Annual Holiday Club a saving grace

With the winter school holidays around the corner, Community Ministries Muldersdrift is gearing up for the 17th Holiday Club, aiming to once again reach 1 200 children in the area.

Sam Ngoma, spokesperson for the Muldersdrift Communication Action Group and head of Community Ministries, said over the last 17 years the Holiday Club has made a profound impact not only in the 13 000 children who have attended the Club, but also the community.

“The club offers a wonderful safe haven for these kids where they can keep off the streets and learn, play and develop essential life skills. We also train young leaders to run the programme,” Sam said.

The project trains 70 to 180 high school pupils leadership skills to run the project with primary school children. Various stakeholders provide transport, directorship, prayer and food for the leaders and the children.

The club caters for children aged between four and 14 years old over five days at nine different sites in and around Muldersdrift.

At the sites, cooks and several serving volunteers provide meals for the children each day.

“The club is a structured programme that includes spiritual teachings, sports, arts and crafts activities, and games that enhance motor skills and life skills.”

For the first 13 years the Holiday Club was a centralised operation. Buses were hired to transport children from the community to the centralised Community Ministries building. In 2010, the programme was amended and various stakeholders got involved to share responsibilities resulting in more children being reached due to proximity of the venues to their homes.

“Now there is no need for children to wake up early to catch the bus; leaders get to stay at home and accompany the children to the venues, the programme starts later in the day and finishes later and this enables all children to benefit fully from the programme.

“Most of these children have no access to recreation facilities and designed programmes that keep them occupied during the school holidays. By being part of the Holiday Club, they have something to look forward to at least once a year for five days. The Club gives these children skills that enable them to go through life knowing their identity and life purpose. One of the original attendees is now a successful businessman, politician and pastor, 42 youths who have been impacted by Holiday Club have been accepted into Monash University and 24 others have been employed by various companies in the Johannesburg area.”

Sam said funding for the project is always a challenge as there is always a shortage of adequate resources, finances and volunteers.

“A number of excellent community fundraising initiatives are active in the Muldersdrift area and we thank all those who so willingly have given to these worthy causes. We once again call on businesses, NGOs and members of the public to help us in whatever way they can to make our 2015 Holiday Club a success,” he concluded.

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