the decision was reached for Amcare to rebrand. The core reason for this is to improve the prospects of corporate and community involvement with the organisation. The new brand was chosen to appeal to a greater community and is something Amcare is proud of. Join the journey with Amcare leading to the launch on October 23. We look forward to seeing you there.

250 Bras Collected for Amcare

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 20:42:49 GMT

“I just want to thank all the staff and parents from Brackenhurst Primary who made this collection of 250 bras possible.” BAGS full of bras were collected for Amcare by a Grade Six learner from Brackenhurst Primary School, Monique Pestana, and her teacher, miss Melody Pheiffer.

Monique (11) is often out and about in the community, doing charity deeds. These include helping out with the Cupcakes 4 Kids with Cancer initiative, baking and selling cupcakes in aid of the Alberton SPCA, donating Christmas gifts to various non-profit organisations and collecting clothes for people in need.

Melody is also frequently involved with charity work, raising funds and helping out at numerous non-profit initiatives and organisations in any way she can.

Recently, Melony inspired Monique so much that, together, they managed to collect 250 bras. They chose to hand these to Amcare’s Victim Empowerment Centre, in “support” of its women, on September 19.

Melony said: “I just want to thank all the staff and parents from Brackenhurst Primary who made this collection of 250 bras possible. Thank you all for always responding to calls of support from the school. Thank you for always being so generous and helpful in collecting things for those in need.”

Nadine Mason from Amcare expressed admiration towards Melony and, especially, young Monique for such a lovely attempt at making a difference in the community. She thanked them sincerely for the donation of bras and promised that it will be of great use for Amcare.

Freemasonry Cares

ghcmaartens@gmail.com (Drickus Maartens) — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 20:36:49 GMT

Freemasons of the Universal Friendship Lodge (#9042 EC) visited the service point of Amcare at Encochoyini Primary School in Phola Park, Alberton under the theme #freemasonrycares on World Aids Day on Saturday 1 December 2018. One-hundred- and-twenty (120) food parcels were distributed to households living with HIV/AIDS. Each food parcel had the caption “The only time you look down on another, is when you are helping them up” printed on them and included a T-shirt with the same positive message. A further 60 food parcels will be distributed by Amcare caregivers at other service points.

Thirty (30) Teddy Bears were also handed to orphans and vulnerable children. According to the Masons, the Teddy Bear Initiative is an country-wide drive of charity and service to others, in this case, vulnerable children. As part of this drive, Teddy Bears were also handed to ill children in hospitals, clinics and child care facilities throughout South Africa earlier on National Children’s Day on 3 November 2018. Freemasons are led by the principles of brotherly love, relief (practise charity) and truth. Charity (especially concerning orphans, the sick and the aged).

The Chairperson of Amcare, Dr Vernon van Wyk thanked the masons of Universal Friendship Lodge for their assistance in feeding the most vulnerable, as we approach the Christmas season. The impact of corporate, private, and fraternal organizations like Freemasons, play a crucial role in assisting Amcare’s services to continue making an impact in the lives of vulnerable beneficiaries and communities. Amcare’s presence in the community remains beneficial and impacts in the reduction of poverty and infections. “We remain optimistic that through awareness, partnering and education we play a crucial role in decreasing the number of people living with HIV/AIDS, but more importantly assisting the community in eradicating the negative results of stigma and poverty” Van Wyk said.

New General Manager for Amcare

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 17:03:00 GMT

“Her vision will take it where it needs to go; to new beginnings.”

AFTER being a part of AMCARE for six years, Marihet Infantino has been elected general manager.

Marihet has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Johannesburg, as well as varied experience in the field. Most importantly, she has a dedicated spirit. Nadine Mason, the social work supervisor at AMCARE, describes her co-worker as outgoing, caring and very driven.

“Her walk with AMCARE has shaped her as a person, I think,” says Nadine. “Her vision will take it where it needs to go; to new beginnings.”

Marihet’s plan to ‘take it where it needs to go’ is to make the community more aware of AMCARE and what they have to offer. At the moment, she feels that the organisation is not community-based enough. She says there may be a clinic opening up soon for people who live close by and urgently need help after working hours, when clinics are usually closed. She would also like the organisation to adopt a family.

“I would like community members to adopt a vulnerable family. Not just to help them with food, but with experience too and to always be there for them when they need support or advice or anything else,” she says.

When asked how she would like to be remembered someday, Marihet said that she wants to make a great impact on the community. She wants AMCARE to be remembered as a good, pure organisation with integrity. Through AMCARE, she would like to make a difference in the lives of those who have nothing.

These days it is rare to meet someone with such an altruistic heart. AMCARE is very fortunate to have Marihet at its head!