My Visit to Holy Cross

Spending time at Holy Cross with the children we support was clearly the highlight of my recent trip to South Africa.  Two others from Eugene, Janis McDonald and Sally Grosscup, spent a few days there as well and were very touched by the children's joy and warmth.  Although the problems in the region seem insurmountable, with an HIV rate as high as anywhere in the world and the unemployment rate even higher, Holy Cross is bringing support, comfort, and hope to the children and families in the region.  I wish you all could visit to meet the children you are supporting.

Lindsey says there is always one child who steals her heart each time she visits Holy Cross.  For me this time, that child was Sqiniseko.  Sqiniseko is 3 1/2 years old, though he looks much younger, and a sweet, bright little boy.  He and his sister, Ntando, who is 8, came to Holy Cross last December after their mother died and have been living there since.  Sqiniseko had pneumonia and chicken pox when he arrived and both children were suffering from malnutrition. Sqiniseko is also HIV positive.  After receiving care and counseling, both children are doing well.  Sqiniseko is on a waiting list for anti-retro virals but it often takes a long time to get them, especially for children.  He is currently receiving herbal treatments, developed by Sister Priscilla and a local university, to address his symptoms.  Ntando went in for HIV testing the last day of our visit but I have yet to hear the results. 

Thembanathi's Support for Holy Cross

Sister Priscilla and I discussed what we will fund this year and want to share it with you.  We will continue to support the salary of the driver who brings approximately 100 children to the creche (day care center) at Holy Cross each day, but primarily our funding this year will go to support four satellite centers that provide food and childcare for children in remote areas.  Holy Cross provides services to is very large region, and it is not possible to bring many of the children to the main creche.  We will pay the salaries of the child minders, cooks, and security guards at the centers.  We will also fund food for all four centers and a feeding center in a different location.  Additionally, Sister Priscilla has asked us to help her establish two new centers.  We will provide funding for the foundations of the buildings, furniture, and other supplies, plus we will pay training the child minders who will work there. 

Radio Uncle - When I was at Holy Cross, I had a chance to watch a young man named Sam who was hired to teach music and dance to the children.  He is amazing with the children and they clearly love their time with him. They call him their "radio uncle."  Sister Priscilla believes his work serves as therapy for the children and I can see why.  We discussed increasing his hours and expanding his work to the satellite sites. We will pay for the two additional days he has agreed to work.  (Sam also spends time in the hospice playing music for the patients there, which is a real comfort to them.)

New Challenge - Sister Priscilla talked with me about wanting to open two additional feeding centers and to hire a nurse who can go out to the areas of the satellite centers.  The nurses earn a relatively large salary for the area (8,000 rand  or about $1,000 per month).  The feeding centers would require start up costs and then food, cooks, and security (currently, the monthly cost for one center is about $300).  I would love to be able to assist her.  Let me know if you have any ideas for how to raise more funds or know of a funding source I should contact.

To continue the funding we have been providing Holy Cross for the last five years, and hopefully to increase it, I need your assistance.  You can help by hosting jewelry and craft sales or by making direct donations to Thembanathi.  Checks should be made out to Orphans Against AIDS and sent to me at 1452 Barber Drive, Eugene OR 97405.  You can also donate online at the Orphans Against AIDS website.  If you donate through the website, I'd appreciate an email letting me know you have donated, so I can send you a receipt for taxes.

Thank you again for your continued support,

Helen Towle