The ladies of
SIYATHUTHUKA Obanjeni
 
 CESLA supports the ladies of Siyathuthuka Obanjeni as they have already established a basic infrastructure which can be supported allowing maximum use of donations. This group began informally when a group of Zulu women underwent training in basic health care to help combat the rising incidence of disease and needs of patients and HIV/AIDS orphans in the rural area of Obanjeni.

The ladies of Siyathuthuka Obanjeni work with the clinic of Nsingweni is situated on the border of municipal Wards 19 and 20, or Catherine Booth Hospital. The location of the Nsingweni clinic is far from most dwellings in Obanjeni, and it takes most of the day to walk there and back, making it inaccessible to poor and bedridden people. Additionally, l ocal taxi transportation to Catherine Booth or Eshowe Hospital, which is much farther can easily cost $50. This transportation cost alone typically precludes patients from obtaining hospital treatment and medications. These problems causes the indigent patients to remain in their homes and rely on caregivers to help where possible. This makes the services of the ladies of Siyathuthuka Obanjeni an invaluable asset to the area.

CESLA is trying to obtain ATV transportation for the ladies of Siyathuthuke Obanjeni to make their rounds throughout Obanjeni. Future plans are to build a small clinic in Obanjeni.

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WALKING DAILY ROUNDS TO SEE PATIENTS
The ladies of Siyathuthuka Obanjeni walk countless kilometers day in and day out to make their rounds, on foot, to cronically ill patients and AIDS orphans, often living in deplorable conditions.

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The Gift of a Wheelchair
 
 If one looks past the pandemic of HIV / AIDS in Zululand and resultant medical conditions like TB, there is a high incidence of Strokes, especially among the elderly Zulu population.
In the best of cases, victims of stroke face a long rehabilitation and transition time to try and regain their former position in a job or community. For the poor rural population in KwaZulu-Natal, this rehabilitation is nonexhistant! The best a stroke victim can hope for is care by an extended family. With KwaZUlu-Natal suffering the extreme effects of HIV / AIDS, extended families are becoming extinct. People suffering with stroke are typically incontinent and disposable adult "nappies" are not available. Blankets and rags are used and need to be hand-washed daily for re-use later. They are often restricted to a single room in their homes or the dark interior of a rondoval.
In late 2007 we were taken to visit with many stroke victims. Though many wheelchairs were needed CESLA saw that one wheelchair for a particular individual would not only the stroke vicitm, but his extended family. A wheelchair allowed this particular stroke vicitm to be brought out of his dark rondoval, but, the major impact was that this trained mason could now pass on his skills to his son, and an extended family of 20 people can have the extended gift of at least one meal a day! Please help CESLA pass on the gift of wheelchairs!

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THE GIFT OF A WHEELCHAIR

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In South Africa, the impact of poverty, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, has created an alarming increase of child-headed households. In Obanjeni, most of the orphans and vulnerable children have been incorporated into existing families in the Zulu custom of sharing, or 'ubuntu', when a community member is in need. Most of these families are poor and are unable to provide proper education, clothing and food for everyone.

FEEDING SCHEME FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN AT NJABULWENI SCHOOL
CESLA provided for the start up for Siyathuthuka Obanjeni to begin a feeding scheme for 145 HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children who attend the school. Providing the children with nourishing food, three times a week, will help with their physical growth and learning ability. To date CESLA is still providing alarge portion of the funds needed to continue this feeding program. In the future CESLA plans to extend this feeding scheme to other schools in Obanjeni where 800 to 1000 orphans and vulnerable children are receiving little sustenance.

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THE BEGINNING OF A "FEEDING-STATION"
145 AIDS Orphans were identified from the Njabulweni Primary school were the first of Obanjeni's OVC's to be part of a feeding-station. The food that these children will bee the only guaranteed sustenance that they can count on each week!

School Uniforms
 
CESLA was abe to identify orphans or vulnerable children, through Siyathuthuka Obanjeni, who needed school uniforms. They listed 222, later expanded to 270 children for the uniform project and received the first batch of uniforms in January 2008. CESLA hopes to deliver all of these uniforms by May 2008.

The orphans’ names are listed to ensure that the correct children received the donations.
Hand over of items usually takes place at the Obanjeni Community Hall where a hot meal is provided by the caregivers. The cost of feeding 300 orphans amounts to R1 700.00 for one meal.
The Obanjeni Community Hall can be freely used by all members of the community and is easily accessible from the main road. It is suitable for "giving-parties" to handover large quantities of donations such as clothing or provide a celebration party, however it is impractical for distributing regular food parcels and running a feeding scheme, as the children have to walk far from different directions.

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SIYABONGA CESLA - (Thank You CESLA)
Just four of the AIDS orphans who received their uniforms in the area of Obanjeni.

Obanjeni is located in Ward 20 in the south-central area of the uMlalazi Municipality of the uThungulu Regio, an area considered as “being tribal authority land.” uMlalazi Local Municipality is part of the northern Indian Ocean coast of KwaZulu-Natal ranging south of the harbour of Richards Bay. uMlalazi Area has a number of challenges that require addressing:

A typical homestead is comprised of three to five single-roomed buildings, grouped together in a 'kraal'. Homes are built from mud with thatched roofs or concrete blocks with corrugated iron roofs. A family can consist of eight to fifteen members depending on how many relatives they have and the income they receive. Unemployment is high and most families survive on an annual pension for the elderly and subsistence farming with 'mielies' (corn), pumpkin, potatoes, spinach, beans, bananas, mangoes and sugar cane. Market gardening depends on availability of water – some people have access to tap water whilst others have to walk long distances carrying containers on their heads.

The uMlalazi Local Municipality itself indicates that there are “serious disparities that prevail between the availability of basic services in respect of the rural communities in particular, with water, sanitation and electricity being he most important ones.” In Obanjeni, a rural community, the most used source of energy for cooking in households is wood, the most used source for lighting in households are candles, the primary water source to households is a dam/river/stream/spring, followed by standpipe remote taps/standpipes. In respect of sanitation 51% of households have pit latrines, 23% a bucket latrine and 15% nothing. In regards to transportation only 32% of households have access to puplic roads, either tar or gravel.
The central area of Obanjeni has a tarred through-road with electricity supply, however, many families cannot afford to pay the costs of electricity.  All other access roads between homesteads and valleys are dirt tracks which pose a problem in the rainy season.  Electricity and a regular water supply do not reach the outlying areas.