So you were wondering where locally you could do something for your country on Mandela day – look no further folks here it is…
Village Heights Gift of Hope Centre
Invitation to join: 67 minutes of your time
Informal it may be but home it is
Friends and Neighbours – the Other Side of the Fence
15h00 Thursday 18 July 2013
Village Heights: Gift of Hope – crèche, library and connecting with nature
Village Heights is an informal settlement near Lavender Hill and adjacent to Rondevlei and is a working relationship between the community, Zandvlei Trust, Projects Abroad, various other NPO’s and the City of Cape Town, which has adopted Village Heights as a legacy community project as part of the World Capital Design 2014 (see below for further detail).
We would like to invite you to join us and the Village Heights community, through their Residents Committee, to celebrate Madiba’s birthday by taking part on one of a number of activities, listed in the table below.
Where and When? Meet at Rondevlei Nature Reserve Parking area (c/o Perth and Fishermans, Grassy Park) at 2.30pm or at Village Heights Creche at 3pm
What to wear and bring? Equipment will be provided but please feel free to add to this with your own tools and material where possible. If you would like to donate any tools or equipment to the crèche afterwards, that would be very much appreciated. Wear comfortable clothing with boots or “tackies”. Gloves are a good option. Bring weather protective gear dependent on the weather!
RSVP Please confirm your attendance with Muofhe Maiwashe at muofhe.maiwashe@capetown.gov.za. If you have a passion for a particular activity, please let Muofhe know, however we may not be able to accommodate everyone’s wishes.
| Activity Description | Approx number | Leader | |
| Develop and expand veggie garden | New veggie garden to be dug, composted, mulched and seeded – or planted with seedling; where appropriate poles and shade cloth will be erected as wind break. | 8 | Liziwe Stofile (Abalimi / Godfrey Domingo (CoCT – Econdev) |
| Painting wall mural at Creche | Deen Singh to paint the wall white prior to Thursday. Mural artist to draw outline of nature icons prior to 3pm Thurs. Volunteers to paint colours within the lines of the icons | 8 | Lynette Hampton and Andie Pycroft (Herschel Art Dept) |
| Clean-up campaign | Clean-up of open space area between crèche and church and also two parallel streets framing the crèche; this will become a fun and exciting activity in conjunction with the Village Heights residents and children | 30+ | Muofhe Maiwashe (CoCT – Environment) |
| Painting Church | Painting of four walls and door of Church | 12 | Kate Posthumous (CoCT – World Design Capital) |
| Repairing Church | Repair of broken window in church; attaching new notice board; suitable wording and symbols on church walls and notice board | 4 | Nicholas Ellenbogen (Theatre for Africa) |
| Plant trees | 2 trees to be planted in corners of Gift of Hope Creche and 2 at the church | 6 | Neil Major (FoV) / Dinesh Isaacs (CoCT – City Parks)
|
Further Information…
The Village Heights Gift of Hope Centre derives from the False Bay Ecology Park Steering Committee’s ‘Friends and Neighbours’ programme, aimed at accessing and communicating with residents living adjacent to Park. The initiative specifically seeks to build meaningful and effective relationships with neighbouring communities. In the case of Village Heights, it is to encourage integration of the local community into the Rondevlei section of the False Bay Nature Reserve and to enhance the quality of life of the community, as a result of their proximity to the Park.
Faces
Village Heights is located along the eastern fence of Rondevlei, between Lavender Hill and Seawinds. The community is predominantly unemployed and beset by many social ills such as serious poverty, a lack of education and skills, an epidemic of violent gangsterism and crime as well as the abuse and neglect of women, children and animals. The informal nature of the settlement also leaves people vulnerable to extreme weather, including flooding and strong winds. Ambivalence to the environment and aesthetics of the settlement has resulted in, amongst other things, large volumes of waste being illegally dumped in any open space rather than transported to the official collection site.
Bernadine Thomas, with the support of her husband, Edward, is a Village Heights resident who has refused to let circumstances dictate her situation. Bernadine has created a beacon of hope in a forgotten pocket of Cape Town.
Bernadine Thomas and her husband, Edward
Acutely aware of the challenges faced by parents and children in her community, Bernadine has provided a small, but meaningful centre, the Gift of Hope Centre, to meet some of the most pressing needs of the community. As the centre has grown, so have her dreams for it.
The future…
The City of Cape Town, in conjunction with the community of Village Heights and civil society partners have been involved in various interventions at Village Heights, including clearing invasive vegetation and solid waste, developing a children’s playground, growing a vegetable garden and establishing a nature garden.