Project: Etafeni 
MAMA: Zandi  
Started in: 2001 
Partner since: 2015 
Location: Township Nyanga, Western Cape
Number of children: 154 (supported by MAMAS), 6.000 (total)  
Special because: Etafeni means 'open space' and that is how the project started.

In 2001, the Etafeni Trust was founded in Nyanga, Western Cape, in response to the high number of children losing their parents to HIV/AIDS. Originally, the Etafeni Playgroup Project was started to cater to the needs of small children on the streets with no playgroups or preschool. In 2001, the Playgroup Project educators began to voice their concern about the children in their care whose parents were dying and in December of that year, together with Lifeline/Childline, the Etafeni Day Care Centre Trust was founded.

The entire community benefits

Since its inception, it was always understood that the needs of the wider community in Nyanga (lack of skills, unemployment, ignorance about HIV, no access to resources) would be factored into any service offered to AIDS-affected and vulnerable children and their caregivers. For instance, 50 community members, men and women, were trained as builders and built the centre. And as the centre took shape, the programmes were staffed predominantly by local community members. Today, there are over 120 staff members and many programmes that serve the entire community.

Programmes

Amongst the programmes, there is a preschool for children aged 2-6 years old, and after-school and OVC care for children aged 6-12 years old. There are two Fit for Life, Fit for Work programmes; a Junior Fit for Life, Fit for Work programme for children aged 12-18 and a programme for unemployed school-leavers aged 18-25 years old. An organic food garden and household food gardens provide food and a dietician is responsible for all malnourished children in Nyanga under the age of 5. There is a Women’s Wellness Programme for HIV+ and destitute mothers, a lay counsellor and community care worker programme based in local health facilities and a Family Matters programme to delay the age of sexual debut.