In August 2005, St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Poolesville, Maryland joined with their new friends in Richmond, South Africa to open a soup kitchen for children and thus a partnership was born. Since that time, this alliance has grown to include Rotary International, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Christ Church in Rockville, Maryland, the Monocacy Lion's Club of Poolesville, the Anglican Church in Standbridge East, Quebec, Canada and concerned individuals around the world. Adopting a community of 9,000 people with an unemployment rate of more than 70% and an HIV infection rate in excess of 35% is a daunting task. Together we have brought an element of peace and love to one small place on earth. Given the overwhelming needs, our efforts have been focused in several key areas, including nutrition, health, sanitation and employment. Together we are making a difference, one person at a time.

Nutrition

Soup Kitchen
The Soup Kitchen, our first effort in August 2005, has provided a nutritious afternoon meal to Richmond's needy youth for more than two years. The Soup Kitchen led to a host of local partners coming together on all sides of the community to address this local need. Local companies and individuals donated bowls and cups. Black, colored and white members of the local churches come together to make the soup and prepare the sandwiches. Local farmers donate vegetables and meat, while a butcher donates bones for the stock. A local bakery provides bread at a discount. A new hand washing station was recently installed at the soup kitchen so that the kids are able to wash their hands before their meal. Our efforts have not only met an important community need, but also have helped strengthen partnerships and alliances across ethnic, class and racial boundaries amongst the community.

In 2008 we are moving the Soup Kitchen and our nutritional efforts to the next level of efficacy. We feel it is critical to our work in nutrition to be better coordinated with our Health and HIV outreach efforts. In late 2007, the management of the soup kitchen was taken over by our HIV outreach workers in order to provide better oversight and coordination.  Starting in 2008, the soup kitchen will be located next door to the HIV outreach offices in the newly renovated community center at the soccer grounds. Now the children of Richmond will be able to have a safe place after school where they can get a meal, find recreational activities and educational materials such as books from the newly established community bookmobile. Providing nutritional enrichment for the youth of Richmond is a cornerstone of our entire effort in Richmond.

Home Gardens
Richmond is located in a very dry part of South Africa and water intensive agricultural operations are limited. We ran a program utilizing a "low water usage" home garden system developed by the Adventists. The systems, complete with seeds and worms, are designed to provide a family of four with an ample supply of fresh vegetables. We had a 50% success rate in our initial trials, but widespread use of this system, given the climate and limited oversight, may not be the best use of future resources. 

We have begun to support larger gardens in central locations. 

• The Sabelo Women’s Project has a garden associated with the sewing center that serves as a resource for the workers and their families.
  
• Using the systems we purchased, we recently started a vegetable garden for the soup kitchen to provide some vegetables, but also to emphasize to the youth the connection between fresh vegetables and their own nutritional well-being. Some of the youth will work in the garden and help grow the food that will feed them and their friends.
  
• A larger future project is to explore a larger central community garden in greenhouses. This plan would use scarce water resources as efficiently as possible to provide the maximum amount of fresh vegetables. Again the plan is to train residents in the essential life skills of producing food for a community struggling to survive with historically high unemployment, poverty and devastation from HIV.

HEALTH - HIV/AIDS

Outreach Efforts
The issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa are immense. Richmond's HIV/AIDS infection rate is estimated to be greater than 35%. Local resistance to testing to determine actual HIV rates of infection, as well as the inability to provide follow-up support services, is problematic. Since 2006 we have been funding HIV outreach efforts in Richmond. Direct care providers are the vital link between the government health clinic and the sick individuals in their homes. Three trained healthcare providers visit homes in Richmond to bring medicines and support to those who have been identified as HIV positive and have sought help.  Many residents are reluctant to go to the clinic due to the stigma of HIV/AIDS within the community. Our partners together with other outreach workers also help run an HIV/AIDS support group. They are also now helping to run the soup kitchen, as good nutrition is an important component in the treatment of HIV/AIDS. We plan to provide more training for the healthcare workers and to continue our support for salaries for these providers.

HIV Education for Richmond’s Youth
Working together with the Dutch Reformed Church, St. Mathew's Anglican Church, Rotary International and our other partners, we hope to increase participation in youth programs that emphasize HIV/AIDS awareness and education.  The cornerstone of this new effort is to bring Grassroot Soccer (grassrootsoccer.org) to Richmond in 2008. During June of 2007, a companion group to Grassroot Soccer, Goals4Girls, sent 15 high school girls from the Washington, DC area to Richmond to build fellowship and introduce innovative concepts in teaching the youth about the dangers of high risk behavior related to drugs, alcohol, peer pressure and sex. We are working with Grassroot Soccer to establish an innovative program in Richmond that would train local community members in the black and colored communities to use soccer as a medium to teach and reinforce life skills that encourage the youth to avoid high-risk behavior. By starting early with the youth, we feel that our efforts can have the greatest impact. Grassroot Soccer has the proven curriculum and with our community connections we have the perfect opportunity for success. 

We have observed and heard from residents that Richmond suffers from a lack of community pride. To help address this problem we are working to develop a Community Center that will provide a safe and secure environment for the youth of Richmond. By renovating the existing soccer facility, we will have a central location in the community to foster community pride through activities and programs. Clean bathrooms, a soup kitchen, indoor recreational areas and a youth library are just several of the important ingredients of this effort.

Upgrading Local Health Care Options
In 2008, our efforts to augment the local healthcare system will reach new heights through the efforts of our medical outreach team. Doctors, nurses, physicians’ assistants and other healthcare providers have come forward to volunteer their time. They are currently working with our Richmond partners to develop an understanding of how we can best provide direct support, training and supplies to the Richmond healthcare providers. We are being careful to respect their knowledge of the community and to provide the help that they feel is needed.

Sanitation

Community Toilets
The lack of proper sanitation in Richmond seems partly connected to Richmond's core problem, the lack of personal and community pride. While Richmond has a sewage treatment plant, a potable water system and sewer pipes in place, sanitation in the community is sorely lacking. The Anglican Church was a “two-bucket” congregation even though the sewer line was only 100 meters away. We have upgraded their bathrooms, running sewer and water lines and installing two new flush toilets with toilet paper, holders and a hand sink.

Hand-washing stations were installed at the soup kitchen, an important part of reinforcing basic sanitation practices among the youth of Richmond.

At the newly renovated community center at the soccer stadium, we have refurbished the existing bathrooms and locker rooms.

In 2006, the high school had one operable toilet to serve more than 200 students and teachers. With the help of Rotary International and the Dutch Reformed Church we renovated all the bathrooms in the high school to provide clean and sanitary facilities for students and teachers alike. Lack of funds, as well as the apparent view of sanitation as a low priority, resulted in the deterioration of these facilities. By setting a good example and prioritizing our spending, we have helped the citizens of Richmond to fully appreciate the importance of sanitation for the health of the youth and the entire community.

In 2008, the Squatters' Camp is earmarked to be relocated to a permanent location. Since our arrival in 2005 we have used our influence to push this project forward. The current collection of 128 tin, plastic and cardboard homes with no running water and crude sanitation are to be replaced with government built masonry homes. Rotary International and our other local partners have worked with the government to assure that this effort remains a top priority. In 2006, we applied for and received a $40,000 grant from Rotary International to provide improved sanitation for these new homes for the squatters. When the homes are completed later this year, Rotary International will help provide critical funding for improved sanitation for these residents and their new homes.  In order to get funding we needed local South African partners. Our local partner in this project is the Colesberg Rotary Club.  Although Colesberg, South Africa is over an hour away from Richmond and has many of the same problems, this Rotary Club of less than 10 women and men has been a strong supporter of our efforts. Together with the government, we hope to be part of providing better housing and sanitation for Richmond's poorest residents.

Employment

Craft Production
Employment is the largest challenge to address in Richmond. With unemployment over 70%, joblessness feeds the cycle of poverty that grips the population. Our goal is to find opportunities that utilize existing skills to produce a marketable product in order to create jobs. With wool production being the major local farming industry, our initial efforts tried to revive utilization of local woolen craft skills. Local women were employed to wind wool, then this wool would then be woven into sweaters and shawls and sold at local shops on a limited basis. Unfortunately, the skilled workers are few and much of the wool is processed remotely. Nevertheless, the Sabelo Woman’s Project, a local sewing center grew out of this effort. With support from local businesses, the Sabelo Woman’s Project is currently producing place mats, potholders and other items. The women are learning valuable skills not only about how to produce the items, but also about pricing, budgeting and fundamental business practices. Building a base of individuals with the skills necessary to run businesses will greatly enhance the economic sustainability of our efforts.

Brick Production
We have tried to focus on existing businesses and encourage their growth and development to foster job growth. One effort was to encourage the local brick maker to increase production in order to hire more people, and also to meet local demand. Ideally the government will source the bricks for the new homes for the squatters from the local brick maker. His facility is rudimentary, but very effective. Using donkeys to power his mixer he churns out bricks daily. Due to the shortage of capital, he lacks extra raw materials and therefore never has enough stock to meet demand. Local brick demand is met by purchasing from other regional production facilities thus taking much needed capital and jobs away from Richmond. Rather than give the local brick maker a grant or loan, we decided to place a large order. The Rotary Clubs from Frederick, Maryland joined together and purchased 50,000 bricks. This order permitted the brick maker to upgrade his facilities, purchase raw materials, increase production and hire more people. Now with 50,000 bricks in stock he can meet local demand and gear up his facility for larger local orders such as the building of new homes for the squatters. By encouraging local craftsman to grow their business we can at least assure that as much of Richmond capital stays in the community thereby strengthening the local economy and reducing unemployment.

Micro Lending
We have initiated a small micro lending program. In late 2006 we received a donation of some funeral equipment that we in turn sold via a small loan to a local Richmond funeral business to assist in their development. The proceeds of the loan payments will be used to fund future loans to other small businesses. We hope to greatly expand this effort by making equipment available through such loans to encourage the growth of business.

Short-Term Jobs
Most of the jobs we have initiated have been short-term project related jobs. For example, funding the renovation of several homes on the property of St. Matthew's Anglican Church involved roof repairs, major replastering on the interior and exterior and painting both inside and outside, which provided local workers with jobs. The older women who lived in these small homes were grateful to have dry rooms to live in. In addition, we funded structural repairs in the sanctuary of St. Mathew’s. The renovation of the soccer stadium has also provided short-term employment.  In addition to upgrading the bathrooms, we totally renovated the meeting hall at the soccer grounds with new lighting, fans and a fresh coat of paint. The soccer ground was littered with trash and a large number of the windows were smashed. We have cleaned up the trash and debris and fixed all the windows. The soccer stands were repaired and the missing sections of the roof were replaced. Years of neglect had left the soccer facility in dire need of renovation. The soccer grounds are now a community center that everyone can be proud of and the place from which our efforts can be based. Rotary, together with St. Peter’s, the Dutch Reformed Church and concerned individuals funded these short-term employment efforts that will foster long-term community benefits. Providing jobs needs to remain an area of focus.

Social Impacts