TSHEDISANANG MISSION:
To provide income-generating opportunities for the caregivers of the children at Morning Star Children's Centre, enabling them to sustain their own families and, at the same time, to care and pray for one another.

TSHEDISANANG PRIMARY GOAL:
To provide meaningful and creative income generating activities for the mothers and carers of the children attending Morning Star.
To provide the women with a strong support base so that they can speak openly about their problems and reveal their HIV/AIDS status in safety.
To instill hope into formerly hopeless situations and give women a renewed desire to make the most of their lives.

HOW YOU CAN HELP TSHEDISANANG:
By supporting this project through purchasing their products, you give our mothers hope, dignity and sustenance in their struggle to survive.
Tshedisanang Women's Project aims to promote awareness and education about HIV/AIDS
Your purchases support these women in their struggle against HIV/AIDS.
We seek primarily to promote the sale of our handiwork and secondarily, financial support.

Tel: +27 (0)57 352-5176
Email: morningstar@wol.co.za

DONATIONS:

Tshedisanang
Standard Bank
Welkom Branch
Branch Code - 05553545
Cheque Account Number: 040184080

HAVE YOUR CHILDREN OUT GROWN LAST YEARS CLOTHES?

DO YOU WANT TO PASS CLOTHES ON TO A CHILD WHO DESPERATELY NEEDS THEM?

We would like to put you in contact with a child who desperately needs the clothes that your child has outgrown- and all it will cost you is the postage. We ask for a minimum of 2 parcels each year- one to arrive by March for the cold winter, and one by October with a summer outfit. Any additional parcels or presents are always welcomed.

SPONSOR A CHILD:

We will send you a photo of a child who is 12 months younger than your own child so that as they out grow their clothes you can send a few of them to South Africa. In return you will receive regular news letters updating you on the child’s health and well being. Many of the older children also write to their sponsors in the UK.If you require further information or would like to sponsor a child by providing some clothing, please contact Juliet on 01283-841029 (UK enquiries only) or contact Joan Adams on +27 (0)57-352-5176 (SA & Int. enquiries).
A Morning Star video is also available to borrow if you would like to know more about this project.

INCOME GENERATING PROJECTS: Tshedisanang | Food Garden Project | Waste Recycling Project| Baking Project

TSHEDISANANG:

 "Tshedisanang" a Sotho word meaning 'to comfort and console', is a women's project in the heart of the Free State. It was initiated in September 2001 and falls under the umbrella of Morning Star Children's Centre, Welkom.

The women benefiting from Tshedisanang, all infected/affected by HIV/AIDS themselves, are skilled in hand embroidery and beadwork and produce the most exquisite wall hangings, jewellery, table cloths, clothing, to name a few. Their work is finding ready markets in America, England, Germany, Spain and Australia. 70% of all sales go to the women, with 30% being retained for material supplies, thus ensuring project sustainability.

For more information, visit the Tshedisanang website: http://www.tshedisanang.org.za

FOOD GARDEN PROJECT:

- Growing vegetables to live off and also to earn an income from
- read article on how people have won Awards through this project...
- Families have also been taught how to grow their own vegetables at home.
- A 6-month training programme on trench gardening is on offer annually.

TOWNSHIP DAY CARE CENTRE: KUTLWANONG:

A new Day Care Centre in Kutlwanong, replicating the services of the Morning Star Children's Centre in Welkom. Currently extensions are being made to accommodate teaching more children.

To access the Kutlwanong website - click here

VOLUNTEERS:

The particular, ongoing benefits at Morning Star include 2 nutritious meals per day, mid-morning and afternoon snacks, free access and transport to and from our Centre, appropriate and ongoing free medication and doctor consultations if/when necessary, well-structured preschool program with stimulating activities, music and art, as well as spiritual and emotional support for the children and their families. Volunteers are being used to assist the personnel with the daily programme and many are showing interest in helping to raise funds.

Process in admitting children:
Criteria for admission is that the child must be HIV positive. A blood test to determine the HIV status is done upon arrival. Of the 400+ tested since inception, just less than half proved positive and gained admittance onto our program. Morning Star Centre’s initial referrals came from the regional hospital, the community clinics and the hospices. But, as our services have become better known, an increasing number of people seek our assistance purely through word of mouth or as a result of media coverage. Optimum care and supervision in the form of nutritious meals, appropriate medication, plenty of mental stimulation and lots of love is of utmost importance at the Centre.

A pre-school programme is in place for the older children every morning, while the babies are bathed and fed. Children are collected from their homes in 2 shifts every day, the first arriving at 9:00 and returning at 15:00 and the second at 10:00 and taken back at 16:00. Thanks to AngloGold, a Microbus was donated to Morning Star Centre for this specific purpose....

VOLUNTEER WORK TO DATE:

A group of up to 25 volunteers assists at Morning Star every week. They are allocated certain days/hours to help at the Centre and work without expecting reimbursement at all. Their input includes assistance with meal preparation, feeding the toddlers and babies, cleaning our premises, sorting and mending clothes, working in the garden and stimulating the children.
There is also a monthly Support Group Meeting for the parents and families taking care of the children at home and where information relating to HIV/AIDS and the care of small children is shared.
The development of a food bank at the Centre caters for our children and, where necessary, to other poverty-stricken families of our region as well.

There are also ongoing training courses in HIV/AIDS, basic life-skills and gardening methods to empower the local community.

Plans for replicating Morning Star Children’s Centre in our surrounding black townships is currently underway. Our Organisation relies totally on donations, major grants and fundraising projects for its financial sustainability. The Public can be involved in the invaluable work at Morning Star Centre by volunteering, i.e.: help with feeding the babies, assist with playing with the children, make a once-off donation, "adopt-a-child", pledge a fixed amount each month to assist with a child's ongoing needs, donate secondhand clothing, or pledge a regular monthly figure for general use.

Our staff and volunteers provide ongoing HIV/Aids education in the Townships. No visitors to Morning Star leave uneducated nor any invitation to speak at schools, churches or other functions turned down. Our professional nurse, Sister Patricia Mbuli, also visits and speaks to the mothers of hospitalized children at Bongani Hospital each week.

WORKSHOPS: Welkom area

For more details on our workshops, or if you would like to personally be informed, please contact Joan Adams or Sister Patricia Mbuli