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When Ade and Christina went to South Africa at the tail end of 2017 to see if they could do 'something to help', they didn't have any idea what that might look like. Seven years on, we have successfully sponsored one apprentice in a firm that has trained him, and we are still interested in pursuing more opportunities like this. We ran one course with top heavy management, and realised that wasn't a good model. We have run four sewing courses, three of which resulted in jobs, employment or some form of greater stability for our trainees. The fourth imploded thanks to local politics. Another opportunity for us to learn what doesn't work. We have partnered with Juja Clay to train potters, again with jobs or increased stability for our 'alumni'. In the last couple of years we have run successful brick-laying courses in partnership with brick manufacturers. A perennial problem is finding trainers in South Africa so Ade and now one of his colleagues have donated their time and holidays to running courses in South Africa. One of our projected courses was cancelled – this is the door that closed on us recently – more or less at the same moment we had an approach, out of the blue, from a game lodge who wanted training for some of their workers in bricklaying, and we became aware that our partner, Meshack, at Juja clay is trying to build a dormitory to house some of his apprentices. So, now we are hoping to help Meshack, and thereby help our trainees, and provide a genuine building project on which to train some bricklayers. 
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Last November, brick manufacturer Klay asked if Khanya could run an electrical training course in Cape Town. We put the feelers out for volunteers and up stood Michael (Mick) McNally.  Mick has over 50 years’ experience as an electrician. When our Chair, Ade, gave him the opportunity to go to South Africa and pass some of his knowledge on to disadvantaged young people, he jumped at the chance.
The course will run for two weeks this month ( alongside another bricklaying course provided by our Chair, Ade) and will be for both novice and existing electricians.Some will gain a new skill making them more employable and some “up skill” to make their existing jobs more secure. Khanya will be providing a basic electrical tool kit to each trainee. Each kit costs £45. If you are moved to sponsor a kit, Khanya and a trainee would be very grateful! Please donate now at: https://www.peoplesfundraising.com/donation/khanya Because of the generosity of people like Mick, and companies like Klay, these courses cost Khanya just £95.00 per trainee, a great use of Khanya’s resources. None of this is possible without the people who give so generously to Khanya. We have had two requests for support: for retired sex workers in Johannesburg, to learn basic business and woodworking skills. The other to teach teenage mothers in Lesotho to make bags and provide a route to market. We would like to be able to support both projects.
So, we started the year with a fundraising quiz, which even storm Éowyn couldn't disrupt completely. Many thanks to all who came and supported it. Next we are holding a supper in Winchester. on Saturday March 22, at 6.45 at Holy Trinity Church Hall in Winchester – see below Our supporters are spread far and wide – so many or most of you would find it difficult to come along – but please encourage anyone you know in the area to book a ticket. Book tickets here If you would like to contribute to the £7,000 cost of the carpentry course, please do by visiting our website  In 2024 we ran two bricklaying courses, one in Grahamstown/Makhanda for Makhana Brick and one at Klay near Cape Town. We were introduced to a phrase we hadn't heard before: 'job vulnerability', the reality that if you have low skills even if you are employed in a low level job, your employment is vulnerable, whereas if you have some skills you can be more certain of keeping a job. So, with this in mind we are pleased to be able to report that the job stability of our trainees in Grahamstown were improved. At Klay we had a classroom (brick shed) full of beginners, many of whom have been asked to send CVs to Klay, so the future is looking brighter. They will also be mentored by the Fisantekraal Centre for Development. Five potters have found jobs A quick peek inside Meshack's pottery in Kenton on Sea where we sponsored five apprentices all of whom have found jobs. Bravo! Welcome 2025In 2025 we have much to look forward to:
We have two new partners. Two more opportunities to make life better for young people in South Africa, to give them a trade and some self-confidence and self-respect, to feed a family and to give a positive role model to others. Working with clay We will be supporting six apprentices at Juja Clay who will learn how to work with kaolin and ....  ... make lovely things with it. They will also be mentored in business skills. Juja clay has a track record of helping young potters who then go on to run their own businesses. ClaytileIn November Ade will be running a two-week course in the basics of bricklaying for Claytile in the Western Cape. This is part of of Claytile's social outreach programme and they will be recruiting a dozen or so young people who would not otherwise have access to training from the local community.
I was able to visit the Eastern Cape again this month and was pleased to be able to link up with partners and friends there and to follow up a new contact near Cape Town. So here's a quick roundup. 
 I received a timely reminder from Tanya that things can take longer than you wish or hope. We have some very real opportunities for partnership coming up, but while doing our best to make things happen, will also have to be patient.
 Almost six months, but not quite, into our latest sewing project with the ladies at Umziwethu in Marselle, near Kenton on Sea, and what beautiful things they are producing! The standard is good, and I was so pleased to see the variety of things they were producing:
 I was so proud to see these labels or something similar on every item the Umziwethu ladies had made. Travelling on from Kenton into the Karoo, I visited several craft and souvenir shops and felt proud of the standard of sewing that these ladies have achieved. Of course, there is more to be learnt, but sewing relatively simple items to a high standard is a great start, and we are hoping to continue to help these ladies, and others to support themselves through sewing.
In January 2022, Ade and Christina were in Kenton-on-Sea where they met local entrepreneur, Tanya Fouché. The result? Khanya and Tanya are partnering in a new project to teach local ladies to sew and to train others. Here Tanya and talks about the project and tells her story  The Marselle Sewing Circle  I'm all about supporting local and my shop stocks only local products. When I opened my shop, Silver Linings, in Kenton, I tracked down a sewing circle in Marselle Bushmansrivermouth, across the river. I met the ladies who had been gifted industrial sewing machines, probably by the Department of Rural Development, but they didn't have any materials, haberdashery, nor training, nor route to market. These ladies have no business skills either as they've only done domestic work. I appealed to our local community to donate old materials that they didn't need and they generously donated items so the ladies could start sewing. The germ of an idea When I met Christina and Ade in 2022, I saw an opportunity because these ladies (and most of our community) do domestic work during the December season and for the rest of the year they live on grants. So why not use those eleven months to train them for more sustainable work? Silver Linings will be a platform to market the goods produced by the ladies, when they reach a sufficient standard. Khanya is sponsoring the ladies for six months to get them to a stage where they are able to train new, younger recruits next year. I am marketing the products into the game reserves and curio shops where we are offering to brand products. The game reserves are very interested in the products. I have spoken to a few and will be visiting them in September, just before the season starts. In this area winter is usually very quiet so we've used the opportunity to get some training done and get the sewing skills up to standard. About TanyaI trained in marketing and was in corporate for a decade. When I had my children I decided to become self-employed, which was 17 years ago. I started with a corporate gifts and clothing company in Mossel Bay. I was widowed when my kids were six months and four years old so moved to Port Elizabeth where my family lived. I started a guesthouse and ran that for over 10 years then moved to Bushmansrivermouth. After lockdown I saw a gap in the market for a little shop and wanted to support the local community.
At school I did some needlework, but not much. I really started sewing when I was 18 and ended up making all of my own suits in corporate. I would make five-piece suits: a lined blazer with a pair of trousers, bermuda shorts, a shift dress with a skirt to match and my clothes always looked fantastic. I was very fortunate I had a friend who taught me tailoring tricks so the clothing came out looking like it had been shop bought and not homemade I believe in sharing knowledge so I’m delighted that now I can pass on my skills to the ladies at Marselle. When you share knowledge it can only expand. 
Congratulations to all of our 'graduates'. Some of them already had the basics and the course reinforced their understanding and introduced new skills. Others learnt the basics from scratch.
Here, Lucky January, gives his impression of the course.  Becoming a bricklayer transformed Khanya Chairman Ade Lusmore's life. His vision for Khanya is to pass on those skills, and the opportunities they offer for changing the lives of others, and their communities.So he was excited to discover a few years ago that Grahamstown Makhanda is home to one of the largest brick manufacturers in South Africa, Makana Brick.
For the last couple of years he has been exploring the possibility of running a bricklaying course at Makhana, and for the first two weeks in May Ade will run a masterclass in bricklaying, and will also teach the basics to two teachers from Amasango. This is a great opportunity to upskill and improve the life chances of ten young people. It’s also an opportunity to begin to train the trainer at Amasango Career School. The school is likely to be moving to larger premises in the near(ish) future and this will present opportunities for teaching brick-work and consolidating learning. Of course, you don’t become a ‘brickie’ in ten days, and Ade plans to go back later in the year to spend time at the school reinforcing and developing the trainees’ skills. Pictures and report will follow soon, but in the meantime we wish Ade bon voyage. |