INDEX:

THE VIVA FAMILY TO FAMILY VIRTUAL ADOPTION

BUILDING PROJECTS

FEEDING SCHEME

OTHER NEEDS

THE VIVA FAMILY TO FAMILY VIRTUAL ADOPTION

CONCEPT

There are 4 aspects, or pillars to the Viva Family to Family Virtual Adoption programme, namely the family that needs to be adopted, the care worker, the virtual family that adopts and the reporting and management of the programme.

* The needy family

We have over 100 families that are in need of support and as soon as those have been adopted, we can deploy more workers and adopt more families. In the vacinity of the Viva Village there are about 500 families that need to be adopted, that are not on our OVC list. The truth is that in South Africa alone, there are millions of orphans and vulnerable children taken in by family, friends, grandmothers and their own under-aged siblings, all likewise vulnerable and underprivileged. This is the somber heritage of HIV/AIDS and poverty. The families in our care consist of mainly granny-headed and child-headed households as well as orphans taken in by other relatives, neighbours and friends and lastly, families where one parent is still alive, but ill or unemployed.

* The care worker

We have 9 trained community care workers and will provide each of these with an intern in order to double the workers, as soon as we have the funding available. Each care worker has about a dozen families in her care. She visits them weekly, takes their food parcel and other donated goods to them and assist with school registration, counselling and clinic visits. Our care workers are busy re-assessing all the families, capturing data such as the number of people in the family, their relation to each other, the condition of the dwelling, how many children need to be in school, day-care or after care and the medical needs of the family. The needs are assessed and depending on the size of the needy family and the factors involved, such as TB, AIDS or having many children in school, the cost of caring is evaluated, namely between R 600 and R 1200 per month. (€ 60 - € 120 or US$ 75 - US$ 150) This amount is used to pay for school/day care fees, school uniforms and -stationery, vitamins, first aid and medicine, food and any other help (such as repairs to the dwelling etc.) In addition to this the care worker's stipend is paid and transport to the families. The admin costs are kept to the absolute minimum. Clothing and household goods are given when donated goods are received.

* The virtual family

The virtual family consist of any group of individuals, such as a Church group, a few colleagues or friends, a sport club, a school class, or an extended family. When such a group decide to adopt a needy family, they contact us and we give assign a family to them according to the amount that they can afford per month. If it is R 600 per month, that amount is divided among them e.g. if there are 4 people, they could each give* R 150 or if there are 6 people, they could each give R 100 per month. The funds are deposited into the Viva Account, with a reference number that is provided. Corporations, Churches or Companies may also be the virtual family and pay the full amount for one or more families, as they wish. A debit order system is being put into place, or the virtual family can make use of the donation facility on this website.

* DONATIONS TO BOTH BERAKAH AND VIVA ARE TAX DEDUCTIBLE IN SOUTH AFRICA.

* Reporting and management

The final pillar of the Virtual Adoption is reporting and management of the programme by Berakah. The funds are audited annually by an independent auditor. The care workers report on each visit and every food parcel and article that was delivered, as well as counselling or services provided and any developments in the family. This information, along with photos are sent to the virtual family.

There is available a mobile, wireless unit (much like a speedpoint) whereby the primary care giver of the needy family can put his/her thumbprint down whenever they receive assistance or goods. An sms is sent to the office and the virtual family, confirming that the service was provided. These units are costly though and we are hoping to get a sponsor so that our reporting and accountability toward the virtual families, can be taken to a new level.

HOW TO ADOPT A FAMILY

Any individual or group wishing to adopt a family, can contact Meleney Kriel per email at meleney@berakah.org.za or phone her at +27 (0)79 634 2964. She will send the information of the family that is being adopted and ask the virtual family to give their information on a form. The bank details and reference number is provided. As soon as the financial assistance is received, the virtual family will begin to receive monthly reports on the progress of, and service delivery to their adopted family.

BUILDING PROJECTS

Photos: The Berakah building site before building commenced and again in October 2009

Building is carried out at both the Berakah Education Centre and the Viva Village. The project managment is provided by the Cornerstone Group and all building- or building related questions may be directed to Leon Kriel at ceo@cornerstonegroup-global.com or per telephone at +27 (0)79 733 1415.

The University of Pretoria's Building Economics faculty is assisting Berakah and Viva with the building project and Leon is in turn providing hands-on training to the students. Building materials of all sorts are needed as well as cash to pay for civils, casual labour and goods not donated. For instance, a generous donation by Group 5 of concrete for foundations, was received, but Berakah needed cash to pay for the groundworks and site preparation in order to receive the concrete. The Community Impact Trust made a donation of funds to pay for the TLB hire and the casual labour invovled in getting both sites ready for the concrete from Group 5.

Presently we need

* materials to commence building a bakery and community hall at Berakah

* landscaping, paving, trees and plants at Berakah and Viva

* materials to commence building the Business Development Centre at Viva

* materials to install a hydrophonic vegetable and fishery system as well as the hatchery at Viva

* playgrounds at Berakah and Viva (sand pit with wooden jungle gym)

* solar panels for electricity at Berakah and Viva

* cash to complete the classrooms and offices being built by the University of Pretoria, with donated materials from Saint Cobain and other corporations

The building account details:

BANK: FIRST NATIONAL BANK

BRANCH: OLYMPUS PLAZA BRANCH CODE 258155

ACCOUNT NUMBER: 6221 833 23 02

ACCOUNT NAME: BERAKAH BUILDING

FEEDING SCHEME

We are feeding about 300 children at Berakah and 25 at Viva, plus we have resident OVC at Viva as well as about 1000 people in our OVC programme (the Viva Family to Family Virtual Adoption has just been launched and most families still need to be adopted. Until such time, we are responsible to deliver food parcels to our OVC families and need food on an ongoing basis. Non-perishable and fresh foods are needed:

Maize, Rice, Samp and Beans (kidney beans, split peas, barley etc.)

Tinned fish, -meat and -vegetables as well as soya mince

Peanut butter, oil, salt and milk powder and Morvite

Tea, coffee, sugar

Washing powder or blocks of washing soap (Sunlight), body soap, candles and matches

OTHER NEEDS

* Ongoing need for stationery for school-aged children as well as for the Day Care Centres

* Ongoing need for medical supplies ESPECIALLY RUBBER GLOVES (Pain and fever medicine for adults and children such as Panado, disinfectant, wound dressings, bandages etc.)

* We urgently need a vehicle such as a minibus (we spend large amounts on getting children to-and from outings) and a 4 x 4 pick-up truck (bakkie) for the building project. (The only vehilcle we have is a 1300 Ford Bantam and it is too small for the amounts of building materials that need to be collected)

* We need funds to print an HIV/AIDS cartoon booklet for illiterate adults and children. We have identified the need for such a cartoon in the light of the fact that many of the people living with HIV/AIDS and caring for those who have contracted the condition, are children or illiterate adults. Much ignorance about the way in which the HIV is spread and subsequent management, still prevails. The cartoons were drawn for us by an artist and are excellent. We just need the money to print and distribute the booklets.

* Funds to equip our community workers with a Care Kit (consisting of a trolley with wheels to cart a 10 kg bag of maize, a first aid kit and an electronic, wireless reporting unit)

* Funds for our payroll. ALL our staff work for salaries and honoraria far below the norm and without the team, Berakah or Viva would not exist. As such our payroll is not an administrational expense, but vital to the fulfillment of the goals and objectives.