Drop In Centres

 The Thabo Community Action Trust is very proud of the drop-in centres that were both completed towards the end of 2014. Two pilot sites were identified, the first being just a few km’s away from Thaba’Nchu at the small rural village of Gladstone and the second in Section K, Botshabelo.

After research within the communities, the insights gained show the need for infrastructure for the care of Orphans and Vulnerable children, the Aged, and as importantly, Care for the caregivers in these environments themselves.

The Drop-in Centres serve the community as;

• a place for the Aged to have a day centre, get care, lunch, socialise with peers
• a place for children/ orphan pre-school care; to get proper daily meal, homework supervision and after school care
• a local support base for the various Home Based Care organisations; dependent on their needs, but a central support centre to enable then to operate more efficiently, in the diverse sections
• Care for the care-giver to be run from the Centres, as well as up to date training
  Be a central point for community skills development training, if and when needed

TCAT has funded the capital requirements of setting up both centers and its infrastructures, approximately R 800,000 for each centre. A Modulised approach was decided upon, using specially converted containers, so as to be able to utilise the more abundant land available to non-permanent structural development.

The existing Home Based Care organisation Boikhuco Aged Society manages and runs the Gladstone Drop-in Centre. The second Drop-in Centre in Section K, Botshabelo is run in partnership with the NPO Kgaugelo-Ya-Sechaba.

Both these centres have become cornerstones in their communities and are well known far and wide for the great work they are doing in the community. The centre in Botshabelo specifically, are closely involved with the schools in the surrounding area, to identify children and to assist with tutoring after school. 

Moola for Waste

The Moola for Waste initiative in Botshabelo serves the community through exchanging waste for food. Any item that can be recycled is accepted at the centre. The recyclables are weighed and captured on the system which gives a slip to the customer to be used for food purchases in the shop. The centre services nearly 2000 members on a regular basis. If they do not want to buy immediately, a credit can be built up, and they can come back at a later stage to purchase food from the store. This initiative has not only created employment, but the local community is educated in the value of waste why it is important to recycle. Not only to receive food in exchange but on the environmental impact aswell. There has been a significant reduction in the amount of waste lying around in the immediate surrounds of the centre and the nearby sections. We thank each and every member of the community who contributes to making the Moola for Waste centre a roaring success.

Wonderbag

A Wonderbag is a thermally insulated bag into which a cook transfers a pot that has been heated on a stove. The food continues to cook while the stove is no longer in use thus saving fuel. The bag is made from Poly Cotton fabric and expanded polystyrene balls/foam as insulator. Using the wonderbag 2-3 times per week saves approximately:

• 1.6 litres of paraffin per week

• 13 kWh of electricity per week

• 500 kg of carbon per year

The project was started in Botshabelo on 2 April 2012 after training 7 sewing women who formed a co-operative. It operated from factory no. 40 in Orange Street and created about 300 jobs.

Wonderbags were distributed freely to the needy communities of Botshabelo and Thaba’Nchu, and they were sold far and wide. Even though the project has come to an end, TCAT is still proud of this initiative which brought change to many peoples lives – Not only the sewing groups that were involved in the manufacturing, but also the individuals that were lucky enough to receive one of these bags.