Archive for the ‘Friends of the Trust’ Category

A very BIG THANK YOU to Benjamin Sinek from Toronto ~ Canada, for his donation to the Blomvlei Library in Hanover Park , Cape Town.

Benjamin recently celebrated his 12th birthday in Canada and instead of receiving gifts he asked his friends and family to make a donation to a charity in Africa. Benjamin raised $350.00 which is approximately R2 500.00. Benjamin chose to donate the funds he raised towards the Blomvlei Library which we are building in Hanover Park, Cape Town.

On behalf of the Trustees of the TCD Trust we thank you and your friends for your kind and generous donation towards our project in Cape Town, South Africa.

The Library will provide a place of safety, inspiration & learning for the children of Hanover Park .Your donation will go towards a legacy and new beginning that will change the lives of the children of this community and give them hope for a brighter future in South Africa.

Benjamin and his family will be visiting his grandfather in Cape Town in August and we look forward to taking him to visit the school and to show him the new Library that he has supported with his fund raising efforts.

Thank you so much Benjamin, we hope your honorable effort can be an inspiration to other families. All contributions towards the Blomvlei Library assist us in making the dream a reality for the this very worthwhile project and to start to make a difference to the community of Hanover Park.

Blomvlei Library construction has reached roof height and so has Blomvlei Primary’s World Cup Gees !

Construction continues at a rapid pace on the Library at Blomvlei Primary School in Hanover Park. Despite days of heavy rain and bad weather the construction team has managed to achieve amazing results.

These photo’s taken yesterday, luckily during a good weather day, show that the construction is now ready for the roofing sheets which should be in place by Friday. It is expected that the construction should be completed by mid August 2010.

A library committee has been formed consisting of teachers, parents and children from the school to establish the set up and operational side of the Library once it is completed. We will be working closely with other successful community libraries and NGO’s to implement programs into the library for literacy development, social development, business and life skills.

The excitement for the World Cup is very evident at the school with the children decorating their classrooms with different country flags and projects on the World Cup. The learners also had their own count down to the World Cup and formed a human chain to spell out “10 Days to Go” in the school courtyard. The excitement and noise echoed through the school as the children waved flags and sang (shouted) Nkosi Sikelel’i Afrika !

One sad situation is the violence which has once again raised its ugly head in Hanover Park last Saturday with gangsters having a shoot out during a children’s soccer game which left two people dead, traumatized children and prompted police to step up patrols in this tense suburb. Just another reminded how desperately needed the Blomvlei Multipurpose center is for this community, to create a place where children can play safely, be inspired and learn.

Construction of the Blomvlei community library and educational garden will continue during the World Cup and updates sent to you. We are still short on our building costs and appeal to everyone to PLEASE HELP us and put the word out to anyone who you know who could possibly assist us with any further funding in order to complete the Library for the community of Hanover Park.

Enjoy the World Cup and remember to fly the South African flag high !

The construction of the Library at Blomvlei Primary School in Hanover Park is progressing at a rapid pace with the walls already reaching roof height ! It is very exciting to see the library taking shape and becoming a reality for the school and the community of Hanover Park.

The community seem to have already taken the protection of the library site under their control and if anything suspicious has been seen around the building site there are immediate phone calls from the surrounding community to alert the school, builder and the local police station. It is wonderful to see the community already taking ownership and pride in the library.

There are twelve laborers on site at present of which 50% come from the local community. Dawn Petersen, headmistress of Blomvlei Primary School, advertised in their school newsletter for parents with building skills to put their names down on a list for contract workers which would be required during the construction of the library. This has been very successful and provided income and employment within the community. Dawn Petersen insisted that preference must be given, in terms of local laborers, to unemployed parents of children at Blomvlei primary school.

In the site meeting last week Ivonn Kramm, Architect from arG, discussed with the project team her research into using as many environmentally friendly products within the construction of the Library. Non-toxic paint will be used and a non-toxic carpet was chosen for the floor coverings.

When on site there is enormous excitement amongst the children regarding the construction and a number of school outings are being planned for the learners such as a visit to the architects and engineers offices, possibly visiting the BMW Pavillion or Cooling Towers to watch, from a safe distance, when they are demolished. Other outings include a visit to Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, transport kindly sponsored by our Trustee, Di Thomas, of Day Trippers. The children will be introduced to the types of indigenous plants which we will be planting in the Educational Garden around the Library.

The Trust is still looking for funding in order to complete the Library and we once again appeal to everyone in the industry to support us by encouraging other members of the tourism industry to become a Friend of the Trust.

Thank you to everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to join us on Monday at Blomvlei Primary School in Hanover Park for our ground breaking celebration.

The school is the door to the future of this community and the Blomvlei Library and Educational Garden will be a place of inspiration, safety and learning for the community of Hanover Park.

Programs which we will work with NGO’s to implement at the Library will include:
• Literacy development
• Thinking skills
• Business Life Skills
• Career Guidance and exposure to career opportunities.

We have also incorporated into the project :
• Employment of local community with building skills during the building.
• Recycling depot on the school premises
• Food Tents – vegetable tents for growing produce to use and sell.

We would like to thank all our sponsors and the support from our Friends of the Trust,

WHAT IS OUR CALL TO ACTION
1.SECURE SUFFICIENT FUNDS TO MAKE THE DREAM COME TRUE.
2. ENCOURAGE ALL MEMBERS OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY TO JOIN AS FRIENDS OF THE
TRUST AND SUPPORT THE GOOD WORK WE DO.
3. GET THE COMMUNITY, PARENTS AND CHILDREN INVOLVED.
4. FINDING PARTNERS AND RESOURCES TO ESTABLISH AN EXTRA MURAL CURRICULUM

• Total building cost for the Library is : R2 700 000.00
• We have already fund raised to date: R2 000 000.00
• Shortfall still to be raised : R 700 000.00

Blomvlei Multipurpose Center : Hanover Park, Cape Flats.
“We could start to make a difference”