Dear valued NOAH supporter
Happy 2022! What will this year hold for us all? Our hope is that Covid-19 will lessen its grip on our lives and we can fully get back to business.
Our word for the year is intentional. As a team and community, we will be more intentional with our resources, time and the projects we are involved in.
This year will see us deepen the impact in our homes and neighbourhoods, and encourage increased self-management by our members.
Thanks to you, our loyal supporters, we’ve had a good start to the year, kicking off with a long-awaited outing enjoyed by 28 very deserving Khayelitsha elders. Read all about it, and more, in our first newsletter for the year.
Wishing each and every one of you a happy, connected year, full of fun and adventure. Special prayers for reunification with family and friends.
Thank you for your contributions, always.
Much love
Anne Dobson
PS: please support our Selling Seconds shop. It’s full of amazing, good quality, bargains: end of clothing ranges from local large fashion retailers; pre-loved gently-worn garments; bedding, bric-a-brac, and more!
”We are so grateful for the invaluable support in cash and in kind from you, our loyal donors. You make our work at NOAH possible, thank you.
Anne DobsonDirector
Can you help?
As an NPO there are always goods and services NOAH needs, but can’t afford. So often, our loyal supporters and donors are willing to help. Please let us know if you can assist with any of the following:
- Air-conditioner units for the new Volunteer Room and for the Selling Seconds shop
- Aerobics, pilates or yoga teacher
- Gardening volunteers for the Woodstock communal gardenA Graffitti artist to embellish and decorate our walls at our Woodstock centre
- A karaoke machine
- Potting soil, fertiliser and gardening tools such as spades, hoes, wheelbarrows for the veggie gardens
- Large washing machine, ideally a top-loader, to wash all the second-hand clothes for our Selling Seconds shop
- Gently worn second-hand clothes to sell in Selling Seconds (nothing damaged or stained please!)
EASY WAYS TO DONATE
To donate towards NOAH’s work, please visit our website at www.noah.org.za and choose one of the easy donation payment options. Any amount is valued and appreciated more than you will ever know.
To make a monthly donation, please write to Bonny at bonny@noah.org.za. Even a small monthly donation makes an incredibly big difference to NOAH.
In our December appeal we asked you, our generous donors, to contribute towards an outing for our most active Khayelitsha members.
WOW, you did not disappoint! I am thrilled to say 28 members had an outing they will never forget on 17 February – with comfortable transport, a meal and entertainment! Excitement mounted as they started boarding the air-conditioned bus from Khayelitsha and made their way to the Two Oceans Aquarium. Here, they were met by the Aquarium staff who took them on an hour-long journey under the sea. For everybody, this was their first experience of the Aquarium, and the
consensus was complete wonder and joy! This was followed by a delicious meal at a well-known fish restaurant and time walking around the Waterfront and harbour. For many members this was their first time in a restaurant. Many had not had an outing of any sort for over four years. This experience was life-changing, gave hope and will be a cherished memory for a long time.
Thank YOU for making this happen.
It’s so exciting!
After only 2 years since the home gardens were initiated at all our community houses in and around Cape Town, they are yielding loads of fruit and vegetables every month. Between October and December, a whopping 133 kilograms of produce was grown! Special congratulations to St
Joseph’s House in Stellenbosch and Ida Burger House in Elsie’s River that harvested 55kg and 21.5kg respectively.
These veggie gardens provide great pleasure and satisfaction to members as they work in the garden and reap the rewards, not to mention the enormous savings to the household food bill.
Can you help us grow this valuable enterprise?
There is an ongoing need for potting soil, fertiliser and gardening implements like spades, hoes, wheel barrows, etc. If you can help at all please contact Jane on 021 447 6334 or jane@noah.org.za.
Many of our residents have benefitted from expertly run skills training, offered for free, by The Clothing Bank.
Thirty Woodstock and Khayelitsha NOAH members attended a Digital Training Course offering advanced Microsoft Excel and Word training as well as social media.
Valda Prince, a member of the Jou Ma Se Kos and NOAH receptionist team loved the course: “I found the
training excellent! Word training has increased my skills in drawing up documents e.g. menu’s, schedules, etc. Excel training has given me great insight into creating stock sheets and different registers. Thank you all involved in helping me to age actively, gracefully and with the purpose I know our Creator intended for me.”
Inspired by the Financial Literacy Course, our beloved resident Alistair Bobbert started his savings journey in 2021. The course encourages personal awareness and making small changes such as saving R2 coins in a tin.
Alistair takes immense pride in his growing savings. Last year, he paid for his eye examination and new glasses. His next goal is to buy himself new dentures.
All our marketing material (like this newsletter) needs to be carefully folded and enclosed in envelopes ready for posting.
This work is all done by our hardworking mailroom team called ‘The Mail Dolls”
This team embodies NOAH’s ethos of contribution, purpose, and the rewarding of those who actively and intentionally contribute to the smooth running of our organisation!
To thank all of them for their endless support and assistance, a special lunch was recently hosted at NOAH.
It was an afternoon of delicious food, great fun and lots of laughter
It’s important to note however, that we really need to reduce our printing and postage costs. So, please share your email address with us, if you have one. This will help us save money – and the planet. Please send your email details to bonny@noah.org.za or call 021 447 6334.
We like to keep things circulating in the NOAH economy and the Christmas gifts delivered to our monthly donors was evidence of this. Home-made scones and orange marmalade jam, courtesy of NOAH residents, were handdelivered by our Individual Donor Manager Bonny Diener. This gave
Bonny the opportunity to personally meet with our regular givers. Bonny shared her wonderful experiences of meeting you all and we hope you
enjoyed it too!
Committed monthly donations are appreciated as it provides NOAH with predictable income to rely on. To set up a monthly donation, please email Bonny at bonny@noah.org.za. Every little bit helps and adds up to make a big difference.
We are now fully equipped to offer our elders foot care as part of their clinic visit due to invaluable training by Dr Bev Schietzer. NOAH staff members, Luleka Skilly and Almina Mgwali, were educated in basic foot care, as well as on how to identify foot problems and abnormalities. This means that potential problems can be spotted early on and referred on to our doctor for further treatment. Thirty seven Diabetics who are most at risk, have been upskilled in basic foot care too!
Zumba is a fitness programme that involves cardio and Latin-inspired dance. Our director, Anne Dobson, an avid Zumba fan and follower now facilitates weekly Zumba classes. These classes are open to all our members and staff and give many the impetus to get into shape and start their day off with a bang!
NOAH firmly believes that ageing well includes a holistic approach to life including the physical, mental, spiritual, and occupational aspects.
We would love to offer residents a wide range of exercise options. If you are able to volunteer aerobic, pilates or yoga classes please get in touch with Jane at jane@noah.org.za.
Elke Frantz, a loyal donor, generously donated her father’s baby clothing to Selling Seconds. Born in 1914, his baby clothes have been kept in pristine condition for over 100 years! Thank you, Elke, for sharing them with us. We know they will make a family very happy!
Bernard van Rooyen, NOAH resident and valuable Selling Seconds team member, has worked for most of his life as a handyman. He uses his vast experience in maintenance and general repair work to fix cupboards, change lights, repair broken furniture, and even fix toilets. Huge thanks to Bernard for his hard work – it is a great cost saving to have his in-house skills.
