Project 01/2023 YOUPSA - After School Enrichment Program 2023”

Sponsorship for our South African Partner YOUPSA

With an additional sponsorship of 2.000,- Euro the Dieter & Bettina Wulkow Foundation supports our partner YOUPSA for the successful prosecution of their educational work with children and youth by the “After School Enrichment Program“ in the rural areas of the Western Cape, South Africa. Since  a  couple  of  years we  have  established a long term partnership with YOUPSA.  We strive to support the charitable work of Ray and Alexis to teach young children and pupils to offer them an additional after school enrichment education program. YOUPSA provides different education program possibilities in rural areas of the Western Cape of South Africa where children can take part free of charge. We could get a personal impression of the valuable work of Ray and Alexis on one of our sponsorship projects when we once accompanied them to see and visited a school in the rural area in RSA. We could talk to the children in school and spend time with them in their lessons. That was on amazing experience.  With much pleasure we follow to support the charitable work of YOUPSA who are not only helping the disadvantaged children und pupils to get access to education to high school or universities but also to unfold the abilities of the childs and to create and strengthen the team spirit. This helps to get socially disadvantaged children off the streets away from crime and drugs and back on the right track. Ray and Alexis do provide us with information of their work on a regular basis and did send us their latest update as follows:

"In 2022 YOUPSA started an additional weekly afternoon session dedicated to learning Arithmetic and Maths. In school our kids have not gained any basic math concepts or number sense at all. All they know from there is a fear and distaste for numbers. In the YOUPSA sessions we have been concentrating on solidifying the use of numbers 0 - 9, 10 - 19, and the concept of plus and minus. It is an absolute delight to see how the children are now very interested in learning maths and enjoying their maths time to the fullest. 

We regularly distribute books to the rural children. Before meeting YOUPSA, children in this area have never owned a book. They are also not exposed to books and reading for pleasure either in school or at home. It is a bit of magic when we deliver books to children in these remote rural areas and see them immediately gather together to read their new books and chat about them.

Last month the YOUPSA children made their own magic eyes. It is gorgeous to see what they created from some very basic materials, only 2 sticks and some wool. Each magic eye is totally unique, just like each of the children.

The YOUPSA children recently made fun toys from recycled materials. First they collected bottle tops that were discarded in the area around the community and then washed them. Together they made holes in the lids with a hammer and a nail, and then strung the lids together to create their own lid kit. It was a lot of fun and a meaningful activity to see how waste can be transformed into play.

Since the end of last year, YOUPSA has been offering weekly swimming lessons to small groups of children. This has been a dream of ours for a long time. Most children in this country cannot swim and there are horrific drownings almost every day. We at YOUPSA want all of our children to lose their fear of water and learn to swim confidently".

We supported YOUPSA with a contribution of 2.000.- Euro in March 2023.  Wetzlar / Oudtshoorn-Western Cape South Africa, March 16^th, 2023