My name is Lungisa Sobhuwa from Crossroads.
I am 25 years old, and matriculated in 2008.
I took a gap year in 2009 and participated in a youth programme and from there I  went on to work so that I could gain experience.

In 2013 I came to Beautiful Gate's Youth Resource Centre to look for opportunities. I participated in a 6 weeks Self Development and Computer Literacy held at Beautiful Gate and took another short programme which works closely with Beautiful Gate got a job to work in retail.

Now in 2016 I am a volunteer Tutor for a programme called Year Beyond. Year Beyond or YeBo is a partnership between the Western Cape Government and NGOs aimed at improving educational outcomes and encouraging a culture of volunteerism. I work at Bongolethu Primary School. This was all made possible by Beautiful Gate South Africa and I am grateful for the opportunities.

Visit their website to find out more information about the YearBeyond Programme.

Bra Joe is in his 40's and he is the only man participating in the Isibindi project at Beautiful Gate. Bra Joe is a proud father, children from the community call him Bra Joe. He has a children's soccer team where boys and girls play and he says the children are so dedicated to soccer that they even go to his house to fetch him for practice. Bra Joe started attending the Isibindi project with no knowledge he was the only man in the project, and when he found out, he had his doubts! He attended the project introduction and saw that the women in the project didn't treat him differently because he is a man. They are all trainees in the project together.

The trainees in the Isibindi project also recently received Persona Doll training. Persona Dolls are a creative, interactive tool used around the world in anti-bias work with children and adults. The Persona Doll approach offers a practical and unthreatening way to ‘unlearn’ prejudice, challenge discrimination and develop psycho-social skills. Persona Dolls  offers diversity training and materials on how to use Persona Dolls in anti-bias inclusion work, and a range of hand-made Persona Dolls. and everyone including Bra Joe were a bit skeptical at first when  they saw the dolls but as the day went by everyone started seeing the purpose of the Persona Dolls, even Bra Joe had presentation time where he had to demonstrate the use of the persona doll during class. We are encouraged and inspired by Bra Joe!

It's our birthday today. When's your birthday? 

It's our birthday today and we are celebrating 22 years of bringing hope to children, youth and families. Join our celebration by telling us when it is your birthday and you could win awesome prizes: A Mandela clock, a Beautiful Gate t-shirt , a pack of Beautiful Gate photo post cards or a meal voucher to use at the Crossroads Cafe.

Here's how to enter:

1. Click here to sign up to our newsletter. You MUST enter your birthday to qualify for the competition. (If you are already signed up to our newsletter, please enter the competition from the special link in the email we sent you). 
2. Each new signup (with birthday) will qualify for one entry into the competition.
3. Winners will be selected via a lucky draw on Thursday 5th May 2016 and will be notified.

Thank you for being a part of this awesome journey. We look forward to many more years of caring for and protecting children, empowering and preserving families and mobilising our community!

1st Prize : Nelson Mandela clock
2nd Prize: Beautiful Gate T-shirt
3rd Prize: Beautiful Gate Post cards
4th Prize: Crossroad Cafe meal voucher 

If you have any technical problems, please email us.

​Day in the Life of a Volunteer Tutor
@beautifulgatesa
 
Zanozuko Marhamba is a tutor for the learner education support club and he tutors at a primary school. Zanozuko tutors literacy and numeracy. He started a community project where he facilitates dance in the Crossroads community. And this is his typical day:
 
Before 8:00 a.m.
My day is like this, I get ready for work, I don’t check messages on my phone (laughs). I usually exercise at home before I go to work.
 
8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m – 
I get to work and I don’t eat breakfast at all, and when I’m at work I immediately get to my computer and start working on Salesforce before nine am and I do the children’s register of attendance.
 
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. – 
Normally take a walk around the Beautiful Gate space and I go back to work again. Then I prepare for the earner education support club, usually I do the numeracy preparations first.
 
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. – 
I’m making copies of activity sheets and then gathering my tools for class and then I walk to the school. I also meet up with my team to arrange the snack for the children.
 
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
I get to the school and we start with the register and then a prayer. I enjoy doing literacy with them but everyday before we start with any activity we check for home works and I assist the children with their homework. I love with children and what I love most about that is sharing the word of God. On Wednesdays we usually dedicate the day to learning about the word of God with the children using fun stories and activities.

After 4:00 p.m. – 
I get home at about 5pm and then go straight to soccer practice.