Hout Bay Christian Community Association:News

The HBCCA Management committee always welcomes visits from friends and supporters from abroad. So far this year we were treated with visitors from 'Down-Under' and 'Up-North'...

Oscar Visagie and his wife Phyllis from Melbourne, Australia visited Iziko Lobomi in February 2011. They have been friends for several years and are members of AIDS Australia SA, one of the anchor sponsors of our newly built Care Rooms.

Oscar and Phyllis Visagie on the left with two of their local family members on the right

We were also treated with a visit from Julien and Vivian Smith from The Ifield Community College in West Sussex during the month of April.

From left to right:

Marion Franke (Welfare Supervisor for the HBCCA), Julien and Vivian Smith, Hennie Jacobs (Treasurer HBCCA) and Lesley McCall (Chairperson HBCCA)

[ Back to TOP ]

Ralph Thoresby's students raise funds

for AIDS in 'style'!

The Ralph Thoresby Secondary School's students held a creative fashion show on the 2nd of February 2011 as part their school's ongoing AIDS Awareness campaign. The 'Red Fashion Show' was organised by Stuart Smith and Riain Vernon.

A total £430 (R4,543.90) was raised at this event and donated to the Hout Bay Christian Community Association.

A BIG THANK YOU TO YOU ALL !

[ Back to TOP ]

Old Mutual Gives Iziko Lobomi a Face-Lift for the New Year!

We kicked the year off on a very high note with a generous donation received from Old Mutual Life Assurance Company (South Africa) Limited which enabled us to repaint all interior steelwork to the roof structure of Iziko Lobomi's main hall. The steelwork was beginning to show some alarming signs of corrosion which needed urgent attention. Old Mutual's donation has given Iziko Lobomi a true face-lift and the hall looks brand new again.

A big thank you to Old Mutual and the Hout Bay Dutch Reformed Church who initiated the fundraising request on behalf of the HBCCA.



Before	During	After!

The work was completed on 21st January 2011.

[ Back to TOP ]

2010

The Lions Club & Gartner save the Sewing Room Floor!

1 November 2010

The Sewing Room floor has been in desperate need for repairs for a long time and economic conditions made it impossible to have it attended to - until Gerry Wood from the local Lions Club tackled the problem.

He convinced the Lions Club to make a pledge to cover 50% of the expenses for the floor. Gartner Africa was approached for the balance and 6 weeks later the sewing room had a brand new, solid concrete, tiled floor! The total cost for the refurbishment came to R18,690.

The following pictures tell the story...

Thank You very much Lions Club & Gartner - Enkosi kakhulu!

[ Back to TOP ]

Rotary Club Giessen gives Iziko Lobomi a helping hand!

10 January 2010

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!

[ Back to TOP ]

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	Ifield Students 2011

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!!

[ Back to TOP ]

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.

[ Back to TOP ]

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

[ Back to TOP ]

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!

[ Back to TOP ]

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 ...

[ Back to TOP ]

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!