My name is Patrick. I am a grade 12 learner at Rhodes high school and currently living at Marsh Memorial Homes. For a while I have been considering journalism as a future career option. To this end I was very fortunate in being given the opportunity to spend time at the Daily Voice newspaper. SA-YES organised a job shadowing opportunity for me which I embarked on with great enthusiasm and excitement. During the week I spent there, I learnt many skills which will hopefully stand me in good stead as a budding journalist. From the daily editorial meetings to going into the field with a journalist and experiencing first-hand what it is that a journalist does. Following a story, interviewing people and coming back to write up and put the story to bed. This has been an awesome experience and has opened my eyes to the reality of journalism. The most important thing that I took away with me was the realisation that behind every story hides a human drama, whether painful, joyful or merely colourful. I wish to thank everyone that played a part in making this possible for me and hopefully I will find my voice as a journalist.
Finding My Voice ……. a blog by Patrick.
Sabine’s 500km trek along the Camino de Santiago
In June I hiked more than 500 km on the Camino de Santiago. Everyone I met on this way had a special reason doing this. I was especially curious about the spiritual aspect of walking over 500 km on this very special path.
I met people from all over the world from over 20 different countries. The nationality, the age or profession didn’t matter. We were all the same. We all had our problems, injuries, good and bad days. But we all kept walking, sometimes alone, sometimes chatting to others or just walking side by side enjoying the silence. And nobody walked without caring for the other one. Nobody was left alone sitting by the wayside. We shared our food, water and compeed Everyone who came by offered help. Why doesn’t this happen in the “real world”?
The problems on this Camino are very essential: Can I walk 5 or 10 km more to the next village or do I stay here? Where do I get something to eat or to drink? Where do I sleep tonight? It wasn’t always easy to do this – no walk in the park. This Camino showed me my physical limits. But whenever I had blisters, blue toe nails or swollen and sore legs, this way provided me with everything I needed to keep moving just at the right time. That was a very special experience.
What did I learn on this journey, what did this Camino with me? Of course it didn’t heal my cancer or one of my disabilities; I didn’t expect that to happen. But now I know that it pays off to fight and to keep on walking – on this Camino as in my life – despite of all injuries or illnesses. If I give up and stop, people pass me by and I miss so much. If I keep on moving, I can make these amazing experiences, meet these wonderful people and see such beautiful landscapes. That is an experience I will never forget in my whole life and that will help me to keep on fighting and enjoying every single day.
Raising money for SA-YES with walking this Camino was a perfect match, because it is about people helping each other no matter where they come from and it is about not leaving people alone when they are in need of help and support. That is what SA-YES stands for. Thank you to every donor. Every donation is so important to help SA-YES support the young people in South Africa. And thank you to Michelle and Julie who accompanied me via text messages and emails during this walk. That was a huge motivation.
Run to the Beat with Nike+ 2012
We Need Runners for ‘Run to the Beat with Nike + 2012’
We are very excited to announce that we have a limited number of charity places for the Run to the Beat half marathon 2012. It takes place in London on Sunday 28st October 2012, starting and finishing at the Famous O2 Arena. This will be our 3rd year taking part in this amazing 13.1 mile run, and we hope it will be our most successful year yet!
We are looking for runners to fill our charity places and help SA-YES raise some very important funding to enable us to continue the work we do here in South Africa.
All that we ask in return for one of our charity places is that you pledge to raise a minimum sponsorship of £250 for SA-YES, pay a non-refundable registration fee of £35 to secure your place, and be over the age of 18. We would also be grateful if you would use Virgin Money Giving.com to set up your fundraising page.
If you are interested in finding out more information about this event, and how you can join our team, please email Julie Baron at events@sa-yes.com
British 10K London Run
The British 10K London Run is the UK’s most prestigious and sought-after 10km road race and is staged on the world’s greatest route through the heart of central London. 25,000 runners fill the streets of the nation’s capital and get the unique chance to run past many of the country’s greatest landmarks including Big Ben, The London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, Trafalgar Square and Westminster Abbey.
The 2012 event is staged on Sunday 8th July, just 19 days before the start of the Olympic Games and the excitement and buzz within London at this time should make for a truly special occasion and the best British 10k London Run in its 12 year history. We are looking for runners to be part of our team, and part of this truly amazing event. If you are interested in joining our team please send an email to Julie Baron at events@sa-yes.com for further information.
Run to the Beat, London, September 2011
Lyndsey Mitchell
In May I decided to register to compete in the 2011 Run to the Beat half marathon. That’s 13.1 miles! Although relatively fit, I am certainly NOT a runner, so as you can imagine, this decision came as a surprise even to me! The next challenge was to find a charity to raise money on behalf of. I wanted to find one that I felt a real passion for and that meant something, on a personal level.
Lo and behold, SA-YES immediately stood out on the list of charities involved in the event. Their ethos and projects really made me feel that any donations made would be used effectively and would actually make a difference. Born and raised in Southern Africa, I spent my childhood enjoying the joys of Swaziland and South Africa. Both countries are incredible, the scenery is glorious, the people are fantastic and I, like SA-YES, feel that each amazing individual deserves the best possible chances in life.
So, decision made, I set about on a rigid training schedule that lasted, oooo, perhaps a week. As a non-runner, it was hard work just finding the motivation, but with SA-YES behind me, I dug deep, found that motivation, and it kept me going, albeit not according to my original schedule. With race-day fast approaching, I was then hindered by a 6 day tension headache taking me ‘out of the running’ (d’ya see what I did there?) for a good 10 days, so not a great start to the lead up to the event. Not to worry. I knuckled down and focused on the carbo-loading, tried to relax (not easy) while fitting in another two, gentle, runs. I was, for want of a better phrase, ‘bricking it’!
In hindsight, the event itself went incredibly quickly. I may have been in a blur of disbelief that I was actually doing something quite so ridiculous, and terror that I would embarrass myself by running a mile, collapsing and calling for my mummy. I wasn’t far off. Although I didn’t actually collapse, I certainly wanted to thanks to a stitch lasting 12 miles. I pulled through, tears and all, right to the end. I had desperately wanted to sack the whole thing off after the first mile, but once again SA-YES and all of my generous sponsors came to mind, and I made the decision to fight on through to the finish line.
And now I’m planning for the next one … I think I may be have been dropped on my head as a child?
Oma Mullen
Just over a month ago on Sunday 25th September 2011, I donned my trainers, running vest and ran my first 1/2 marathon. I’ve never done a lot of running and was getting bored with going to the gym, so I decided to set myself a challenge. I researched what run and where to do it. Run to the Beat immediately stood out for me, what better way then to run then to run to some top tunes mixed by the latest DJ’s.
So I’d chosen the race, now to choose who to run for? I wanted to run for a charity that meant something to me. I racked my brains and remembered a few years ago watching a TV programme about South Africa and the football world cup. I remember being quite moved by the programme as i didn’t know a lot about what was going on there. That was it I knew I’d run for off the streets or SA-YES as it’s now called.
The race was not as bad as I thought. The longest I’d run was 5 miles! So,my training had some room for improvement, however adrenaline kicked in, the cheers from the crowds and my own determination helped me complete it. My knees were killing me, but I knew I’d achieved something.
Here’s to my next challenge!!!!!!!!
A Film About SA-YES
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:
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.
Volunteer Mentors Required
Mentors will receive training and support throughout their 12 month commitment and will receive a great feeling of satisfaction as they see the impact their consistent support has on a young person who desperately needs it.
This one-to-one relationship is often the first positive relationship the young person will have with an adult.
Primarily you will be a friend. Once that has been established you will offer guidance and support on how to live a sustainable, fulfilled life away from peer pressure, drugs and crime – what many of the young people in the TIL programme face when they leave care.
If you are interested in learning more about mentoring with SA-YES, please contact Michelle Potter on 021 788 3807 / 076 771 9011 or by email michelle@sa-yes.com.
Mentor Profile
• Independent
• Aged 26 or above
• Trustworthy
• Consistent
• Youth focused
• Empathetic
• Open minded
• Respectful
• Tolerant
• Resilient
• Good listeners
• Must have access to email
A Letter of Appreciation
A letter of appreciation from one of the young people in the TIL programme to his sponsor.
Dear White and Case
LETTER OF APPRECIATION
I am grateful that I now proceed with my LLB degree on account of your contribution in paying my registration fee. This is such a huge privilege to me. Without the key it is impossible to open a locked door and registration fee is the key based on my perception of entrance to varsity, the lack of a key means waiting outside. Hence you rescued me from waiting outside, I was in misery with two days remaining before the lectures commence. And I did not have any hope to where I can get this money.
Furthermore, I heard about your commitment to pay for my accommodation fee and my food allowance next year. I am delightful to be the person to embrace these privileges. Residing in the varsity premises shall bring me close to resources in demand due to studies.
I appreciate everything you done or you about to do for me. I promise to commit myself in impressing you with an academic performance as much as possible to symbolize my actual appreciation.
Yours sincerely
Zukile Mlonyeni
