Philani Family Fund - Scholarships & emergency housing for South Africa's poor https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/proposals-2013/philani-family-fund-scholarships-emergency-housing-for-south-africas-poor https://grants.dudleytdoughertyfoundation.org/@@site-logo/sitelogo-75x75.png

Philani Family Fund - Scholarships & emergency housing for South Africa's poor

Additional Information
Used for	The grant money will be used to fund one of CHOSA's projects, Philani Family Fund, as it equips families and communities with tools to get themselves out of poverty. To this end, PFF awards bursaries (scholarships) for poor South Africans to continue their education, and funds emergency shelters for families in distress, living in unsafe conditions.
Benefits	Grant money to CHOSA's Philani Family Fund will not only impact families, but entire communities, and the nation of South Africa as a whole. PFF reflects CHOSA’s vision of sustainable development through genuine empowerment, as the fund requires beneficiaries to “pay back” the assistance in some way, either monetarily or through a commitment to community service. PFF's scholarships and housing grants enable poor South Africans to rise above poverty and create better opportunities for their children to flourish.
Proposal Description	Mission of CHOSA CHOSA’s mission is to identify and support communities and community based organizations (CBOs) such as Philani Family Fund (PFF) that reach out and take care of orphans and other vulnerable children in South Africa. CHOSA takes a holistic and non-directive approach to community development which helps empower other marginalized people in these communities. Moreover, through community participation and ownership of the development process, CHOSA promotes local action, self-empowerment, and peer-to-peer networking as essential strategies for community-driven development. We do this by providing five major services to the projects with whom we partner: Once-off grants, Ongoing grants, Capacity building, Networking, and After School Programs. Driven by the principle that communities should own their development process, we provide our partners with unrestricted funding and a supportive relationship that promotes autonomous decision-making. Philani Family Fund The Philani Family Fund (PFF) is a major recipient of CHOSA’s capacity building services, as well as an ongoing grant. PFF was established in 2005 to equip families and communities with tools to get themselves out of poverty, including temporary, emergency housing as well as comprehensive planning to assist families in reaching long-term goals. To assist with the latter, the fund provides schooling bursaries and job training sponsorships, as well as grants for basic items that often get ignored by other initiatives, such as pre-school fees, transportation costs, and high school textbooks. PFF reflects CHOSA’s vision of sustainable development through genuine empowerment, as the fund requires beneficiaries to “pay back” the assistance in some way, either monetarily or through a commitment to community service. PFF’s staff, headed by its coordinator, Lindisa, has celebrated a number of successes in recent years. For example: • Tozama, a mother of young twins, suddenly passed away in a tragic accident. Thanks to PFF, the twins and their grandmother have now moved from a shack where rain water used to soak their bed, to a safe two-bedroom house with a solar lighting system. • Noluthando and her five-year-old child Zinthle were living in a home with a plastic tarp for a roof until they received a home from PFF. Both Noluthando and Zinthle had been suffering from health complications, and Noluthando had been struggling to find work. She has committed to taking care of her child and doing her best to keep her healthy. • Patricia, a mother of three, was living with her family in a small leaky shack, with a boyfriend who abused her even in front of her children. She has no parents to call on, and was in desperate need of a safe place to stay. PFF built Patricia a safe home to call her own and the health workers have developed a network of community members to look out for her. • 19-year-old Tandiwe and her child, Ziahle, had been kicked out of various family members’ homes and had nowhere to turn. To make matters worse, she struggled to meet the needs of her daughter, who has a disability. Tandiwe is extremely grateful for the home that PFF has provided, and has committed to taking her child to all medical appointments as a means of recognition for the support she has been given from Philani. Philani Family Fund is determined to improve financial planning and reporting, as well collaborating with its Board of Directors and CHOSA staff. Specifically, CHOSA on-ground staff have been providing PFF Coordinator, Lindisa, with computer lessons and assistance in developing a detailed database tracking how money is spent. With CHOSA’s help, PFF also continues to run a feedback and interview program to improve efficiency and accountability in the bursary distribution program. Budget Breakdown PFF evaluates applicants to its emergency housing and bursary/job training funding on a case-by-case basis. Last year, PFF awarded $10,7000 in both forms of assistance – approximately 60% to housing and 40% to bursaries. Below is a sample budget for one year. Form of Assistance Cost # of Beneficiaries Total Two-bedroom bungalow $1,030 3 $3,090 One-bedroom bungalow $800 4 $3,200 Bursary – CPUT $410 2 $820 Bursary – Health Nicon $800 2 $1,600 Bursary – Registered Nurse $1,025 2 $2,050 TOTAL $10,760 A $10,000 grant from Telkom would enable the Philani Family Fund to continue its impact in the lives of Cape Town’s most vulnerable residents for an entire year. A $5,000 grant would fund 6 months of outreach for PFF. We invite you to partner with us as we facilitate the empowerment of families and young people rising out of poverty.