The Waterberg Trust partners with St John’s Church and the Tshepo Trust to help the needy in the Waterberg, providing homebased care, food parcels and talks on addiction.

ST JOHN’S ACTS OF MERCY REPORT FOR JANUARY 2024

Sister Grace continues to distribute food parcels and clothes. ”As we began the new year I managed to buy school items for needy children. The food parcels are bought from different supermarkets to get lower prices.”

The 24 beneficaries include an elderly widow from Mozambique with no source of income, a chronically ill single Mum, a victim of sexual abuse, a teenage mum without support and other child-headed families.

If you could help by making a donation, however small, please click here for The Waterberg Trust’s Justgiving site or visit our How to Donate page.

PROGRESS:

• Acts of Mercy has made a huge impact on many families in Vaalwater community by providing food parcels, clothes and sanitary pads for girls.
• Local organizations such as the Tshepo Trust and Noko Transformation Forum are being well supported.
• Some beneficiaries find jobs, others continue to receive Government Social Relief grants.
• Grants for child support and the elderly were increased.
• Opportunities for the youth to gain skills in gardening, poultry rearing and security work while receiving a monthly stipend are available.

CHALLENGES:

• Increase in food prices
• Improper spending of social grants on alcohol and gambling
• Overcrowding due to migration leading to poor living conditions and sanitation
• Unemployed youth get involved in substance and alcohol abuse, community theft and gender-based violence. Community members feel unsafe walking in certain areas for fear of being attacked or robbed.
• Increase in the number of teenage pregnancy despite information about reproduction & health, preventative measures and access to contraceptives.

Sister Grace compiled a power point presentation to summarize work achieved with Acts of Mercy from MAY 2020 – Dec 2023. The presentation also published on this website, specifies the number of food parcels distributed, including clothes and reusable sanitary pads. “Many families benefited from the donations.”

 TSHEPO HBC REPORT JANUARY 2024

Tshepo Homebased Care continues daily routine work in the community.

“We checkup on patients, provide adherence support, collect patient medication from the clinic and identify new patients for admission. All the patients on our program have chronic conditions and are assisted according to their needs i.e. wound dressing, passive exercises, bathing and weekly pill box packing. Some patients are stable and take medication while others need proper adherence counseling and regular home visits to ensure they are well informed about the importance of adherence.”

The number of patients on the program stands at 22. “There has been a great improvement in mobility after our caregivers intervened.”

PROGRESS:

• Tshepo Homebased Care is recognized in the community and by the local Government clinic who refer patients and help with basic dressing materials, specimen bottles for sputum collection and TB screening tools.
• Chronic medication is collected on behalf of elderly patients who can not walk to the clinic.
• A speaker from the Western Cape addressed the increased number of young addicts in our community and provided caregivers with training on addiction and recovery, along with stakeholders from Noko Transformation & Anti-corruption Forum and local schools.
• Tshepo Trust assisted the Noko Forum with a letter to enable them to fundraise for their organization and ask local business owners for financial donations or food stuffs.

CHALLENGES:

• Very sick patients, including those who need surgery or specialist intervention, wait a long time before they can be transferred to the provincial hospital. Appointments are extended to further dates, making it difficult for families to cope with caring for their loved ones.
• Increase in youth-related deaths due to substance abuse, drugs and alcohol, defaulting on chronic medication
• Poor family support and abandonment of sick or elderly patients left alone at home.
• Tshepo Trust is short of homebased care kits, stationery, and cleaning products.

FUTURE PLANS:

• To continue providing required homebased care services
• To bring in those who need day care services and close monitoring
• To intensify patient screening for TB and reach out in other areas
• To continue liaising with stakeholders to ensure we provide the necessary services for patients and their families

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Many thanks to St John the Baptist Church at 24 Rivers who support Tshepo Trust through their Acts of Mercy initiative, providing food for patients, clothes and assistance in the office.