Exciting news: Anna Foundation's bold expansion in 2024
Hold onto your hats because we're thrilled to announce some exciting developments at the Anna Foundation! Our journey in 2024 has been nothing short of extraordinary as we've embarked on a mission to spread our wings far and wide, touching the lives of more children than ever before.
First, let's talk about our latest additions – the Lorraine Project, situated in Rawsonville, and the Dennegeur Project, nestled in the Elgin valley. The Lorraine Project isn't just big; it's huge! With 114 children and a team of 7 dedicated facilitators, it's safe to say that we've hit the ground running with our largest project yet. The Dennegeur Project consists of 23 children and 2 passionate facilitators. As an already established as a crèche and afterschool, the 3R’s Programme provides more structure and learning opportunities for the children they serve! The energy, enthusiasm and the sheer joy radiating from these 2 projects are profound and we couldn't be more excited to see the incredible impact it's already making.
But wait, there's more! We've also set our sights on the communities of Grabouw and Elgin, and boy, have we made waves there. The 3R’s Programme is now implemented in 5 new projects, welcoming 140 children and 10 facilitators.
So buckle up because we are on a roll! With our ever-expanding reach and commitment to empowering young minds, there's no limit to what we can achieve. Join us as we continue to write new chapters of success, one community at a time.
Women empowerment
Our project management team has been hard at work as they've been hosting intensive monthly training workshops for the incredible farm women who lead our afterschool projects. But guess what? That's not all! In addition to our regular sessions in the Boland and Langeberg regions, we've amped up our efforts by doubling the frequency of training workshops for our Elgin facilitators, now hosting them twice a month. That's right – a total of 12 formal training sessions have already been conducted.
From the get-go, our project managers have been injecting boundless enthusiasm into these sessions, emphasizing the vital role of planning and organisation in our facilitators' journey. We're talking about the backbone of success here! After all, proper planning sets the stage for an extraordinary afterschool experience for our children. We've delved into practical strategies and methods, equipping our facilitators with the tools they need to plan their educational, sports and life skills activities.
Education report
Navigating the start of a new school year can be overwhelming for many of our children, which is why our 3R’s Programme: Reading, Running and Right-ing provides daily support to assist our learner’s holistic development. Our programme covers homework assistance and engaging class activities, all aimed at enhancing their numeracy, literacy and communication skills.
This term, many themes have been covered such as 'Who Am I,' 'My Body' and ‘This Big World’.' Throughout the term, our facilitators have delivered dynamic lessons surrounding these themes, providing opportunities for the children to improve their reading, writing and conversational abilities.
Our educational project manager plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of our programme. Working closely with our facilitators, she has provided comprehensive training sessions focusing on reading with meaning, number sense and fractions. With a second educational project manager added to our team, we are excited to make an even greater impact in the academic development of these children.
Sports report
In our after-school projects, we offer daily sports lessons to provide our learners with a valuable opportunity to participate in hands-on learning after a demanding day behind their desks. These sports activities are meticulously designed to facilitate learning through play, focusing on enhancing motor skills, promoting physical well-being, refining coordination, encouraging attentive listening and cultivating teamwork among our learners.
We are thrilled to report that our running programme took off with great zest this year. Our learners have already taken part in numerous 5km fun runs, with some of them even securing podium positions! We'd like to extend our thanks to the organisers at Trailfun and Run the Vines for including us in their events.
The cycling programme’s primary focus has been the fundamentals of cycling, as well as focusing on key areas of technique. This includes how to take bends, weight distribution on the bikes and general bodily awareness when cycling. With the guidance of our Sports Manager and occasional volunteers, our learners are taking cycling to the next level!
Life skills report
Our Life Skills Programme continues to provide children with a safe and nurturing environment to develop their confidence, self-esteem and imagination. These skills are fundamental to our mission of holistic development, particularly for our learners who may not have access to a supportive space where they can learn positive values. At the Anna Foundation, we're here to make a big and lasting difference in the lives of the children we serve. Our main aim is to help our children grow up to be confident, caring and significant members in their communities.
The life skills project manager has focused her training on games that will improve creative thinking and imagination. Many learners struggle to think for themselves and often find themselves copying ideas instead of coming up with their own. Focusing on drama games that require creativity and imagination ensures that the children are able to develop this skill and enhance their own creative abilities.
In other news
2024 Absa Cape Epic
The Absa Cape Epic is the world’s most challenging and prestigious 8-day cycling event, hosting riders from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas. The Anna Foundation has had the privilege of being an official charity of the Absa Cape Epic for 11 years. Each year the Cape Epic is the biggest highlight on our calendar where we are able to give our learners the opportunity to witness professional athletes in action!
Our children created personalised cards for all 1460 riders (yes we actually did!), which were handwritten and coloured with love by each child. We were extremely grateful for the two teams who purchased their entries through the Anna Foundation and continued to support us by raising funds on GivenGain! Another team from Switzerland also chose to raise funds for the Anna Foundation by creating a website, social media page and auctioning off phenomenal prizes! We extend our earnest gratitude to Team Anna Foundation, Team Go Cycles and Team Longchamp Paris for their unwavering support and generosity.
Throughout the long week of cycling, we were able to bring a few of our learners from nearby projects to witness the greatness of the Cape Epic. They cheered the riders on as they crossed the finish line, learned more from the other charities activating at the Epic and were even treated to milkshakes from Fair Cape. This is an experience they will cherish forever!
Generous donations
We've been blessed with a series of generous donations that have truly made a difference in the lives of our learners.
- The Helderberg Harriers contributed stationery supplies, from colourful pens to notebooks, benefiting three of our projects as they kicked off the new year.
- Oxford University Press provided a treasure trove of books tailored for our younger learners, initiating their circulation among our projects.
- Absa Cape Epic donated over 1000 pairs of socks, bringing warmth and excitement to our learners and facilitators alike.
- Our new partners, Crisis Response Network, who generously provided Rise Against Hunger meal packs, ensuring our learners receive nutritious meals at our after-school projects.
We're immensely grateful for the wonderful support that continues to fuel our mission.
Coming up: Two Oceans Marathon
As an official charity of the 2024 TotalSports Two Oceans Marathon, the Anna Foundation has 40 dedicated runners who will be participating in the Half Marathon on Sunday, 14 April to raise funds and support our cause. We are sincerely thankful to the Marathon and each of these runners for choosing to make a difference in the lives of our learners through their participation!
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