Buyelekhaya Relief Program – The Girl Impact, Cape Town
Written by Jessica O’Connell, African Impact Volunteer Coordinator
The Girl Impact is a new initiative for The Happy Africa Foundation, and our efforts are flourishing in Cape Town! We are thrilled to be working in a new partnership called Buyelekhaya Community Development. Buyelekhaya is an organization built on the premise of traditional Xhosa dance, as a means to educate children and youth, and to provide a safe outlet and environment. The children and youth in Buyelekhaya live within a squatter camp in Khayelitsha, and fall incredibly vulnerable and at risk to negative influences and realities such as alcohol, drugs, abuse, and gangsterism.
Buyelekhaya runs out of their leader’s home, which is also an informal shack. Vuyo, the leader, is a woman of passion and determination. She alone created Buyelekhaya, and seeks to educate the children about their culture and a positive way of life. She opens her door to any and all youth in her community, and will quite often help provide access to basic facilities and sustenance for any in need. Her voracity to help her community is an unparalleled force, you can’t really grasp it until you meet her. As we have developed our partnership with her, we can see countless opportunities for growth, and to help make her dream a reality.
To begin, we are assisting in providing basic food for the children one day a week, when we run Girl Impact support sessions. Every participant, from six years old to 18 will receive fruit and a peanut butter sandwich. In doing so, we are able to provide immediate relief to the youth, and allow them to focus, while also alleviating some of the financial strain Vuyo has taken on to provide for the children. This is only the beginning of our involvement with Buyelekhaya, and a first step towards helping this amazing organization and group reach their potential.
To help us achieve our goals please donate through Virgin Money Giving or donate through our website.