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We are working to give rural children a better start in life. We want to support them through their childhood from cradle to career. But poverty in rural South Africa is still widespread and children born into poor families often suffer from so many disadvantages – poor health, poor diet, substandard housing, alcohol and drug abuse, inadequate parenting, lack of stimulation, domestic violence. These sorts of hardships can have a permanent effect on children’s life chances by inhibiting their development during those crucial early years. Without extra help and support they may never catch up and can end up trapped in the same destructive cycle of deprivation and disadvantage as their parents. Our strategy for fighting this kind of poverty trap is based on two essential elements: education and health. Gone are the days when it was possible to fight poverty with one simple project such as a vegetable garden or a sewing group. Poverty will not go away that easily. Experience has shown that if we want to eradicate poverty then we must apply constant, sustained pressure, in a variety of different ways and working with the whole family. So how do we do this? Help the Rural Child is raising money to support projects that improve the living conditions and self-reliance of rural families and their children. We do this by generating income through charity- and second-hand bookshops. The profit made from these shops is then donated to social programmes in poor rural areas.
We believe strongly that a holistic programme that supports children and families through inter-connected projects is the best way to go. That is why we are helping to build and maintain Rural Youth Centres. What happens in Rural Youth Centres? Have a look at some of the work we support in Rural Youth Centres: • Rural nursery schemes
• Parenting classes for expectant mothers
• Alcohol and drug awareness courses to try and prevent Foetal Alcohol Syndrome where babies are born brain damaged as a result of high alcohol consumption during pregnancy
• After school homework clubs
• Sports programmes for rural youth
• At least one nutritious meal a day for nursery and school children
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