Thank you for your thoughtful donations. They continue to help us support and enrich the lives of the children that we care for. When we get together as a community with open hearts, memorable things are achieved.
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St Vincent de Paul Society
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Open in new tab EDUCATION OF UNDOCUMENTED LEARNERS
Our outreach work in Diepsloot Extension 12 has enabled us to get to know the families we work with and to understand their day to day challenges. The vast majority of these families do not have South African identity books or birth certificates. Others are foreign nationals with no proof of identification at all. This renders the latter undocumented migrants in South Africa. Many of them have been resident here for at least ten years. They consider Diepsloot as their home with no reasonable prospects of returning to their countries of origin due to things like the extreme financial hardship or political persecution they fled from. They are not entitled to social security and relief packages such as grants, they struggle to access health care, if they are able to secure employment they are often underpaid, and they are unable to register their children into public schools.
There is a pressing need for education of undocumented learners in Diepsloot. We are in the process of arranging for a retired, qualified teacher and her assistant, to bring undocumented learners to speed with their education needs. Any funds donated to the education initiative will be used to provide a stipend to the teachers and the learners’ stationery and textbooks. This appeal should be read in conjunction with the submission to the department of education, in which the society is requesting the Department to consider admitting the same group of learners into the mainstream education system. The funding requested is therefore for a limited period of up to a year, or two at the most, while the society waits for direction from the department of education.
BANKING DETAILS
Name of accountholder: SSVP BRYANSTON
Bank: Standard Bank
Account number: 060918594
Account type: CURRENT ACCOUNT
Branch: BOKSBURG
Branch code: 051001
The society has approached the Department of education for assistance in placing about thirty-five undocumented learners of school going age into the schools within the Diepsloot area, and to provide guidance on the disconnect between policies and practices on the admission of undocumented learners, as briefly stipulated below:
On 10 February 2021 the Minister of Basic Education published for public comment the Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools under the National Education Policy Act, 1996 (Act No. 27 Of 1996). The 2021 Policy will replace the 1998 Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools published in General Notice No. 2432 in Government Gazette No. 19377 of 19 October 1998. Paragraphs 23 of the 2021 Admission Policy for Ordinary Public Schools states the following:
Admission of undocumented learners
- The right to education extends to everyone within the boundaries of South Africa, the nationality and immigration status is immaterial. All schools are advised to admit learners and serve their education requirements irrespective of whether the learner or parent of a learner does not produce documents listed in paragraph 15, 17 to 20 of this policy.
This seems to contravene sections 39 and 42 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 which implies that undocumented migrants cannot be absorbed in the south African systems-education included.
Interim measure
While the society waits for the final directive from the department of education, a qualified, retired teacher has been identified to provide basic literacy and numeracy skills to the children, until such a time that they can be taken into the mainstream education system. She will be assisted by an untrained individual. The Society would also like to provide stationery and learning materials to the learners. These children are currently spending time during the week on unstructured activities at our extension 12 SSVP premises.
Teacher’s qualifications:
The teacher in question is a qualified Primary school teacher with about 29 years’ experience, the bulk of which was teaching grade one and two children. She also has experience teaching mentally handicapped, and autistic children at different levels. She also ran a pre-school for about five years.
Estimated Cost breakdown
| Detail | Cost per month | Cost per year |
| Teacher: 5 hours a week [ 20 hours a month], at a rate of R350 per hour | R7000.00 | R84,000.00 |
| Assistant: 5 days a week @R1000 a week | R4000.00 | R48,000.00 |
| Stationery | R2266.77 | |
| Workbooks | R5952.72 | |
| Miscellaneous, e.g. printing | R 3 000.00 | |
| Total costs | R11 000.00 | R143,219.49 |
Please remember that all donations to SSVP are tax deductible (see below).
Spaghetti Bolognese (Woza Sidle Project)
At the beginning of August 2020, the Roberts-Burgos Family were inspired to help underprivileged children in Diepsloot by providing a nutritious meal. Roy Hawkins, Peter Uran and the St Vincent de Paul Society (SSVP) team were eager to guide and help Brenda along this journey and their years of experience was invaluable in getting this project off the ground.
This project is not only an opportunity to feed the vulnerable children of Diepsloot, but is also an opportunity for the children to encounter Jesus in others. The first meal was provided on 23 August to 150 children. It was an extremely emotional, yet fulfilling experience and the project has committed to providing lunch every Saturday for six months, until February 2021 (Update: the programme has been extended by a further six months in light of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic).
NOTICE: Woza Sidle visits are suspended at the moment.
We are taking a cautious approach during the third wave to make sure the children are not impacted.
We still need funds though for this and other St Vincent De Paul initiatives. At present we are collecting jumble for a jumble sale once lock down is eased. There are many people in need of your generosity – please drop off jumble at the parish office.
You can enable our ministry by making food donations, ingredient donations, cash donations (paid into the SSVP bank account with the reference “Bolognese”) and offering up our ministry in prayer.
Contact communication@bryanstoncatholic.co.za if you would like to get involved or need more information.
About St Vincent de Paul
St Vincent de Paul continues it’s outreach work in Diepsloot. As you can imagine, the number of people who need assistance grows daily. With donations from our parishioners, the society will be able to feed more people daily through the soup kitchen they have set up in Diepsloot and will continue to provide food parcels to the neediest members of our community.
If you wish to assist St Vincent de Paul during these very difficult times, please donate to:
Name of accountholder: SSVP BRYANSTON
Bank: Standard Bank
Account number: 060918594
Account type: CURRENT ACCOUNT
Branch: BOKSBURG
Branch code: 051001
Should you require a section 18A Tax Certificate (in terms of the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962) for your donation then please provide us with the following info.:
Your Full names,
Your Address (postal or physical as per your tax registration)
Your email address and/or contact no.
If you can assist us in any way please contact Jacqui Grieve on 083-449-5261 or jacquelinemgrieve@gmail.com
History
The Saint Vincent de Paul Society started in 1833 when a group of French Catholic university students led by Frederic Ozaman debating religion were challenged by what they/the Church were doing: ‘Show us your good works, that we might believe …”
By 1835 the society was named after St Vincent de Paul, (born 1580 in France and canonised a Saint in 1737) who dedicated his life to the poor.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words
We live out our mission –
Our aim is not only to provide immediate support, but to enable those we assist to break free from the cycle of poverty. Our desire is to empower and enable – a hand up not a handout. Visiting the needy must always be seen as a humble demonstration of love. The first act of charity is love. Nelson Mandela said that “ over coming poverty is not a task of charity, but an act of justice”
The Vincentians of Bryanston have been doing just that as an act of love for the poor and downtrodden that we serve in all our deeds, prayers, time and charity. We have a dedicated group of like minded people in our society all pulling together and supplying their own personal contribution in order to make difference in someone else life. Every one of the Vincentians are helping someone. Vincentians are diverse and all have a special contribution to make. The members have pushed our boundaries in doing more and more with less resources.
We help any parishioners or resident in need and respond to many calls or referrals for assistance in many forms.
Historically through our parish in Diepsloot just north of us & Meadowlands in Soweto (previously also Phiri and Ivory Park) we have been alerted to major needs of the Diepsloot community north of us where we are very active. Our twin conferences in Soweto have received financial support from us to carry out their good deeds and feed the poor as well.
At the Diepsloot Catholic Church the Father Louis Blondel Youth Centre (FLBYC) built from the estate of Father Louis Blondel a missionary murdered in 2009 on the same Church grounds. The centre is dedicated to planting seeds of hope in the soils of despair. The FLBYC is a vibrant and integral part of the community, providing pupils and unemployed youth, with assessments and support to enable them to obtain gainful employment. We have partnered with the Wot-If trust and are focussing on Agriculture, IT, Construction and Training.
Our support in Diepsloot X12 and X1 typically revolves around the lives of over 300 people. Family home visits take place fortnightly and we provide encouragement, comfort and assistance – because we follow in Christ’s footsteps to help the needy and poor. The appreciation of those we help who should be so bitter “with their lot” is a profound lesson in humility and respect for the downtrodden.
Palliative care and dignity for chronically ill and terminal patients is a basic right for all. We work with authorities for the human dignity to be upheld and supplied and assist ourselves to get this.
Accessing health care is a real problem for the poor, sick and physically and mentally disabled and we assist with taxi fares or accompaniment to hospital or clinics. The neglect and disrespect of the poor and sick by the majority of our government and people that we encounter is alarming. We are All God’s people and do follow Christ’s love for all.
Lack of ID’s and birth certificates is a major problem for those who apply for their grant entitlements or jobs or school attendance in Diepsloot .Once again like with health neglect ,dis-respect is encountered and we do our best to assist as best we can but injustices continue against our downtrodden brothers and sisters.
Our Vincentians initiated teaching people to grow food, knit and sew and sell goods in order to provide for themselves.
We are sending 2 local residents to be trained as auxiliary social workers to expand the good deeds. We also pay small hand up stipends to 2 other residents to provide assistance and practical help to the community.
Believing that further education is vital we have found assistance for 4 other resident students through bursaries obtained or through contribution from conference members.
A talented & caring husband and wife team (newcomers) ran motivational courses to Grade 4 & 5 children to motivate them out of their dire circumstances and inferior education. In addition they are providing much needed mentoring, love and care to our sponsored students.
We are blessed in SVDP Bryanston to have wonderful support, strong community partners, and a true village approach. The SVDP community is the village that helps those in desperate need.
Thanks to our donors in all areas without your support good deeds would not be possible; the people collecting money, the jumble team who: distribute/help to those in need, raise money and empower others to provide for themselves, those visiting and supporting the downtrodden & needy and fighting for them, encouraging the youth, empowering and validating individuals & showing our love for all God’s children. You are making a large difference but we ALL still need to do a lot more to break the deprivation trap for the unfortunate people we assist.