| April 09, 2005 |
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Gogo-power, E-pap keep orphans going By Shaanaaz de Jager A GROUP of 40 gogos – those wonderfully wise grannies who are the backbone of many African families – are striving to better the lives of orphans living in Kwazakhele in Port Elizabeth. The women meet with Gogo Trust founding member Sharron Frood at the Enkuselweni Secure Care Centre in Kwazakhele two days a week and fill the hall with song and prayer. The trust was initiated by Awonke Nikelo, a member of the Kwazakhele Health and Welfare Forum, and Sharron Frood, an international student at NMMU. The project was registered in 2003 and the Gogo Trust was formed. Frood hails from the UK and is a pediatric nursing assistant by training. When she first came to South Africa she was a volunteer at the House of Resurrection Aids Haven in Salsoneville. During her stay she used to visit the township for research purposes for her honours degree in advanced primary health care (which she recently completed) and this was how she met Nikelo. Frood is currently doing her masters in primary health care. “The Gogo Trust is funded by my family, friends and the Kingdom Faith Church in Horsham, England,” she said. Every Tuesday the women who visit the centre meet for personal support and enjoy a nutritious meal. They also receive brown bread and soup as well as E-pap for 50 orphans. The ladies meet at four homes each week and feed a total of 1 600 people from Kwazakhele and Zwide each month. The Joy support group for HIV-positive women meet on Fridays and provide personal support and a bowl of nutritional soup and bread to take home. There is also counseling for women and girls who have been sexually abused. The project also helps support three child-headed homes with nutritious food and financial assistance. There are 23 children living at these homes. The Vulukhanye (meaning rise and shine) Preschool which will officially open in May this year aims to prepare the children (including orphans) aged four to seven for school entrance. “We’ve sent Ntombikai Pankese on a training course to become the pre-school teacher,” said Frood. The Gogo Trust bead workshop is an income-generating project led by the gogos. They make beaded keyrings, jewellery, serviette rings, pictures and decorations for spoons, pots, cups and pens for both a local and a growing export market in the UK, US and Australia. Women like “Mama Joyce” (not her real name, she does not want to be identified) has been with the Gogo Project for two years and said attending meetings had help her to grow spiritually. “I feel relieved in my heart and when I don’t attend a meeting I feel like there’s a heavy burden on my shoulders. “Through sharing our thoughts and problems with each other at the meetings I have learnt that my problems are not as big as I thought. Other people have much bigger problems than me.” Like many of the women who go to the trust for help Mama Joyce receives a pension of R740 a month and takes care of her granddaughter. The girl’s mother died in a train accident and Mama Joyce also takes care of a five-year-old boy with TB, the son of a relative who had also died. She said the trust helped her by giving her bread to take home every Tuesday as well as E-pap. “He (the boy) is much healthier now and he loves his brown bread.” Mama Joyce said the trust also helped her with food parcels over Christmas and Easter.
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