Project COLORS

COMPENDIUM

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Education Fund

Because of your donations, a COLORS’ sponsored child is completing her first year at an amazing, UK accredited, Drama & Music Academy in South Africa - International Trinity Guildhall.

“Without your help I would not have this bursary allowing me to go to college, as I grew up in a foster home and I do not have a family that can help me…I won’t let my circumstances stand in my way. I promise to not let you and other donors down.”

Verna Maerman

Youth Empowerment, Skill Building & Community Enrichment

Project COLORS undertakes a variety of projects designed to enrich the community, and empower women and youth through skill building and other educational endeavours. At a glance, these projects and endeavours include:• Education fund for underprivileged youth • Workshops for income generating skills • Renovations and supplies • Community gardens • International workshops and mentorship programs

Skill Building Workshops

Many women within the communities where Project COLORS operates are motivated and willing to become involved and see positive change, though many do not have the requisite skills. COLORS offers workshops to women, focused on income generating skills, such as bead work, jewellery making, and sewing. Workshops and classes are also focused on skills development pertinent to teachers, teachers training, and nutrition classes.

Agents of Change & Launching Our Lives Workshops

• Assisting youth in social and professional development; opportunities encouraging youth to make a difference in their own countries and abroad

Agents of Change is an interactive, action driven, program tailored for youth to learn about skill building, mentorship, and about creating their own community projects and how to be an Agent of Change within their own community.

They must put in volunteer time to create their own community projects both in theory and in practice.

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Agents of Change & Launching Our Lives Workshops (cont.)

Agents of Change projects included:• Creation of community gardens • Learned jewellery making and crocheting • Tutored younger children • Helped plan and implement classes, went on day trips • Mural creations, learned value of recycling through handicrafts

Agents of Change

“COLORS taught me that I can be an agent of change and make a difference”

Thusha, Agents of Change graduate

“We have already started our community project in a village, teaching the youth English. This was only an idea until Project COLORS taught us how to make it a reality and JUST DO IT… so we did”

Anu, Agents of Change graduate

Launching Our Lives memory sticks contain material to foster both independent and communal growth.

The memory sticks were not only loaded with Agents of Change workshop material, but important audio, visual, and document resources as well. This material is given to Agents of Change youth, children’s homes managers, and teachers. The resources are to help them discover a career they’re passionate about, build a CV, and to inspire and motivate them to continue to learn.

Tafa Dube: Tafa is a COLORS’ Agent of Change student that was sponsored for his journalism studies. He had a work accident in 2015, in which he lost a finger. COLORS aided him while he recovered, with food, counselling and rehabilitation costs.

“I would like to express my extreme gratitude. During the most challenging and painful days of my life, you kicked in to help me. I would like to thank you and the donors from the bottom of my heart for your generous caring and giving. Project COLORS, thank you for your dedication, attention, and open-minded thinking and for you readiness to help. Love and hugs, Tafa.”

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Teaching the Teachers

COLORS makes it a mission to find personal sponsors to cover the early childhood education tuition fees of preschool teachers we work with in South Africa. These women are a vital resource in their communities. This higher level of education teaches the teachers the importance of proper nutrition, basic hygiene, and how to teach small children basic skills.

More Projects COLORS also has undertaken projects focused on community gardens, care and education of children with special needs, and the renovation and re-supply of soup kitchens, preschools, and children’s homes.

COLORS has provided skills training, planning, programming, and daily activities for children with special needs. COLORS also encouraged youth to participate as teachers for special needs children, in an effort to inspire volunteerism within the community.

Community gardens help communities become more self-sufficient. COLORS helps build, supply, and support these gardens to help communities with sustainable food security.

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Tiny Tummies

Tiny Tummies is dedicated to improving the nutrition and overall health of toddlers and youth in South Africa. We operate in areas most deeply effected by tuberculosis - which is why a healthy immune system is vital.

The project is dedicated to ensuring malnourished children receive the essential vitamins and immune boosting nutrients, so they are able to effectively learn and grow. We use a nutritional food supplement - called e’Pap - within local childcare outlets.

“Malnutrition is a big problem here. It’s amazing to see the difference that just a few weeks of it (e’Pap) made.” - Jesse, volunteer

Food SecurityWhile Project COLORS is involved in a number of countries, our focus on food security has largely centred around South African townships with children suffering from malnutrition - a major underlying cause of death in children in South Africa. Children within our area of operations are denied even the most basic forms of food and nutrition, drastically reducing their health, and with it, their life expectancy. ‘Tiny Tummies’ has been our response project to the widespread cases of malnourished children within our area.

e’Pap The e’Pap mixture is rich in zinc, iron, protein, in addition to other essential vitamins and minerals, making it beneficial for a strong immune system, and for proper growth and development of the mind and body. e’Pap is a similar formula to the one used by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) and Unicef.

Malnutrition

According to UNICEF, 64% of deaths of children under the age of 5 in South Africa can be traced to malnutrition. Malnutrition deteriorates the immune system, and increases the risk of developing youth contracting detrimental diseases.

Communitarian Violet is a preschool teacher and soup kitchen creator in South Africa. COLORS has provided her with a new stove to help her feed her community. Violet’s soup kitchen feeds over 50 people in the community - many of whom need food to help with the digestion of their TB and HIV medications, which can have a variety of side effects.

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Emergency Relief

COLORS also makes conscious efforts to aid in humanitarian relief efforts. Most notably, COLORS aided in the emergency relief missions relating to the Haitian earthquake.

‘Street kits’, comprised of basic hygiene and dental items, and school supplies, were given to street children, homeless mothers, and Haitian refugees, and facilitated by our COLORS Dominican volunteers. Further hygiene and skill building kits were sent to Haiti via UN relief workers.

“The most divisive belief is ‘us versus them’. The most uniting belief is that humanity is one family” - Deepak Chopra

Global HealthProject COLORS is involved, or was involved, in a variety of projects committed to improving the health of children in a multitude of countries.

Help from Home

Canadian volunteers, as well as local pharmacies and individuals, helped to source donations and create first aid and resource kits. The kits - equipped with hygienic, sewing, first aid, and educational resources - were distributed and used in COLORS’ projects.

Countries

• South Africa• Sri Lanka• Costa Rica• Dominican Republic• Madagascar

Focuses

• Basic First Aid Care & Supply• Dental Care & Supply• De-Worming • Health and Dental Education

Basic health care and dental assistance are key components of projects COLORS operates in preschools and children’s homes. Along with the supply of essential materials to aid in basic health and hygiene, COLORS also educates on the techniques and importance of proper health care and nutrition. Project COLORS also undertakes de-worming of sick children, upon request by our partnered teachers.

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Humble Beginnings

Project COLORS did not originally undertake an animal assistance program. But it soon became an inevitability when Sunyata and other volunteers witnessed the terrible conditions certain street dogs in South Africa were enduring. Soon, a street dog rehabilitation program was launched. With a director trained by the International Wildlife Rehab Council, COLORS also helps a variety of animals they might encounter while operating. These humble beginnings have branched off to spark animal assistance programs wherever COLORS operates and they might find an animal in need.

Animal Well-Being

In addition to our COLORS children programming, we are also educating local people living in informal settlements on the importance of caring for their animals. Project COLORS has rehabilitated over 50 dogs , treated hundreds, plus assisted wildlife in desperate need of care. We lead by example showing people how to better care for their pets.

The Difference A Few Weeks Make

Project COLORS has helped provide supplies and education to communities in numerous countries, including Canada, in an effort to rehabilitate at-risk animals. The rehabilitation of much of this wildlife would be impossible without the extraordinary help from international and local volunteers alike. COLORS often provides supplies necessary for the well-being of animals in need, but local volunteers ensure they continue to be cared for.

• Children are taught about the importance of proper care for local animals; that love and care for street dogs and other wildlife can have a profoundly positive impact on their life, as well as the animals’.

• Thanks to a partnership with Hope for Wildlife COLORS was able to give life saving supplies to local vets and animal care volunteers so they could continue their work neutering, deworming, and caring for neglected animals on the street.