Life-changing Education for South African Children

Dear Friend!

Did you know that the three most important things a child needs to unfold and thrive, is trusting relationships, opportunities and freedom? At YOUPSA we provide exactly this to the young people we work with. Our groups have a set number of participants, and we meet the same groups every week. This allows us to build trusting relationships and know each individual very well. The group becomes a great support to each child and is a place where they feel respected, accepted, loved, and free to express themselves. A great Thank You to our kind supporters, like you, and our volunteers who help us to enrich the lives of the rural children.

Our children are exploring the world

YOUPSA children visited Buffelsdrift Game Lodge near the town of Oudtshoorn. It was a dream come true for them to see animals in the wild for the first time, and the wide open spaces. After the game drive, we had an 'elephant experience' where we were able to interact with 3 elephants, feed them and get a huge elephant hug each!

Experiencing outdoors, friendship, and adventure is an essential part of childhood! YOUPSA's children went on an excursion to the breathtaking Meiringspoort Mountain Pass and Waterfall outside the town of De Rust. Seeing the water falling down from such great heights, and drinking this pure mountain water was exhilarating.

This quarter YOUPSA children also visited the De Rust Open Art Studios weekend and took part in a mosaic making workshop. Together we went to view the artwork exhibited at various studios. It was the childrens' first time seeing artwork.

Learning is always fun in the YOUPSA sessions

Our volunteer Chrissie Lotz is captivating the children with her weekly maths lessons. The children just love Chrissie and her interactive learning activities and practical approach. The children have also learned to use an abacus, and are improving their understanding of numbers and operations this way.

Reading is one of the childrens' most favorite activities. "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you will go." (Dr. Seuss). This is exactly what you experience when you read a book! We read both in Afrikaans and English language, and the children love to discuss what they are reading.

We introduced the art of paper weaving to our groups. Each child created their own unique warp and weft using paper. They learned the many skills of measuring, cutting, carefully weaving the paper and finishing off.

Summertime has arrived, and YOUPSA is once again giving small groups of children the opportunity to take weekly swimming lessons with Karen Talbot, one of YOUPSA's volunteers and excellent swim instructor. Did you know that only 15% of South Africans can swim? We want to make sure that all of our children lose their fear of water and are able to swim confidently.

YOUPSA regularly sponsors children to attend 3-day overnight pony camps at Klein Karoo Horse Adventures. These extraordinary holiday pony camps are attended by children from all over the country. During the camp, the children take riding lessons in the ring, go on outrides into the bush and mountains, and learn about caring for and building a relationship with their horse. This special experience gives a tremendous boost to their personal development.

Please keep helping YOUPSA to bring children more amazing opportunities - and open up their worlds.

Thank you kindly!

With warm regards and our very best wishes for the holiday season,

The YOUPSA Team

Dear YOUPSA Friend,

We wish you could enjoy in person the moment when all of the children arrive for our Afterschool programme session! There is such a buzz in the room, and lots of stories to share, and eagerness to learn new things.

Thank You to our community of supporters who help us empower the lives of the rural children here. Your care and love makes a huge impact in these young people's lives. We so appreciate you! Please enjoy the news and photos in this newsletter.

Every child should own books
Look at the excitement when a child holds in their hands the very first book they have ever owned! YOUPSA has been distributing hundreds of childrens' books to rural children and reading with them during the school holidays. Most South African children do not own a book or have any exposure to reading.

Learning all about bees
Beekeeper Ria Nolte kindly invited the YOUPSA children to her farm to gain an experience of the world of bees and beekeeping. This helped the children overcome their fear and learn about the importance of bees in every aspect of agriculture and food production.
Ria gave us an all round picture of the life of a beekeeper, what goes on inside a beehive, the function of the frames and how the bees work to make the honeycomb, and how to extract the honey. She explained how bees breed, how they collect and store pollen and honey.

Kaleidoscopes & mandalas
Have you ever been mesmerized by the colourful patterns you see in a kaleidoscope? The YOUPSA children had their very first experience of looking into a kaleidoscope, and they were in absolute amazement! Then everyone put their experience onto paper and made the most beautiful mandala drawings.

Visiting the children at home
The children love it when we come to visit them at their homes. They come running with bright, smiling faces. This is also a good opportunity to meet parents and siblings.

Fun learning with geometry
Tangram puzzles are so popular with the YOUPSA children! Tangram puzzles are a square cut into 7 differently shaped pieces that can be rearranged into infinite geometric figures. Using tangrams boosts spatial reasoning, problem-solving skills, imagination, logic, creativity and enhances math performance.
The rural schools do not teach these important skills. This is why YOUPSA addresses this with the children. Children love the challenge of assembling the pieces correctly to solve a tangram puzzle and feel empowered!

Book & Reading Clubs in Soweto and Idutywa
YOUPSA helped start two new Book & Reading Clubs in other provinces, one in Soweto (Gauteng Province) and one in Idutywa (Eastern Cape Province). These came about through two separate requests from young women who are passionate about reading with children, and wanted to help the children in their area. We sent them each a box of books and have been mentoring them with instructions and programme ideas on a regular basis. We are really delighted that these two book clubs are thriving and uplifting these young hearts.

Help YOUPSA to bring children more amazing opportunities and open up their worlds! Please click the GIVE NOW button below to make a donation. Thank you kindly!