Earlier this year, Future Media, a film company based in Cape Town, produced a short film about SA-YES. In the film we interviewed some of the young people from the TIL programme and their mentors. We were restricted to filming young people who had left the children’s homes as the Children’s Act does not permit the filming or photography of those living in care. The young people in the film provide a good illustration of the programme. Please take a few minutes to watch the film and share it with your friends and contacts. This will spread the word about the needs of young people who have grown up in institutions without the love and support of their families. Young people have to leave care because government funding ceases when they reach the age of 18. Legally they are adults but they still need a great deal of support without any safety net when things get tough. There is nowhere and no-one for them to go back to when they are struggling, so this is a really crucial time in their lives. Watch the film below and hear the young people in our programme talk about their transition from care to independent living with the support of a mentor:
A Film About SA-YES
Sabine’s Run
On September 4th I ran a half marathon to raise some money for SA-YES. When I entered the stadium where the start and the finish line were located, I saw several people running almost a whole lap over and over again and I asked myself if it makes sense to run before a half marathon to warm up. I mean, isn’t there enough time to warm up when you run 21 kilometers? At that day it was hot anyway and it felt like 250 % humidity. So I rather sat down and sent a text message to Julie that I was ready for the race and that I hoped my calf would hold out until the finish line. Because of a strain I wasn’t able to run for three weeks and I continued my training just two weeks before the race. So I wasn’t sure if I could finish the half marathon. But at least I had a very impressing shining blue tape on my calf that looked really professional.
The start was at ten and the first kilometers were ok. I ran an average time of five minutes per kilometer, which is way to fast for me. But the calf didn’t hurt so much and I had a challenge to win, so I kept on running knowing that I would slow down anyway. The challenge was to run the half marathon in under two hours. For each minute I would get ten pounds from a friend of mine for my fundraising for SA-YES. So I was highly motivated to run as fast as I could.
After about five or six kilometers a woman ran beside me and asked me how fast I was running. She said that her clock didn’t work so she didn’t know how fast she was. She thought that my speed would be right for her and she asked me if she could run beside me. After some time she couldn’t hold the pace and fell back a little. But suddenly she was beside me again and said “I don’t want to lose you.” Then she fell back again. Because of my challenge I did not want to wait for her, knowing that she would catch up with me anyway when I had to drink something. Because of my paralyzed vocal chord I cannot run and drink at the same time anymore. So I have to interrupt the running when I need to drink something.
The first ten kilometres I didn’t drink anything so I wouldn’t lose so much time but it was so hot and humid that I badly needed to drink some water. When I continued running, I saw the woman again and we ran together for quiet a while.
When I entered the stadium I saw the clock at the finish line. It said 1:53:30 and I thought, if I speed up I can make it under 1:54. So I made a “ten-pounds-final-spurt” and made it eight seconds before the next minute began. At the water station I met that woman again. We were both happy that we finished the race.
I really enjoyed running this half marathon especially because I knew I did it for SA-YES. I am so happy that there were so many wonderful donors who sponsored me and who helped me raise money for SA-YES. I think Michelle and her mentors are doing such an incredible job in South Africa. I will definitely continue to support SA-YES as long as I can.
SA-YES Launch
Our Cape Town launch at the Upper East Side Hotel on the 8th September 2011 was a great success. We were absolutely thrilled to host 370 people at our first event. It was an incredible gift to have such a great platform to launch the organisation and our important work with young people. We received great reviews and feedback about the evening and we hope we can inspire more people to get involved.
There are a number of ways you can make a difference:
MENTORING
We would like to extend an invitation to any of you who are considering joining us as mentors. It is a great commitment but it needs some consideration before you sign on the dotted line. We therefore ask you to come along to a presentation to learn more about the commitment and to hear from current mentors and mentees about their experience of the programme. The presentations will take place at Marsh Memorial Homes, Norton Way, off Milner Road, Rondebosch, from 6.15pm – 7.15pm on Monday 10th October 2011.
INTERNSHIPS
We are sourcing work placements, internships and job-shadowing opportunities for our programme beneficiaries and would be delighted to hear from any of you with access to these resources.
FUNDING PARTNERSHIPS
If you would like to discuss becoming a funding partner of SA-YES please contact us and we will set up an appointment to meet with you where we will explain the tax benefits to individuals and companies.
Lastly, our BBBEE Charity Certification will soon be completed, so any support we receive from companies will be score-card worthy. We hope to hear from you soon.
Warm regards from the SA-YES team.
