Dear Friends, The children were unable to come for the meeting held on a Sunday morning, but they asked us to share their views with their Member of Parliament. A resident put their views into a PowerPoint presentation, and we brought their drawings to the meeting. The children wanted a say on what a proposed playground and a hard court should look like and they were all smiles when we told them that their MP took their ideas seriously. So, like they wanted, there will be a fire-truck, garden swing and most importantly, monkey bars. This meeting follows an earlier …
Another Week Beyond – 1942
Dear Friends, My team and I thank you for the warm and encouraging wishes we received this past week. A good community comes from a collective vision of what we are building together. In our view it is a context where people are affirmed and appreciated for who they are and are enabled and given the opportunities to experience success. As such, a community produces caring people with the competencies to work at their shared challenges, aspirations and collective well-being. Last night, in commemoration of our 50th Anniversary and in conjunction with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, …
Another Week Beyond – 1941
Dear Friends, I joined the organisation on 15 October 1982 and so this coming Tuesday will be my work anniversary. I was the youngest and most junior in a team of 4 but it has not been the same job all these years. At one point we had close to 120 on our payroll and more if we counted our associates. I am deeply grateful to have had this tremendous opportunity to develop professionally and personally. Much has changed with me but one thing that has not after all these years, is a discomforting feeling that the availability of my …
Another Week Beyond – 1940
Dear Friends, A year ago, we broached the idea that “Families, not services, lead change” (AWB – 1839) to several families and we are glad that 11 of them have signed up for the Community Independence Project (CII). These families have been divided into 2 groups and they each received a tablet PC to login onto an online journal that tracks their efforts related to income and savings, health, education and skills, housing, leadership and connections. CII is a new model of social assistance that focuses on equipping families with social networks, capital and autonomy to improve their lives independently. …