ITHEMBA
Circle of Hope
A network of women committed to supporting women in vulnerable communities.
We have launched a network of women who share the same human values of wanting to ensure that women everywhere have the same opportunities to build the safe, healthy and stimulating home environment that children need to thrive.
Ithemba means ‘hope’, ‘trust’, and ‘faith’ in Xhosa, the local language of the Eastern Cape of South Africa. For us, it says everything about the community-led, peer support projects that One to One Children’s Fund champions, in partnership with local communities to help them make the positive changes they want for their children.
Our recent, inspiring event at the Bernard Jacobson Gallery kicked off our iThemba Triple-It Appeal in support of a new mobile clinic in the Eastern Cape. We are delighted that this appeal beat its £60,000 target.
EMPOWERING MENTOR MOTHERS
One to One Children’s Fund recruits local women to train as Mentor Mothers. The work of our Mentor Mothers has a massive impact in their communities, saving lives and laying the foundations for optimum health and the early development of children in their first 1,000 days - and beyond.
We focus on neglected and under-served rural communities in the Eastern Cape where Mentor Mothers deliver proactive healthcare, door-to-door. Our intensive training equips them with the skills and confidence to deliver long term health support and make referrals to hospitals when needed. Thousands of mothers-to-be, babies and young children have already benefited from our Enable programme and, after more than 1,500 births, the stand-out achievement has been an almost zero rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission.
One to One Mentor Mothers are transforming lives and helping to build a healthier future for whole communities, but we still have much to do. We want to extend our reach – not least because Covid-19 has put huge pressure on the local health infrastructure which was already in deep crisis. Maternal and Child Health services have been severely depleted and new mothers have not been able to attend their antenatal appointments, the distribution of life- saving medication has been disrupted and babies are missing out on their immunisation programme.
Our Mentor Mothers are focused on rebuilding the health infrastructure - ensuring that children get vaccinated on time, connecting pregnant women with antenatal services, HIV testing and treatment, supporting children to reach a healthy weight, and concentrating on their early development to avoid compromising the progress of the past 5 years. The key objective is to ensure that no child is left behind.
EMPOWERING YOU
iThemba: Circle of Hope is an empowering way for women in the UK and South Africa to get involved, collaborate and play an active role in contributing to change by supporting the One to One Mentor Mothers.
As a member, you will receive regular updates, some of them live, from the field, and you will be able to see the impact of your support first-hand and have a say in how funds will be used.
You will also have the chance to take part in the work of One to One – on committees, workshops, and fundraising initiatives – there are plenty of ways for you to lend your time and expertise.
Members will decide how their donation is spent by choosing from one of several community health projects suggested by the frontline team and will support that project until it is fully funded. Fundraising can be a mix of personal donation or combined with fundraising activities.
Our members come from a range of backgrounds and professions and Young iThemba inspires women in the early stages of their career to get involved in philanthropy. Whatever the age, all Circle of Hope members are advocates for creating change for women and children in neglected and isolated communities.
MEMBERSHIP
To join iThemba, members make an annual gift to One to One which will give you:
– Opportunities to meet with leaders from the field and learn first-hand about the delivery challenges and how best to address them.
– Invitations to select events, including 4 talks a year from experts in women and child health and early childhood development.
– Direct access to the One to One team on the frontline.
– Invitations to One to One Art for ART live events in London and Cape Town.
– Opportunities to connect with a network of 15-20 like-minded women in the UK and South Africa.
– Chance to use your time and talents to support women who have not had the same opportunities in life.
– Invitation to visit projects in our communities (when conditions permit), participate in workshops and meet with frontline experts from the UK and South Africa.