TABY

NEWSFLASH!  Fairfax Presbyterian Church Youth Group adopts TABY as 2009 mission project.

Check out this website for details: http://grace.mountainroads.net/Mission2009/tabid/132/Default.aspx 

TABY is an organization dedicated to improving the lives of poverty-stricken children in the informal settlement of Ivory Park, South Africa. These children face
enormous challenges every day; these include hunger, violence, crime, AIDS, lack of proper sanitation, and, in winter, very chilly weather. Many of them have only one parent, or no parents at all. Some are raised by their older sibblings, because all other guardians have died or left. All of these children need help, and that is exactly what TABY is trying to do: help them.

Already in Ivory Park are five preschools set up by the Methodist Church, through a foundation called Chain of Hope. These preschools serve as a kind of safe haven for the children, and for many of them it is the only place where they are fed at all. There is no question that the preschools have saved many, many lives. They are, however, in desperate need of help. Attendance at the preschools varies, from 113 to 45 children. The preschools charge only 130 rand (the equivalent of about $20) for a child to attend each month, even though their monthly costs--food for the children, the teachers' salaries, and electricity and water bills--are higher. Yet, many families in the community cannot afford this seemingly small fee. At one of the preschools, by mid-June 2007, only 8 of 45 pupils had paid their fees. In such a month, teachers might not receive their full salaries, but merely a small stipend.

Another challenge the preschools face is the cold during the winter months. Ivory Park lies north of the city of Johannesburg at an altitude of about 5,751 feet. Due to this elevation, it can get extraordinarily cold there, and it sometimes even snows. The preschools are not heated and the children do not wear sufficient clothing for protection from the cold.

Over the summer, it came to my attention that plumbing upgrades at three of the five schools was needed. It is necessary for government accreditation and monthly stipends that these upgrades need to be done as soon as possible, but until this summer the schools had no money to do so. As you can see from the pictures, the plumbing was not very good.
So, I'm taking action:

• On August 11 2008, a benefits concert for the children was held at Jammin Java (www.jamminjava.com), a small concert and drinks place in Vienna. Thanks to generous donations and great preformances by the bands, we raised over $1500 for the children. This money is being used to install new plumbing systems for the children. For more information about why these new systems are needed, see the "Events" and "Photo Gallery" sections.
  
• In late August 2008, my cousin  Sara and I hosted another African dinner in Montgomery County. We raised another $1500, with the proceeds going towards the reparation of current plumbing systems in the schools.   
  
• In October 2007 I raised $1500--enough to buy three heaters for each of the five preschools to help keep the children warm from next winter in the southern heimsphere (June-August 2008)."In March and April, just before winter in South Africa, I collected winter coats, hats, and gloves for the preschoolers.
  
• Over the coming school year, I will be able to prepare and serve South African dinners in your home for you and whatever friends and family you choose to invite. Contact me at bowden.jessica@yahoo.com for more information.