South African Wellness Studio

Dear Universal Promise Donors:

As part of our membership in GlobalGiving, we are asked to write regular reports to update you on the project to which you donated. We appreciate this opportunity to thank you, again, for your support of our efforts in South Africa and to share with you the status of the initiative.

As I mentioned in a previous report, COVID-19 has done its best to derail and demoralize the entire world, but resilience and creativity have found ways to interrupt the virus’s path whenever possible. As such, we have carried on with our efforts at Samkelwe Senior Secondary School (SSSS), as evidenced by the attached photographs of our newly installed 33-station computer laboratory there. The lab comes with state-of-the-art laptops, curricular software, Internet, an interactive white board, a Computer Lab Coordinator, and training for all adults and students. As one student said, “It is as if you are willing us to come to school, to make us stronger, to help us study harder and get an education, and to change our lives.”

With respect to “your” Wellness and After School Program, as you know, Universal Promise collaborates with schools in a rare and effective way. We ask all school stakeholders to share their Top 10 wishes for change, and then we sit with administrators to prioritize those wishes, all of which must focus on education. Of utmost importance is our agreement that the school will take ownership of the initiative. The educators and students must do the same, and then Universal Promise will follow suit. The purpose is to inspire ownership, pride, and sustainability.

Toward that end, we have asked SSSS to craft and present to Universal Promise the following improvements, all of which will address needs locals have repeatedly expressed and Universal Promise has witnessed throughout our 13 years visiting the community.

1. build a strong relationship with social workers to support SSSS students

2. complete Form-22, which reports cases of students struggling at school or elsewhere

3. create a school anti-drug program to reduce the presence of drugs

4. create an intervention program to get help for learners struggling with drug usage

5. collaborate with UP to institute wellness guest speakers and field-trips

6. collaborate with UP to attract facilitators for the After School Program

7. institute environmentally friendly programs, including recycling and campus-wide clean-ups

We believe these protocols, their implementation, and evidence of their impact will meet the standard of mutual accountability, at which point Universal Promise will advance the Wellness Program, the After School Program, and classroom renovations. 

This, of course, takes time, but we firmly believe that such patience instills accountability and pride and eliminates a hand-out mentality, which is often more harmful than helpful.

So, we thank you for your past support, would welcome your future support, and would appreciate your forwarding news of this project to colleagues, family, and friends who may, like you, be able to make a difference. Furthermore, if you work for a company that offers matching grants or has a philanthropic arm, we ask that you reach out to them, too, on our behalf.

Best wishes for a happier, healthier, and more travel-oriented (!) 2021. 

Sincerely yours,

Martha (aka Nobuntu) Cummings