empowerment

Mandela Day at Groenpunt Department of Correctional Services

The IAHV in conjunction with Groenpunt Department of Correctional Services joined forces in honour of Mandela Day and the 67 blankets initiative. The inmates of Groenpunt prison, under the care of Anita Hanekom, knitted 67 amazing blankets with 20 of these handed over to IAHV Vaal for their Leeuhof Service Project.

See below “Thank You letter” for the amazing donation of 20 hand-knitted blankets… certainly a lot of incredible effort and love went into producing these and I have no doubt that each blanket will find a special place in the hearts and lives of those that will receive them on Thursday Mandela Day!!

The ability to persevere in the face of challenges and to still succeed is the quality of a true leader and an inspiration to all… thank you for continuing to be your amazing self!!!

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SOWETO celebrates International Day of Yoga 2018

A Yoga day was held at Elmon Malele Park, Kunene Street, Soweto (The largest African Town in Johannesburg)- SOUTH AFRICA in Celebration of International Day of Yoga!.

The event was hosted by The Art of Living Foundation in partnership with The Consulate General of India, Johannesburg, The High Commissioner of India and Alpha World Ministries.A well attended event where seniors and youth, people of all shapes and sizes, people from different backgrounds came together to enjoy the International Yoga Day.

The program began with candle lighting by the Dignitaries – High Commisioner of India, Consulate General of India, Johannesburg, Pastor Maurien of Alpha World Ministries, Ward Councillor

This was followed by joyful and reverberating singing by Pastor.The audience joined in with the singing, clapping and waving their hands in the air.

An estimated crowd of 2000 people from schools, churches, SAPS, and the general public participated in the International Yoga Day.

The Yoga was led on stage by yoga teachers from different Yoga Schools. We were privileged to have Sunil Jain from the Art of Living Organisation, India lead us through some of the Yoga postures and Consulate General yoga teacher , Maya Bhatt. There were many volunteers from the Art of Living Foundation and other Yoga schools too.
A very colorful sight followed with everyone donned in their Yoga T- shirts performing the Yoga postures.

Cheers of joy especially from the children could be heard as they moved from one pose to another in when the yoga teachers asked them ” how are you doing?.

The International Yoga Day at Soweto ended with a meditation and a peace prayer. Everyone left the event feeling content and happy.

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Yes 4 Communities

IAHV had the opportunity to teach a Yes 4 Communities Program in partnership with The Salesians Institute in Green Point, Cape Town (10 – 13 April). Youth (ages 20 to 35) were participating in the institutes “Waves for Change” 5 week program which prepares for employment opportunities on the sea.

The practical knowledge which forms part of the Yes 4 Communities program coupled with the focused breathing techniques complimented the practical skills training very successfully.

Some participants experience sharing:

“Personally it was mind-blowing and a very good course. I have learnt how to relax my body and my mind by doing long and short breathing techniques. I also learnt how to be responsible for my actions and how to manage my stress.” – Jodean Sas

“I don’t like it, I love it! It’s refreshing, cool and makes me happy. For a long time I was a very unhappy person, but this course has helped me a lot inside and out. I learnt how to handle my stress and to be grateful for everything in my life.” – Jacobus Adams

“I enjoyed all the sessions and they were all good. Actually I feel like something has been taken off my shoulders. I am free and relieved.” – Luvo

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Love Where You Live: Community Clean Up Initiative 6

‘Love Where You Live’ is our campaign aimed at raising community awareness towards the elimination of waste from Laudium’s streets. We are bringing members of the community together to clean up litter in public areas. As the project continues this will inspire the entire community to keep these areas clean. Our initiative strives to create a clean and hygienic public environment. This helps the community take pride in their space, contributes to a better state of mind and provides a stable base for building a strong community.

Our first clean up in 2018 took place at the Laudium CBD.  We cleaned an area that had become an illegal dumping ground between shops.  All manner of refuse was found. We continued around the shops to pick up further waste. Volunteers completed the morning by putting up signs which they had made to remind people of why we need to care for our Earth.

Many onlookers reminded us about the importance of what we hope to achieve. Visitors to Laudium, commended the volunteers on taking pride in where they live. The main focus of our initiative is the creation of the awareness of the benefits of living in a clean environment. We plan to achieve this through the support of our community. Most especially, our youth.

Worldwide, there is an urgent call for all people to be aware of waste and the effect on our environment. Do we know where our plastic straws go after we’ve finished our cold drinks? Or our cold drink cans? These are some of the things we are bringing awareness to and working towards finding solutions for. We look forward to further initiatives this year!

A special thanks to the City of Tshwane’s department of Waste Management for providing us with bin bags and waste removal services for 30-40 bags of garbage after the clean-up.

Join us to make a bigger difference at our next campaign – date and venue to be announced on our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram: @LoveWhereYouLive.Laudium or send an e-mail to LoveWhereYouLive.Laudium@gmail.com to be added to our database.

 

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Obs Pasta Kitchen

Our new venue at St Michael’s this evening was a major success. We filled the space with our guests and volunteers. Everyone had a place to sit, eat dinner and chat as a community. 

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Yes!Youth – You are the open door and the helping hand in your community.

“People want to improve their communities but they haven’t found the door, the hand, the heart….so let us do something.” Dreadlocked Jean America, a radiant kid with a toothy grin spoke some eloquent words that night. He’d just completed his nine day foundation training ( YLTP – Youth Leadership Training Programme) with IAHV’s Yes! Youth Programme. Jean grew up in Ocean View, a hard neighbourhood situated on the fynbos slopes of the South Peninsula, where violence and drug abuse are a part of life.

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