Community HEART in post-apartheid South Africa
Your Young Co-operative could help disadvantaged communities in South Africa by supporting a charity which works with projects dealing with the legacy of apartheid, including providing children in the country with access to books and education.
Community HEART (Health, Education and Reconstruction Training) was set up when Nelson Mandela became president of South Africa to encourage local initiatives, large and small. These are based on the principle of self-help and enabling people to learn the skills neccessary to rebuild their country.
Community HEART runs a project called Third Million Book Appeal, which sends children's books to South Africa. These books will used to be set up school libraries to give hundreds of thousands of children in South Africa access to books and create a love of reading. Schools, churches and organisations in the UK are encouraged to involve their children in donating the books they no longer read (text books are not accepted). It also seeks volunteers to store/collect books and pack/sort donated books.
In addition, a Science Bus helps address the historically low level of Science education in black schools in South Africa under apartheid, by rebalancing the acute shortage of laboratory and subject classrooms in an economical way. It enables natural sciences to be taught in rural schools where there is no running water and no electricity.
Supporters can also set up regular donations which will benefit these schemes along with other projects, which include assisting with the provision of new homes, providing mental health support and working with specific groups such as senior citizens and women.
For more information on how to support any of these projects, visit www.community-heart.org.uk.
