Exciting news.

We are so excited to announce that the Food System Training Centre will soon be delivered to the Imvelo Food System Research Project site in Cemetery View. This, together with a kitchen and ablution unit will be placed on the Living Word Pta East church premises. Wilmar and Natasha are the pastors there and they are not only very supportive, but they are actively developing the leadership and assisting with social development. SA Cares sponsored a borehole for the food system and will also support social development and leadership development. SA Cares, Big Box and Tebelo NPO all contributed towards the container conversions. 

The bag-gardening project is going strong and community health workers will be trained to facilitate this knowledge-transfer as a home-garden alternative to the residents. The ARC is our research partners in this component. The chicken training is planned to commence in May under Prof Este van Marle-Koster. Jason Oberholser helped with the design of the training centre and together with Carin Combrinck the architect students have begun with a second cycle of research in this informal settlement and the one adjacent to it (Plastic View) where we have a clinic. 
The local ‘teachers’ have been trained with an accredited ECD course through Judea Harvest and a school will also be started as part of our training (supporting the existing care that is already taking place and enabling the local teachers). The Centre of Excellence, Prof Hettie and Carmen and Beulah, conducted a One Health Research Project in Cemetery View and we are also in the process, under Marion’s leadership, of collecting nutritional data on 67 vulnerable families that are being supplemented and supported with education. The Nkosi bar project is also to commence soon that is a nutritional food bar project supported by Joe Niemand and Nedbank. 
Our COPC activities are supported in this settlement by two local residents trained as CHWs and health needs are referred to our clinic on the Woodlane, LIFT and Moreleta church premise site. 

More good news to come soon for our Melusi Grant Project!