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Orphans & Vulnerable Children outing to Waterfront

On Sat 25 June 2011, we took 26 of our orphans and vulnerable children (ovc’s) to the Cape Town Waterfront.

The day began with Terri Martin arriving at the Community Centre with an armful of blankets – each child was given one. Thank you Terri for your extreme generosity! Then we were all transported in 2 of Reddam’s mini buses, kindly organised by Martin Oosthuizen of the Orphan Care Foundation.

We had an awesome time at the aquarium, where we were all amazed at the different types of fish, the sizes of the sharks, and the feeding of the penguins. We also watched a puppet show which provided great amusement, and then everyone was treated to KFC for lunch. Afterwards we enjoyed a boat trip around the harbour, saw the seals on wheels, and then went out of the harbour where the sea was very rough – luckily no-one fell overboard!! Back at the Waterfront we were entertained by street buskers blowing fire and a contortionist sitting on a tower of small tin cans with his legs wrapped around his neck. Needless to say, the children (and the 8 adults) were amazed! We ended the day with ice creams and the trip back home. It was a great experience and I’m sure everyone slept well that night.

Westlake women receive new shoes

There was much excitement when Hillsong Cape Town, in partnership with WUCT and Westlake Mothers in Action (who are part of the newly formed leadership of Westlake – the Westlake Community Foundation), handed out brand new shoes to the women of Westlake. Hillsong collected 1000 prs of shoes at their recent 2011 Colour Conference for Women, and so Pastor Lucinda Dooley very generously donated some of them to our women! Altogether over 100 pairs were handed out on Wed 22 June ’11, and as you can see from the photos everyone was delighted to receive a brand new pair (especially since all the Westlake children were recently given shoes at the new Primary School, as well as our own Emmanuel Educare children). Now the women had their turn! We thank God for Hillsong Cape Town and pray that they will be richly blessed as they have blessed so many women in our community in this way.

Visit from Woolworths (Steenberg) Staff

The Woolworths store at Steenberg Village supports us generously with a weekly donation of waste product, so we were very pleased to be able to welcome the Store Manager, Alastair Willemse, and some of his staff to the pre-school on Thursday 23 June 2011. Alastair and his team were shown around the premises, introduced to some of the children, and also shown the new kitchen of which we are extremely proud.

We also receive support from those Woolworths customers who nominate us as a beneficiary via the MySchool programme. To learn more about this, click here. (Emmanuel Educare is listed under Western Cape – Other).

Alastair and his team brought us soap and an assortment of tinned products: soups, tinned fruit and jam, which was gratefully received and will be very useful in reducing our monthly grocery expenses!

Westlake children say Thank You to Reddam and Bobs For Good

On Friday 10 June ’11, about 400 children packed the hall for Kids Club, which is run by Martin Oosthuizen of the Orphan Care Foundation/Hillsong Church. They are learning all about Respect and on Friday they made cards for Reddam School and Bobs for Good to say a big Thank You for the shoes which were given to them at the new primary school. This has made such a difference to the lives of many children, who now can walk to their new school in their shiny new shoes!

Here are some photos.

Nedbank presents money boxes to young savers

Staff from the Tokai Branch of Nedbank called in on Friday 10 June to present moneyboxes to some of the children whose parents had applied to open savings accounts at the Branch. The children were delighted with their soccer ball money boxes. Many thanks to Miriam Johnson, Serviro Lamb and Qaanitah Dollie from Nedbank Tokai for their visit.

Home Based Carers Outing to Waterfront

On Friday 3 June 2011, 17 of the home based care team went on an outing to the Waterfront. We had a meal at the Spur and then went for a ride on the big wheel, known as the Wheel of Excellence. It was an amazing experience (particularly for those who are afraid of heights…), and a good team building exercise! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon. A special thanks to Willow Creek for their financial support towards care for the carer. It makes such a difference to be able to take them out from time to time to say thank you for all the hard work they do in the community.

Recent News

• Christmas Greetings from the WUCT Team
• Bracelets from Willow Creek Church, Chicago.
• Phillippi Trust Facilitator training
• Kids Club Christmas Party
• Westlake children entertain guests
• Our Involvement in World Aids Day Activities 2011
• Farewell to Evelyn of Home Based Care
• HIV Awareness/Health march in Westlake
• 2011 Graduation, Prize-Giving & Nativity Play
• Cadiz cheque handover