Newsletter - Winter 2019
Holiday Greetings from AIAIA President James Cassidy
I am excited to share our second AIAIA Newsletter. I am confident that our publication will be able to highlight the many programs and partnerships that have been developed over the last twenty years. As we approach our 20th anniversary, I find myself thinking back over the many human encounters in the last two decades. I find myself asking questions as to what has been the secret to the success of AIAIA?
The short answer is that AIAIA is committed to putting one foot in front of the other, then doing it again, and again, and again. The following encounter is an example of just how impactful the journey has been for me and countless others that have made the journey to Africa.
I am honored to be pictured with a young child that discovered me in an informal township that was located on a garbage dump. The year was 2006 and I was aware that I was struggling with a bit of a heavy heart that year. In a setting that appeared to be forsaken by a world that only knows abundance, this young child reached out and took hold of my hand and made a choice not to let go. Her unspoken message to me was simply that every thing was going to be OK and that it was important to trust. I have never known her name. I can only guess her age to be now around 20. I know the informal settlement that she lived in was destroyed a few years later. I have wondered if she has a family of her own? In my heart of hearts, I risk wondering if she is actually still alive. Life is complicated. I know that I will never know for sure. What I do know is that her message of hope has never been forgotten.
George Iles, an American novelist, writes that "hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark." I still feel her hand in mine this many years later. I will never forget how this child, living amongst the garbage, came to me and offered a profound message of hope by simply taking hold of my hand. I see this very same message of hope being conveyed by those who make a choice to reach out and financially support the mission of AIAIA. May we keep the spirit of the child alive within all of our hearts.
In gratitude and hope, James Cassidy, President
I am honored to be pictured with a young child that discovered me in an informal township that was located on a garbage dump.
AIAIA Programs
& Partners
Mitchell’s Plain Clinic
MITCHELL’S PLAIN
St. Luke’s Hospice Community Day Hospices
KHAYELISHTA
The Mitchell’s Plain Community Health Centre provides a wide variety of primary health services for free to the community of Mitchell’s Plain and surrounding areas near Cape Town. The clinic is open to any member of the public – no one is turned away. The Arm In Arm delegation delivers knit caps, baby blankets, and clothing for newborns.
Suggested Donation: No assistance needed at this time
Purpose: Support for new mothers
St Luke’s Combined Hospices has nine community hospices located across Cape Town. Each community hospice is made up of volunteers that run the services along with the nurses and social workers. St. Luke’s cares for over 500 patients in their homes every month through these community hospices. Six of the hospices provide day hospice services where patients can spend a morning meeting friends, having a meal and engaging in psychosocial programs and activities with staff and volunteers. AIAIA directly supports the day hospice program in Gugulethu, our ‘home base’ in the Cape Town area.
Suggested Donation: $600
Purpose: John Song Memorial Scholarship (honoring our late Board member) - Funds palliative care instruction for St. Luke's staff
Project Togo delivered much needed clothing
Project Togo
VO-ATUKOUME, TOGO
Project Togo reflects AIAIA’s desire to expand its footprint on the continent, reaching 7,500km to the small West African nation. We conducted our first clothing drive to support Fr. Michel in the village of Vo-Atukoume, the hometown of SJA parishioner Josee Defly. Project Togo became a Family Mass initiative, and more than two dozen boxes were gathered and shipped. Project Togo will maintain its clothing drive in 2020 and provide tuition support to families in the five Catholic schools under Fr. Michel’s direction.
Suggested Donation: $100
Purpose: Provides one year's tuition for 10 students to attend Fr. Michel's Catholic grade school
Arm in Arm food parcels vital to Itipini families
Food Parcels
GUGULETHU, SOWETHO, MALUGENI, UNAKHO CHILDREN’S HOME
Arm in Arm’s food parcels have been at the heart of our programming for 20 years. From an initial cobbling together of 10 parcels to our quarterly distributions of nearly 500 now, our food donations have a huge impact on recipients. As Board member Spiwo Xapile explains, “I talk about the excitement, joy and happiness that comes after the announcement by a member each family that receives food: ‘Come home, food is ready!’ This is the experience of many families after food distribution. This is followed by no worries that children will go to school in an empty stomach and return home to find no food.” Recipients are selected by their neighbors as “most in need” and Spiwo and Olga Xapile, a fellow Board member, directly oversee distribution to ensure the designated families receive their parcels.
Suggested Donation: $250
Purpose: Feeds a family for a year in one of our townships
Comprehensive care for the residents
Missionaries of Charity
KHAYELITSHA
Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity provide loving care for adults with cognitive disabilities. The Missionaries operate a compound in Khayelishta, nearby Cape Town. They also provide a hot meal each day to local villagers in need. The AIAIA delegation visits annually, delivering both financial and spiritual support to these dedicated providers.
Suggested Donation: $500
Purpose: he Missionary Sisters of Charity and their staff provide a warm loving home for men and women with multiple physical and mental challenges.
“I talk about the excitement, joy and happiness that comes after the announcement by a member each family that receives food: ‘Come home, food is ready!”
Touching Acts
MTHATHA, EASTERN CAPE
Touching Acts was created by Yolo Zintle Mehlomakhulu, an inspiring young woman who was recently dubbed the ‘Mother Teresa’ of Itipini (Sowetho) in a newspaper article. Sowetho is a settlement’ of roughly 200 families who shelter on a ramshackle government lot, located beneath a power grid. Yolo and her team have led the fight to get local authorities to pay room and boarding costs at St. Patrick’s, a Catholic boarding school, that offers an education and safety from the violence and drugs rampant in Sowetho. AIAIA enables Yolo’s team to operate a ‘in home’ camp when the kids are on school break, so the continuity of learning continues, and they remain in safe conditions.
Suggested Donation: $300
Purpose: Housing and education for grade school students away from the violence of Sowetho
Institute for the Healing of Memories
CAPE TOWN
Fr. Michael Lapsley, an Anglican priest who lost his arms and the sight of one eye as a result of a letter bomb mailed to him during the apartheid struggle, is familiar to many, having spoken twice at St. Joan’s. Michael started the Institute to contribute to lasting individual and collective healing that makes possible a more peaceful and just future. Since the 1990s, he has facilitated workshops and events that enable people from different racial, religious and social backgrounds to reach a better understanding of themselves and of each other. Arm in Arm in Africa and the Institute for the Healing of Memories have been partners from the outset of our Healthcare programming.
Suggested Donation: $200
Purpose: Sponsors a Healing of Memories Workshop for exploring and acknowledging the emotional wounds carried by nations, communities and individuals
Malugeni
Education Committee
MALUNGENI – EASTERN CAPE
Throughout apartheid, schooling of blacks was limited to a 4th-grade education, giving rise to the multigenerational impact of separate treatment. The impact of these policies was particularly hard felt in rural areas like Malungeni, where AIAIA has worked for more than a decade. Today, activist mothers in the community have organized the Malugeni Education Committee to improve teachers’ wages, enhance learning tools, and provide recreational opportunities for school children. AIAIA works directly with the committee to support the efforts identified as most critical to their children’s learning.
Suggested Donation: $400
Purpose: One month's salary for 2 grade school teachers
F.L.Y.
(Fun Learning for Youth)
GUGULETHU
Fun Learning for Youth (FLY) is made up of young professionals committed to playing a meaningful role in the lives of young learners through volunteering their time and skills. Math and life skills are shared with teens in Gugulethu who are preparing to go off to university or trade school, many entering an integrated environment for the first time. Today, FLY boasts an alumni stretching back to 2013 with university degrees, university of technology diplomas, and even entrepreneurs. FLY is supported by over 30 tutors to deliver on its vision to empower young minds .
Suggested Donation: $350
Purpose: Supports Saturday morning mentoring and meals program for teens preparing for university or trade school
Sizakuyenza
CAPE FLATS
Sizakuyenza became part of the Arm in Arm family in 2019. The social service agency provides free health and wellness services that include a safe house for women and children. AIAIA supports the Victim Empowerment (Safe House) that hosts 20+ adults and 10+ children until they can safely reintegrate into their own communities. Sizakuyenza trains victims of domestic violence in household skills and helps them find employment so that they will be able to support themselves and their families. They also receive one-on-one counseling sessions.
Suggested Donation: $500
Purpose: Provides shelter and job skills training for victims of domestic abuse and their children
Message From Pat Dawson
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Greetings! We’re excited to share our plans for 2020 with you as we head into our 20th anniversary year. It’s also the time of year we ask you to please consider financially supporting these plans.
Throughout this newsletter, you’ll find information about our programs and partners across Food, Healthcare and Education. There is a suggested giving level so you know exactly what your contribution impacts.
These partners are ones Fr. Jim Cassidy, our President, our Board members, and our delegates have engaged with throughout our 20 years in Africa. Some - like St. Luke’s Hospital and the Institution for the Healing of Memories – have partnered with us for more than a decade. Others – like Sizakuyenza (women’s shelter) and Project Togo (clothing and tuition drive) – are new to us in 2019. Arm in Arm has always responded to needs and opportunities when they occur and your support enables that approach.
Lastly, we have canceled the gala and instead will be celebrating our anniversary with various events that will bring together the current friends of AIAIA and new friends. To find out how you can join in, please email pdawson@aiaia.org or call 952-221-5305.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at Arm in Arm!
