Projects
here is more details on some of our past projects
We still working on the website and will be adding more soon
The Sanitary pads Drive
The Sanitary pads Drive, 18th July- Mandela day, was an event organized by Bathandwa’s Siyo, an active University Fort Hare student and resident of Boldpoint, Hogback.
She raised funds to purchase large quantities of pads, met and addressed two groups of girls, and allowed for a good Q & A session.
20 girls at Jikani & 35 girls during the camp at Hobbiton.
These girls were very appreciative of the toiletries that they received.
Birthday of the oldest resident in Hogback
Celebrating the birthday of the oldest resident of Hogback: Mrs Ketelo. She turned 104 y on the 18th July, sharing her birthday with Mandela. She received a fluffy, warm blanket as her birthday gift from Jikani.
Soup distribution on Mandela day.
Soup distribution on Mandela day. Street vendors and workers on their way home, stopped by and enjoyed a nutritious mug of soup & rolls. A huge thank you to SPAR and Lighthouse restaurant for sponsoring the ingredients.
English classes
Crabbush Primary
A success story: Janelle Kidson, an experienced primary school teacher
& recent newcomer to Hogsback, took over the Wednesday
one hour English
lessons for the grade 7 learners
from the local primary school.
With an approach of learning is
fun, She turned these
sessions into a creative
learning experience for the learners.
The local Book Club donated
English-Xhosa dictionaries to each learner.
Alba & Dave kindly donated
crayons, coloring in pencils
, glue, stickers and all kinds of interesting learning resources which proved to be very welcome and handy.The Cape Parrot Project donated readers, called Zeek & Squeak, artistically illustrated, which the learners
enjoy.
Trauma Counseling
Every society has situations and scenarios that they would rather not speak out about. Even in beautiful Hogsback, we have had a horrible
incident that left a group of Xhosa ladies badly traumatized.
Jikani stepped in with offering trauma counseling done by a wise and mature Social Worker by the name of Linda Vara. Transport for both the clients and the counsellor was provided. A suitable private venue
was made available.
Linda is still monitoring the situation and is keeping contact with each of these ladies.
Jikani wants to express its appreciation for this offer of love that Linda provided in an hour of great need.
The Hogsback Library
Situated at the bottom of the Arminel
property is a small, now dilapidated, rondavel in Redcoat
Lane.
This was the home of the Hogsback Library for many
years. In the early days, 1940’s the cool rondavel was used
as a butchery.
The railway bus visited Hogsback a couple of
times a week from Alice or Cathcart bringing meat ,supplies
and post etc to the small shop nearby,The Handy Log Cabin.
Eventually, the building became a
Provincial Library with books supplied by the travelling
library bus and changed quite regularly. It has always been
run by volunteers from the community. It is open for an hour
twice a week.
Over the years local book readers, book clubs
and Hogsback friends had added to the collection supplied by
the Library services and the library was bursting at the seams. In 2018 the property was in need of
rethatching as a result of baboon damage and Jikani had just
completed the building of the planned reading facility.
An
offer was made for us to relocate to the new warm, large
facility. In two hours one morning a team of local folk
together dismantled the shelving, packed the books and moved
everything into the new building before a heavy storm hit the
village.
Over the years there have been a number of
attempts to attract the children of the village to establish a
culture of reading.
We have a well stocked children’s section
visited regularly by a play group and their mums and once a
week the Grade 7 children from Crabbush come for a computer
lesson at Jikani and a comprehension, and story lesson in the
Library/ reading room with an enthusiastic volunteer
teacher. Occasional lectures and talks of general interest
have been offered In these days of TV, computers, mobile
phones and plenty of instant entertainment we have this
wonderful facility catering for a relatively small number of
dedicated readers. There is no charge for borrowing books,
only a small fine for overdue books.
There is plenty to
satisfy all tastes; fiction , non-fiction, reference , jigsaw
puzzles and a warm welcoming atmosphere where one can spend an
hour browsing on Wednesday afternoon from 2-3pm and Saturday
from 9.30 to 10.30 am .
The history of Shwe-shwe
The history of Shwe-shwe: The
local name shwe-shwe is derived from the fabric’s association with Lesotho’s
King Moshoeshoe I, also spelled “Moshweshwe”. This king was gifted with the
fabric by French missionaries in the 1840s and subsequently popularized.Shwe-shwe
is a printed dyed cotton fabric widely used for traditional SA clothing. Originally
dyed indigo, the fabric is manufactured in a variety of colours and printing
designs characterized by intricate geometric patterns.
The
local textile industry is produced by Da Gama Textiles, King William’s Town. Jikani
decided to use this fabric: o support local- to make shopping bags in an effort to move
away from plastic- As the fabric of choice for other articles
i.e.place mats, cushion covers, aprons and table runners.
