This has been a whirl wind year! We set ourselves the ambitious goal of incorporating 200 new children into our programmes in 2024 … I am pleased to report that we have exceeded that goal with a total of almost 300 new children already! These children have been benefitting from our programmes since the start of 2024 and continue to enjoy the benefits on a daily basis. We extended our reach into the Elgin valley at the start of the...
MESSAGE FROM ANNAIt’s a wrap! What a busy year we have had at the Anna Foundation in 2023.We welcomed 4 new projects this year, offering 160 new children access to all the benefits of our after school programmes. We provided 12 rural women with career opportunities and trained and upskilled them to perform the task of facilitator at the new after schools. It has been so rewarding to observe the growth in both the children and these women over this...
MESSAGE FROM ANNAIt is safe to say the Cape winter has arrived. Many of our projects and families in the Langeberg region were impacted by the floods recently experienced. We are grateful for the support we could offer these children during this time, and for the many helping hands that donated blankets, warm clothing and food.We have had an incredibly full 6 months. We welcomed 2 new projects on board, offering 60 new children access to our programmes and support....
MESSAGE FROM ANNA“It feels almost strange to start by saying ‘Welcome to 2023’! This year has been so incredibly full, it is hard to believe we are already in March. I feel inspired reading through this newsletter and noting all the achievements accomplished: some seemingly small and others clearly large!For me personally, I love the story we share on Mariska and Hazel. These girls are both past learners of the Anna Foundation who matriculated through our programmes. I remember them...
Rawsonville, South Africa – The Anna Foundation has launched a new after-school project atthe Merwida Wine Farm in Rawsonville, aimed at supporting the holistic development of 90children between the ages of 5-18 years. The project opened its doors on Monday, January23rd, 2023, making structured Educational, Sports, and Life Skills support available to thechildren. The farm’s Social Worker, Mercia Prince, said, “When I started here 4 years ago, it becamemy vision to develop an after-school centre on the farm. And thanks to...
On Friday 13 January, the Anna Foundation welcomed a team of American University students to kick off the year in style with a soccer skills clinic. As part of their sports tour to South Africa, the Case Western University Women’s Soccer team chose to visit the Anna Foundation’s after-school project in Robertson for a day filled with fun, games and skills development. After taking a tour of the after-school’s facilities and learning about the educational, sports and life skills support offered...
It has been an incredibly fast-paced and jam-packed first half of the year at the Anna Foundation. In a way, it feels like we made up for many of the opportunities we could not offer the children in the previous 2 years! This has taken admirable dedication from all of our staff members, going above and beyond what is required of them on a daily basis. I feel incredibly grateful to have this team of passionate people investing so much...
It is a well-known fact that raising and nurturing a child is a job for the entire community. As an organisation whose mission it is to support the holistic development of rural children, this principal is fittingly applicable to our work, and so we are extremely thankful to our community for their support! From winter clothing drives, to book donations, to pillows, puzzles and parenting support – our partners continue to be incredibly generous. Winter in the winelands is a trying...
The Anna Foundation’s afterschool programmes are located on various working farms throughout the Western Cape, and the majority of our learners are farm workers’ children. Having grown up on the farm, the children are accustomed to sights of the surrounding vineyards and the visitors entering the tasting rooms, but many of them have not put together the entire puzzle of what exactly is happening around them. This past term, we collaborated with our agricultural partners to organize educational farm tours...
Community work is a team effort! In the first semester of 2022, the Anna Foundation have had the incredible pleasure of welcoming a handful of students from the University of Stellenbosch on board as helpful members of our volunteer team. These willing students have happily chosen to invest their time, skills and resources into the lives of our learners in a variety of different ways. Estelle de Villiers is a post-graduate psychology student who volunteers every Tuesday afternoon by hosting an...