At long last a blog update !! So much has happened in my life this past year and I can't believe how quickly it has sped by . It has been a difficult time for both the nursery schools lately with all sorts of red tape hassles delaying funding from Social Development Services , and poor Naniwe ( from the derelict little church school)  is having to find new premises ...more about this in my next post .
The e'Pap feeding scheme however continues to thrive, thanks solely to all the wonderful support and love I have continued to receive from all my "e'Pap Warriors"  !  The amount of meals we provide is slowly expanding and we have now taken 30 new little primary school children from the very poor Freestone district under our wing . These kids have HIV/AIDS and are being treated at home with anti-retroviral drugs ( they have volunteer carers that keep an eye on them and who I am in contact with) .  I want to ensure that they are having adequate nutrition in order to cope with the hectic drugs that they need . The children are older than the preschoolers and so need more e'Pap at a time..plus they are having it twice a day , every day !! A lot more e'Pap is now needed per month, 6 bales to be precise which costs R3840.00 ! Eeeek !!! This cost can be considerably reduced if I can manage to get sponsored transport from Gauteng ..we are all crossing fingers and toes that this will happen soon !
 
We also feed about 60 kids every day during the school holidays in a tiny shack with two old shipping containers outside which serve as an after care facility . It goes by the grand name of The Tyhiluwazi Centre. Primary school children gather there after school where they are given a meal and volunteers help with homework etc. During the holidays they spend the day there and have e'Pap for breakfast. The Social Carer who started this facility, Boniwe, has very ambitious plans for it. I would dearly love to give them e'Pap during the school term as well and that is my next goal !  Here are some pics of the cherubs that benefit daily from your love and support !  

No tables or chairs at Tyhiluwazi but this e'Pap is DELICIOUS !!


The kids from Tyhiluwazi Centre enjoying their brekkie ! The little ones in the background are washing up their bowls ..so good ! 

Waiting for our breakfast...

Gogo said if I eat it all up I would be come very clever !

Breakfast time at Siphucule

Valentine's Day at Siphucule !

Who could resist this little Valentine ?

Woo-Hoo..e'Pap day at Masiphumele !

N'kosi Gogo ! ( Thank-you Granny)

 

 

 

I still have lots of news and will soon post pics of the wonderful 2013 Bookfair where we raised over R2000.00 for the fund ! My heartfelt thanks go out to my monthly contributors who keep the wheels turning ..big hugs from all the kids and I to Howard, Kevin, Lynette & David, Helen and JD & Frank ♥ Many more very grateful thanks for all the unexpected donations and support from the lovely Relix ladies and their wonky tea-pot ♥ The amazing Aussies who always come to the rescue ♥ The Bathurst birthday club ♥ Support and love from my on-line DSP Grans ♥ Shelley & Peter from the Garden route feeding scheme ♥ Basil, Rosie, Mona and the rest of the wonderful e'Pap crew ♥

With love and blessings..Kay  

...and some more because I can't resist !

News from June & July

 There has not been very much action in June & July with a very long school holiday in between the two months ! We are, however, back in full swing and it seems hard to believe that we have been providing e'Pap to the kids for nearly a year already !
Just before the schools broke up in June I met a Bathurst newbie, Dane, who came along on a "school-run" with me to see where he could lend a hand. How lovely to have youngsters like this willing to give of their time and support . Thank-you Dane..you are a star !

Dane getting to know the Masiphumelele kids

Examining the meagre veggie garden at Masiphumelele

With a young fan !

In July there was great excitement way over the Big Pond in Michigan USA ! I belong to an awesome on-line group of "Grannies" who do digital scrapbooking. (they are not ALL Grans..some are GITS ..Grannies-in-training ! )It is difficult to describe the amazing closeness of this group who have been together for 7 years now. We all know one another so well ! Anyway..a few weeks ago a GREAT GRANNY GET TOGETHER was planned and 11 of these fabulous Grannies gathered at Laura-Lou's home in Gibraltar Michigan for a couple of days ! Can you imagine the chin-wagging that went on ?? Hahaha!! Many of them were meeting for the very first time !! When they all left they filled up an envelope for Laura to contribute towards all the wonderful hospitality shown towards them ..and without missing a beat Laura donated it ALL..on behalf of all those precious Grans.. to our e'Pap fund !!! $600.00 !!! OMG !!! What a God send..that is enough to keep the fund afloat for nearly 2 months ! You can just imagine how blown away I was by this incredibly generous gesture ! THE GRANNIES ROCK !!!! Here is a pic of these fabulous ladies ♥♥

Wonderful "Grans" at the GGGT !!!

 

 

We also received a lovely donation from Sharo , another a precious member of the Granny Thread, and her husband Lance..this time from DownUnder ! Isn't it just amazing how much love and support we receive from all over the world ? It is so heart warming ♥
Closer to home..in fact right on my door step , Helen Mac has organized a monthly stop order for us ! THANK-YOU Helen ..this is SO appreciated ! Helen's sister Rina was visiting and left a lovely crisp 20 pound note for the Fund !! THANK-YOU Rina !! We LOVE pounds !! Hahahaha !! 
A HUGE thank-you also to Howard and Aubs for so generously always handing over their "municipality cheques " to the fund ! You guys are wonderful and your generous gesture helps to provide nearly 600 meals ! WOW !!!
And last..but definitely not least..the awesome ladies from Relix once again emptied their little wobbly teapot which they keep on their shop counter for customer's change ..they had collected over R130.00 !!! Woo-Hoo !! THANK-YOU !!!


As always..all my faithful donatees who never fail to deliver.. I can't find the proper words to express how much your support means to me !! You are all angels !


Jarred and I went for a little visit to Siphucule a few days ago ..we took a pile of yummy home made choc-chip cookies and we sang "The wheels on the bus" about a hundred times and read stories and played and played ! We ALWAYS receive such a warm welcome !!! What a lovely way to spend a morning !! Here are a few pics to make you smile too ! 
With much love..Kay 

Woo-Hoo !! Bikkies for us !!

Me too PLEEEEZE !!!!

CHEEEESE !!!

Think she's happy ?

Serious stuff !!!

Posing for a class pic ! (eeek ..look at that FLOOR !!!)

Gogo Kay getting swamped !!

Jarred being such a star ! The kids LOVE him !!

News from May !
I am so grateful to all those who have helped me spread the "e'Pap word" ..a much greater awareness has been created and now when I mention the fund most people already know about it ! This month I received two very generous and wonderful PayPal donations from America . My awesome "cyber " friends who donate monthly to the fund were visiting their 86 year old Aunt Afton in hospital where she was recovering from hip-replacement surgery ..they showed her some pictures of the kids and explained about the e'Pap . Without missing a beat this wonderful lady promptly wrote out a cheque for us !  Not long after that my friends asked another relative , Judy, to take along some more pics of the kids saying thank-you to Afton ..when Judy saw the beautiful pics she immediately wrote another cheque out for us too !! WOW !! So much unexpected wonderful love and support from this family ..thank-you again from all of us here !! We pray that Afton is well on the road to recovery after her surgery.  After carefully explaining to the kids all about "Gogo"Afton (Gogo means Granny in Xhosa) they clapped and sang enthusiastically and then added a little prayer too..my heart nearly burst !!! 

Lusty songs for Afton

On their own accord they added a prayer too !

Love for Gogo Afton

I

Very earnest and fervent prayers for Afton's recovery!

May brought with it Mother's Day and our Jeanne's lovely family in Australia sent money for e'Pap in lieu of flowers for her ! What a beautiful gesture and so gratefully received ! Thank-you so much Natalie and family ..your gift is priceless !!
 Jeanne herself was also very busy this month ~ she gathered support and cash from friends to buy fleecy fabric for blankets and made 18 lovely toasty warm blankies for the Sinahko sweethearts ( just in time for the cold weather that has suddenly arrived !) The little one's at this poorest of poor little schools were so delighted.  Thank-you for caring Jeanne..you are wonderful XX

Jeanne with some of the lovely blankies she made !

Sinahko School

May was also Marion's birthday ! We had a wonderful party with amazing Turkish  food ! What a treat ! In lieu of gifts for the birthday girl cash was donated to the feeding fund and R300.00 was collected ! Enough for over 400 meals !! Thank-you so much for your lovely gesture Marion !

Happy Birthday Marion !!!

Some new local supporters, David and Lynette Elvidge, lent a helping hand on an e'Pap run and got to meet the care-givers and kids ! It was great to have you along David and Lynette and I am so grateful and humbled by your love and support ! Thank-you !!

The Elvidge's get roped in !

More pics just for fun !

A piece of string provides hours of fun in the playground !

Mola Gogo ..did you bring sweeties ??!!

Bliss ! A spot in the sun for our morning snooze !

A star on my forehead and a marshmallow in my fist ~ Lucky Me !!

Noniwe and the kids at Masiphumelele .

As always.. to my awesome family and friends and faithful "donatees" THANK-YOU !! We are making a difference ..one child at a time !!

The Bathurst Bookfair comes to the rescue !!!

Pete Mosely's much anticipated 9th annual Bathurst Bookfair was held last Sunday. The weather was perfect as hundreds of book lovers streamed through the Drostdy . Our Feeding Fund was the very, very lucky beneficiary of this years event, which was the best one EVER !! Pete and his amazing team of helpers did an incredible job organizing not only the Bookfair but also raising a public e'Pap awareness ! 

What a brilliant turn-out ! 

Creating an "e'Pap awareness"

 A total of over R2600.00 was donated!!! I am blown away and SO grateful..this goes such a long way and will buy a whole heap of  e'Pap...192 bags to be exact which means 3850 nutrient packed meals have been sorted  !!!  SO AWESOME !!!

Big hugs for Pete who is ensuring the e'Pap piggy gets fed !!

 A big part of the Bookfair this year was The Limerick competition, it was fabulous and our "e'Pap piggy" was passed around at the Bathurst Arms as the winning limericks were read out ~ Pete threatened anyone not feeding the piggy would be forced to eat  e'Pap for a week !! There was much hilarity and an incredible R754.00 was "fed" to the hungry pig by the incredible, warm-hearted beautiful locals !! 

This little piggy....was fed an incredible R754.00 !!!

Special thanks to Steph for coaxing everyone to hand over their cash !!  WOW !! What a privilege to live in, and be part of,  such a beautiful community !! THANK-YOU everyone..from the bottom of my heart !!!!

Congratulations Roy Matthews on winning the limerick competition..he sent in a whole heap but this one was my favourite! (wonder why ?!!)  

In Bathurst there's a lady called Kay

Who, for children, goes out of her way

She fills a big gap

With sacks of e'Pap

That feeds many a toddler each day !

Roy receiving his prize from Pete ! WTG Roy !!!

A special mention to Jarred , my 7 year old grandson , who earned himself R15.00 from selling candy floss at the Bookfair (much to Pete's horror ..sticky sweet stuff + Jarred + books are not a good combination !!) Without a moments hesitation he put his hard earned cash in the Piggy and told me it was to buy e'Pap for the hungry kids !!! Bless his heart..I am so proud of you Jarred ♥ !! 

Jarred helping with the candy floss !

Also helping to swell our funds this month were the lovely ladies from Relix .. Liz and Lynette have a wonky tea-pot on their shop counter to collect customer's change ..there was R133.00 in that pot !! ~ this equates to over 180 meals !! Well done Relix and THANK-YOU !!!

The lovely Relix ladies with their e'Pap loot ! 

I am also humbled and delighted to be receiving a MONTHLY sponsorship of $25.00 from a wonderful cyber friend in America ! You have no idea how much this means to me and to the Fund ..huge hugs to you !

To all my other wonderful friends and family , as always your support and love is priceless ! THANK-YOU !!!

Our e'Pap feeding scheme EXPANDS !!

Many of you are already familiar with my vision to set up a feeding scheme  through following my blog : Siphucule.blogspot.com  For those of you that aren't this is what I wrote in September last year :

"I was very very very excited to discover a fabulous porridge , E'Pap, which is used extensively in feeding schemes through out the country and across our borders. I was so humbled to discover such amazing people out there..E'pap was developed by a wonderfully caring scientist in Gauteng (Basil Kransdorff) in his bid to alleviate starvation and malnutrition in our country. I have already introduced it to the school and am pleased to announce that Siphucule is the very first school in this area initiate it ! It has been very well received..it is so easy to prepare..just add warm water ! No cooking..no milk added..no sugar added and only 2 tablespoons of powder is enough to meet ALL the nutritional needs of a little one for the day . Best of all..it is DELICIOUS and very filling  . A packet of  E'Pap costs only R13.50 and is enough to feed 20 kids..so our school needs 4 packets a day which equates to just over R1000.00 a month ! I would LOVE sponsors for this scheme ..I already have 2 stop orders which covers a week . I am determined to get a full on feeding scheme going to provide a nourishing meal to ALL the little impoverished hungry kids in our area , not just Siphucule. It is heart breaking to discover how many go to school hungry ! A commitment of a very small amount of money each month would make the world of difference . A beautiful soul in Richards Bay..Sarah.. has very admirably given up smoking and has committed the amount that she would have spent on cigs a month to my E'Pap scheme !! Sarah ..you are FABULOUS !!! I am so proud of you! "

Well ..I am very happy and proud to report that the e'Pap fund has survived ( thanks to my 3 loyal monthly providers ♥ )  and has been able to provide enough e'Pap to feed all the little ones at Siphucule (i.e 75 at any one time!) for the last 6 months PLUS it has now EXPANDED to embrace 2 more impoverished little schools !!! (This is all thanks to the wonderful donations around Christmas time when so many people donated to the fund in lieu of gifts .)
 The new schools which we have been supplying for the last 2 months are Masiphumelele Preschool with 57 little ones aged from about 9 months to 5 years old . This school receives absolutely no government support or grants from anyone apart from the paltry "school fees" of R50.00 per month . The children are given 2 meals a day and snacks when finances allow . The adults supervising the children are all volunteers and receive no remuneration for their efforts at all. The school is housed in a ramshackle corrugated iron shanty (which is also used as a church !) and they have very little ..but it is clean and happy ! Needless to say a nutritious delicious breakfast every morning is a wonderful addition and is SO gratefully received.

Breakfast time at Masiphumelele !

Noniwe looks after her little charges !

I think she likes it !!!

Sam..a lovely volunteer !

The other school is Sinakho which has 17 little ones.. it is much smaller and operates in a little township house owned by a very generous soul called Bessie . This is also run solely by volunteers and I find it so humbling that these caring lovely people give of their time and love so freely !They also have so little in the way of equipment but still manage to feed their little ones every day !

Sinakho Pre- school

Waiting for their e'Pap !

Vivian..another amazing carer (and cook !)

So ..all in all the fund is now feeding about 150 kids every day . It is so good to know that the "hidden hunger" that Basil talks about is being addressed and that the food that they are receiving is packed with nutrients !
 I really want to grow the fund and my vision is to provide e'Pap to all the hungry little ones living in our area (there are so many it is quite daunting !) To be able to do this I really need your help !! I ask that you spread the word for me and link my blog to where-ever you think it needs to be . A one-off donation is always received with much love and gratitude , but a small monthly commitment reassures me that I will have enough to pay for that month's e'Pap ! Please be assured that every single cent received will go straight into feeding our youngsters! 
Although I always refer to it as my e'Pap Fund we are now officially called The Sunshine Coast Feeding Fund and have our very own bank account !  Account details are:
Bank : FNB
Account name : Sunshine Coast Feeding Fund
Branch Name : Port Alfred
Branch code: 210917
Account Number : 62349138900
Please read up about e'Pap and the wonderful work that Basil does here www.epap.co.za  . I am also linking Shelly's website www.epapfeeding.co.za.  Shelly does amazing work in the Garden Route and is now feeding over 4000 school children a day !!  ..what an inspiration she is ..every time I feel it is all "too hard" I log onto her web-site for the courage to persevere  and know that if she can do it..SO CAN WE !!!
Thank-you again, from the bottom of my heart, to all those that provide me with unfailing love and support ..you are amazing !!! 
With love,
Kay