Hout Bay Christian Community Association:News

The generous donation of R15,488 was received form the Giessen Rotary Club at the end of last year for the painting of Iziko Lobomi's galvanised roof sheeting. The unpainted roof sheeting needed urgent protection from ongoing corrosion due to the close proximity to the sea and Giessen's Rotarians decided to make funds available for this critical protection which will double the lifespan of the sheeting.

A BIG THANK YOU to all their members!!


High-pressure washing Priming Finished product!

1 January 2010

United Kingdom school students care for people with AIDS!

Donations towards the caring of people suffering from HIV/Aids were received from two schools in the United Kingdom:

The Ralph Thoresby Secondary School in Leeds and the

Ifield Community College in West Sussex

Funds are raised to commemorate World Aids Day on the 1^st of December and to raise awareness of this killer disease in their schools.

A big thank you to all their students and staff members!!

2009

Burglars hit the HBCCA's office a second time in 6 months

19 August 2009

View from conference room.

View from inside the office

Pamela (office administrator) sitting, Pakamisa (kitchen manager) and Hisland (caretaker) standing, looking

in disbelief at the damage caused by the burglars...

Burglars have broken into the Iziko Lobomi-office on the night of 18th August 2009 and have stolen the office computer and modem together with other items of value.

Entry was gained by breaking a hole in the partition wall between the office and adjacent conference room. The modus operandi was almost identical to the last burglary when the same items were stolen 6 months ago.

The HBCCA-staff and management committee are very concerned about this occurrence because the Centre had very few incidents of this nature in it's 13 years of existence. The local police is investigating the case.

Our new Care Rooms - fully occupied!!

July 2009

The HBCCA has filled the last room available with a patient on the 16th of this month. A total of 5 patients are being cared for in our new rooms.

To everyone who contributed towards this wonderful project and who offered their services -

A BIG THANK YOU (ON BEHALF OF OUR PATIENTS)!

(Not even Table mountain can beat this site!)

Healthcare at Iziko Lobomi

Mr Nelson Mandela 91st Birthday Celebrations

67-Minute Community Clean-Up

18 July 2008

MARCH 2009

Britta and her friends do it again!

The HBCCA has received the princely sum of R 22,986.88 (Euros 1,763) from our dear German student friend, Britta Kappel. Britta is currently finishing off her master thesis at the Giessen University and has been a loyal friend and supporter since her internship visit to South Africa in November 2007 - March 2008

A BIG, BIG thank you to you all - your support is precious to us!

FEBRUARY 2009

Iziko Lobomi Care Rooms Inauguration

7 February 2009

The big day has finally arrived for the inauguration of Iziko Lobomi's three new care rooms. This project was started approximately eighteen months ago when one of Iziko Lobomi's loyal supporters and volunteers, Mr. Gerry Wood approached the HBCCA to offer a contribution towards a project in memory of his wife Patricia who died unexpectedly of a heart attack in 2007.

Three other parties contributed generously towards the project namely: Australia AIDS South Africa Inc., Lions Club Hout Bay and Valley Church, Hout Bay.

For more information on this exciting project, click here ...

MARCH 2008

An inspiring letter from a caring

German student, Britta Kappel ...

Hello good people around the world,

After three years studying in Giessen University, Germany and one year at Stockholm University, Sweden, I am now since November in Cape Town, South Africa for an internship and the research for my master thesis. Together with my colleague Anne, we interviewed 100 Entrepreneurs with the goal to develop training to get more people into self-employment and entrepreneurship.

After three years studying in Giessen University, Germany and one year at Stockholm University, Sweden, I am now since November in Cape Town, South Africa for an internship and the research for my master thesis. Together with my colleague Anne, we interview 100 Entrepreneurs with the goal to develop training to get more people into self-employment and entrepreneurship.

This is a fantastic opportunity to get to meet a huge variety of people and I am very blessed in learning so much every day. During the course of our work I got in touch with a project that got me excited and which I would like to tell you about: In the Township of Imizamo Yethu (also known as Mandela Park) in Hout Bay, Cape Town. 25 minutes away from my doorstep live approximately 20,000 people in overcrowded space, in shacks without running water or electricity; conditions that I could not even have imagined before my first visit to South Africa six years ago. Of the 3,000 kids that live there, only about 1,000 have the possibility to go to school, the others can’t afford it. The percentage of HIV-positive people is estimated to be about 30%. Unemployment, drug-abuse and crime are high.

"Informal settlements" like this are numerous in Cape Town and in all bigger cities in South Africa. I can understand from my own experience that it is easy to be overwhelmed by a feeling of hopelessness and "what can I do?” But I do believe that every one of us can do and must do something to make this world a happier, better and fairer place and everybody can do so in his or her own way. I am very blessed by and thankful for all the people I have met during my stay in South Africa that have - against all odds - made the best out of their sometimes very limited resources to contribute to the world around them. Very, very inspiring people.

One example of hope is for me the centre named IZIKO LOBOMI (Centre of Life) in the middle of the Township Imizamo Yethu. Already as I was there the first time I had an enthusiastic feeling of "Something good and great is happening here". Many people engage there, work for better conditions in the community, do what they can to offer the inhabitants of the township a better present, a better future. IZIKO LOBOMI is a meeting point for many people that desperately need help. For 1Rand (ca 15 US-Cent) children, elders and needy people can get here a nutritious meal. Job skills are taught, crises and AIDS counselling is given, activities that offer an alternative to drugs, alcohol and crime as well as medical aid are provided, kids are taken care of , and – I cannot put it in right words, I can only tell you that something is going on there, something good and hope-giving. Here is the link for the homepage: http://www.hbcca.co.za - please check it out!

As a student my financial resources are limited as well, but even I can give. A donation of 10 Euro can feed a child for a whole month. Also I prayed about which other recourses I have to help out and I thought about the following: Through my travels I have met so many great people all over the world. If I told all those people about the project and each of these people just gave a dollar or two – oh what a difference this could make…

May the Lord bless you more than you can imagine!

Britta Kappel

To see the results Britta's letter had, please click here ...

FEBRUARY 2006

" Love Is In The Air ! "

A local church group organized a St. Valentine's Evening on Saturday the 11th February 2006. Tickets were sold to couples in the community who had a romantic dinner by candle light. This event was a first for Iziko Lobomi !

(Photographs taken by Tebogo Backward)

OCTOBER 2005

Graham Graham-Parker

'Champion of the Poor'

Passed Away on 16 October 2005

Graham Graham-Parker will be greatly missed in the community of Imizamo Yethu and the HBCCA would like to express their sincere condolences to all of his family and friends. For many years the HBCCA's personnel has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with Graham and his passion and enthusiasm to make a difference in the lives of less privileged people will always be an inspiration for us.

OCTOBER 2005

The Irish Are Back!

The first 200 (of a total group of 700) Irish volunteers arrived in Cape Town last week and started building more homes for the residents of Imizamo Yethu on Saturday 29th October 2005. More than 300 hundred homes have already been built during previous visits.

The changes that have already taken place in only three days are staggering. Residents of Imizamo Yethu and Hout Bay are literally seeing the transformation of a township before their own eyes. An informal settlement is transformed in a formal residential area which everyone can be proud of. The energy and enthusiasm with which these Irish volunteers (men and women) are performing this gigantic task can not be described in words.

The Hout Bay Christian Community Association welcomes each and every volunteer and would like to thank them for their unselfish sacrifice of time and money to make a difference in the lives of the people of Imizamo Yethu!