COVID19 PUBLIC HEALTH MITIGATION INITITATIVE
EGOLISQUASH YOUTH EMPOWERMENT UBUNTU DRIVE
This is a trying time for everyone in our country, and we realise that many of you and your family may have been harshly impacted, especially financially, by Covid 19.
Egolisquash Youth Empowerment organization is not just about introducing squash to young people in the Inner City, Soweto and surrounding areas, it is also about helping to bring about a positive change through academic mentoring and lifestyle and skills coaching, health, nutrition ,fitness and being able to provide a safe nurturing haven for the hundreds of children that participate.
Due to COVID19 pandemic many of the Egolisquash Youth Empowerment scholars, Coaches and their families are struggling incredibly, and even more so if their parents and caregivers are not employed full- time or in essential services. To this end, we are raising money to put together Basic Necessity Packages, comprising of academic materials, food, sanitary products, toiletries and cleaning materials.
Our aim is to try to provide our regular Egolisquash participants and coaches, with at least one parcel as soon as can be and also to broaden their access to online educational portals.
Many young coaches across the province have grown up with Egolisquash and still work hard in paying it forwards to children in the programme, and most have had no income since the 15th of March when our government announced school and recreational facilities closures.
The cost of a pack is R 350
OUR REACH SO FAR SINCE LOCKDOWN:
300 Egolisquash families benefited basic necessity food parcels
10 tons of food parcels delivered to Inner-city,Soweto and Alex Thusong communities.
300 Stationery packs, word puzzles, brain teasers, math work delivered
We further extended access to food parcels to Gauteng Clubs’ members and our Mass Participation
Schools:
-Basa Tutorial Institute
-Our Lady of Wisdom College -Phoenix College
-Vuleka St. Martins Primary School -Pace Secondary
-Gazankulu Primary
-Newmodel College
-Vuwani Secondary School
Whilst the first phase of the global COVID19 response focused on rapid containment of the disease the EYE organization is now pivoting to incorporate secondary impacts such as nutrition and virtual learning programmes for youths and their families into funding planning and emergency activities. With South Africa’s lockdown introduced on the 27th of March; a significant number of Johannesburg Inner-city, Soweto and Alexandra Townships and Informal settlements dwellers working in the low-income industries as restaurant, hotel staff or domestic workers have faced retrenchments due to lockdown. For these communities; hunger and malnutrition has begun to replace COVID19 as existential fear.
Coupled with this, a significant number of Johannesburg disadvantaged youths without access to computers or smart phones have been trapped in the digital divide gap and are unable to attend online learning platforms implemented by schools due to lockdown restrictions.
Thus; the level of need has geared EYE organization to ensure virtual programming; food security and nutrition are included in the response as service delivery, economies, and food systems have disrupted due to COVID19 pandemic.
Visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/egolisquash to gain more insight (pics and on the innovative services we are currently implementing to empower communities during the public health COVID19 crisis.
EYE helps disadvantaged Inner-city, Soweto and Alex youths to escape the endless cycle of poverty through motivating them to become involved in a balanced programme of academic support, sustainable girls empowerment voluntary self-development community activities and peer leadership activities.
