Visiting Ikhaya Labantu

Would you like to visit Ikhaya Labantu? Get taken out of your comfort zone and learn something outside the UK’s material world?

Khokela UK organises regular trips to visit Ikhaya Labantu, and we are always looking for skilled volunteers who wish to participate.

We are working to develop the sustainability of the shelter long term, encouraging UK-South Africa partnerships that enable people to fly out and give something worthwhile, at the same time as receiving a cross-cultural experience of equal benefit. We aim to build enduring relationships, so whilst some visits may be one-off, we want to see the benefits and connections continue to flourish.

Having the means to pay your own way would be beneficial for the purposes of these visits. Once you are in Cape Town we will to work with you to provide as much support as you need to ensure you experience the full richness and diversity of South Africa. Our aim is to ensure that you receive as much you are giving by way of experience, friendship and fun!

Current priorities at the shelter that we are seeking to address include

• Fixing the electrics in the dormitories;
• Fixing the laundry’s plumbing; fixing the showers and toilets in the shelter;
• Constructing some basic storage units for shelter residents;
• Replacing roofing panels over parts of the shelter.

If you want to travel out in person to get involved in sorting these issues out or have relevant knowledge, resources or contacts you want to share please get in touch at khokelamanagement@live.co.uk.

Capetown Reflections

The Khokela team recently returned from a fortnight in Cape Town . We spent much of our time in the township of Langa getting to know our colleagues at Ikhaya Labantu and the children and adults who use their services. We worked closely with the management team to draw up a list of priorities we can work on together. This will inform the design of upcoming volunteer trips linking the UK and Cape Town. We also got stuck into work on some pressing tasks around the site. This is a brief account of our time there.

We enjoyed fantastic hospitality, being treated to a traditional South African meal and invited out on a stroll around the township with some of the shelter residents as part of our own learning and development during the trip. We also had the opportunity to visit Robben Island Prison, where Nelson Mandela and other political prisoners were incarcerated during Apartheid, and explore the beautiful coastline of the region. These experiences served to illustrate the contrasts that exist in Cape Town; wealth and natural beauty co exist with extremes of economic deprivation and social exclusion and an oppressive, fractured past is matched by the hopes for a prosperous, united future.



Ikhaya Labantu works within Langa, the oldest of the suburban Townships in the Greater Cape Town area, to aid and develop the community, especially those in most need, primarily through offering crèche services to local children and housing to the homeless. Most local residents are of the Xhosa people, though we met people on our trip from all over the African sub continent, and in particular neighbouring Southern African Countries such as Botswana, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. There was no doubt that for people staying at the Shelter, Ikhaya Labantu is a Home, not just a place to stay. It was fantastic getting to know residents, hearing their stories and learning more about South African culture and history from people who live it.

Kitchen: With contributions supporters gave at our December event in London see previous posts) we were able to purchase two new gas burners to replace the ageing model that was being used in the shelter to cook. This has now been installed and is being used daily to cook for residents. We were able to transport donations of wheelchairs and clothes graciously provided by supporters in the UK and South Africa to the shelter.

Education: Ikhaya Labantu is going to begin running adult education classes for shelter residents and other local people. To support this new area of work we brought with us some printed learning materials in Information Technology, Literacy and Numeracy. Whilst in Cape Town we also acquired a storage cupboard, chairs and white board to furnish the room on site chosen for teaching.

Garden: On the second Sunday of our visit volunteers from the University of Cape Town joined us along with volunteers with the shelter to work on the garden area, originally installed by a visitor from the UK early last year. Last winter this yielded a healthy harvest of fresh vegetables for residents. Rubbish and weeds were cleared and a new fence erected to divide the garden and crèche and the UCT team has committed to visiting regularly to ensure the garden is cultivated.

Overall this was a really valuable experience, and we were privileged to have the opportunity to travel to Cape Town and share in the work of Ikhaya Labantu. The spirit and commitment of the volunteers that make its work possible is extremely motivating.



THANK YOU!
As a team we were aided in our endeavours by a number of supportive individuals and organisations. We would like to proffer big Thank Yous to
• Nobuntu & Nthombe Nkanyuza, Karen Belgians, Lungelo & all at Ikhaya Labantu
• Waltons Stationery
• Plastics For Africa
• Peter de La Cornillere & Bellville Rotary Club
• Brian Bohlmann & Claremont Rotary Club
• Jake Hoffman and The University of Cape Town ‘Reach Every Street’ Society
• Noloyiso Mtana
• Ben Baldock at New Look UK
• All who attended, performed and donated at the ‘Away in a Shelter’ Fundraiser

Whats Next
There are a number of larger needs which we will be recruiting volunteers to help address on upcoming visits. Watch this space for imminent advertising of these opportunities and for further updates on our work with Ikhaya Labantu.