By Ingrid Langton:

Today I had the most humbling experience of my life!

I set out, in trepidation, not knowing what to expect to drop off the goods at Philile!
Didn’t wear jewellery, for obvious reasons, listened to gospel music and prayed all the way……….. the journey seemed to go on forever!!!

The directions you gave, took me straight to Philile’s entrance. Much to my surprise and ……….my disappointment at my lack of faith, I was greeted by a lady and gentleman who assisted me in carrying the few goods inside.
PhiliIe grounds were immaculate, the area totally safe and the people friendly.

I happened to glance over the grassy area and saw a little boy who could not have been more than 2 years old. He was clean and warmly dressed and had the largest RECTANGULAR smile I have ever seen!
Carrying an activity table, I walked over to show him and his rectangular smile seemed to grow even wider. I had the most overwhelming feeling for this little guy.

Violet came over to greet me with the warmest of hugs. What a lovely lady. We had a brief conversation and I found myself wanting to leave as I didn’t want her to be witness to a jibbering wreck. I instantly felt the lesser person as I could feel God resonating though her!

I turned to leave and this little boy caught my eye once again. And …………..once again his rectangular smile was brighter than ever. His little face will be imprinted on my heart and in my head for as long as I live 

Thank you so much for affording me the opportunity to make a little difference in a big world!!!!!!!

As we lined up in the mass of bright orange shirts at the start line, I really felt a part of ‘Team Philile.’ The countdown to the start came and went, and so our day of cycling began!
My personal battle in the 94.7 is the M1… I know I’m unusual in disliking the start the most, but that is one long undulating ride into town. Today, however, I was not on my own for that long ride. Even if I wasn’t cycling with someone, I was constantly cheered on by fellow Philile riders as they passed, and occasionally cheered on a rider I passed! Our bright orange shirts were impossible to miss which added to the sense of being part of something bigger.
The half-way highlight of numerous encouraging God Firsters, wet sponges and photo taking was another great reminder that we were riding for a purpose. A great purpose. With so many people supporting, and Reagan’s voice coming through the speakers, full of pride in the Philile riders was just what I needed to give me fresh momentum for the second half. Here we go, this is where the challenge starts…

Witkoppen Road… it’s long and up-hill! The lovely cool weather this year meant I wasn’t sure if I wanted to ride under God First’s sprinkler or not, but again cheers from the side were loud and clear! Everything becomes a bit of a daze then… I just wanted to get to the N14 and know I rode on Malibongwe to get there! The N14 is one of my favourite parts of the race, I’m strong in my head on that stretch and somehow that translates into strong legs! The N14 complete, it’s the final stretch of ups and downs to the finish line. Personally, I didn’t appreciate the ‘10km to go’ painted on the road when we were only about 1km from the finish, but I think I’d lost my sense of humour by then. I really must train more next year. Then again, I said that last year!
A final burst of energy, shot of adrenaline, and I find that I can speed up to finish the race and cross that line. Then Team Philile , in its fullest sense of the word came to life… drink, food, massage, congratulations, photos, hugs, and conversations for a couple of hours before heading home. One thing is for sure… next time I ride, it will be for Team Philile!

It was a cloudy, grey, Monday morning in July when an email from Michael Hewson arrived in my Inbox. The title of the email intrigued me as I clicked on it to open – “Team Philile Rider Pack”. The email informed me of the details for riding for Team Philile along with a host of attachments including a letter of pledge, letter of endorsement, a registration form and Philile bank deposit details. My first response and the reply I sent to Michael – “are we really doing this thing?” to which I got a firm “Yip, we are riding!”.
Earlier in the year, I had once kind of, sort of mentioned that I might ride the Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge (at some stage). However, when Team Philile was announced it just seemed like a brilliant motivation to rise to the challenge and Michael’s email and belief in me confirmed my decision. From there on it was no turning back, training ride dates were scheduled, copious amounts of tips and information were provided to us on an ongoing basis and Team Philile was well and truly set in racing gear.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people…
• Rachel O’Connor and her team for massive amounts of behind-the-scenes work and logistical organisation. Rachel ensured that every detail was meticulously and professionally arranged and communicated to us. Thanks to Rachel for arranging amongst other things, the Team Philile riding jerseys, the Pasta party and post race drinks and snacks. What a pleasure to support such a worthy and well-run organisation like the Philile Foundation!

• Ryan O’Connor for excellent riding tips and advice as well as nutritional do’s and don’ts and anything else we needed to know to prepare for race day. Thanks too for co-ordinating a training programme to ensure that novices like me managed to complete the race.

• Ryan Schnell for the huge role he played in getting Team Philile together, for ongoing support and encouragement when I thought that I would not make the 97.4 plus km’s and for his enthusiasm in supporting the Philile Foundation.

• My fellow Team Philile riders, it was a privilege to be part of Team Philile and to ride the Challenge with you.

• New friends made during training sessions and old mates who rode and trained with me – you guys are legends!

• The many supporters who came out to cheer for Team Philile, thank you so much for your encouragement, snacks, roadside assistance and generous spirits – it made all the difference!!!

• All those who sponsored me – thank you for your generosity!
And so, here is to next year’s Team Philile Cycle Challenge… more orange jerseys, better race times, new challenges, increased awareness, ongoing support, lives forever changed…

On Saturday the 22nd of October a group of volunteers went out to Philile Diepsloot to help paint the four new containers which arrived earlier this year. Amongst this team was a girl named Ada from Canada who has been visiting South Africa over the past couple months. This was her first visit to Philile Diepsloot and below is a short commentary of her experience:

“Our mission of the day was to decorate/paint the outside of the new classrooms.   When we got there, all the paint and brushes were set up for us and we were each given a section of the container to paint with some sketches that we were supposed to reproduce.   The scenes that we were to draw were mainly of animals, mountains, ponds, lakes and trees.

I was assigned to a container that faces inwards into the playground area.  The hardest parts about drawing on the containers are getting the right proportions and to overcome the fear of messing up.  I started by using less paint and drawing in lighter strokes, and then drawing more firmly when I got a bit more confident.  It was also important to take frequent breaks to step back and look at it to make sure it looks good from far away.  The other challenging part was trying to balance on a ladder on the uneven ground.  It was a good thing that there were quite a few volunteers so I was able to solicit some help with ladder minding while I was drawing a bit higher.

I managed to reacquaint with my artistic abilities and not only able to copy some of the distributed sketches but also to free hand some new animal drawings.  In the end, I was able to draw 2 elephants, 1 lion, 1 monkey, 4 bunnies, 1 ostrich and 1 giraffe.  There were also some trees, logs, grass and flowers that I’ve drawn.  Others have also done well, there was a very cute cow behind a fence, a beautifully drawn peacock, a nice looking hen, a pair of cute lions, a few leopards, butterflies, a crocodile peeking out of a pond, a lily pad in a pond and a happy scene of a family playing in a flower field and much more.  Everyone did very well and I’m sure the kids will love them once it’s all coloured in.

Notably,  I had quite the experience while drawing the cute lion on the crate.  While I was drawing the lion, I had a group of maybe 8 kids all gathered  and sat down around me  and just watched me paint.  I wasn’t sure if it was because my lion was awesome, or was it the shade or just that I was asian.  But whatever it was, I wished someone else had my camera and captured it.  It was quite a touching moment and knowing that our efforts were going towards bettering their learning environment was quite rewarding.

I think all of the painters wish that they can be there when the kids come in on Monday morning to find that their new classrooms have been painted and decorated.  Even though the drawings are black and white and only with outlines, I’m sure they would be thrilled to see it.”

Thank you Ada for taking the time to write about your painting experience at Philile Diepsloot. We look forward to this Satruday November 5th where another group of volunteers will colour in your beautiful outlines.

We are thrilled to welcome Gugu Zulu and Letshego Moshoeu to Team Philile!

Letshego Moshoeu is a young, black, female South African Biokineticist and adventure enthusiast from Johannesburg who came in 2nd in the M-Net reality competition “Survivor South Africa: Maldives” in May, 2011. Her latest appearance is as an adventure model in the K-Way Summer Active Wear campaign which is due to be released late 2011. She has recently become a brand ambassador for K-Way.

Gugu is a South African racing driver, affectionately known in the racing world as “the fastest brother in Africa”. Since 2005, Gugu has been a presenter of the SABC motoring show Car Torque,

Introducing Gugu

Profession:Racing driver for the Work VW/BP Rally Team

Sporting interests: Motorsport

Recent endurance events: Cape Argus

What is the most enjoyable and or challenging event you have participated in? Ironman – As a team member of 14 Check Challenge – Did the cycle leg and recall that the team was stone last when i got started and had to cycle through wind and rain to make up time and places. Managed to take team from 109 – 75th place and managed to finish with 4 minutes before cut off!

How many 94.7 events have you completed? 6 or 7 – Lost count

What are some training tips for first timers? Start early prepping and build up your training intensity – Waking up on a Sunday and deciding to do the 94.7km race without training equals a sore day in the saddle!!! Dont forget to smile and enjoy the ride!!!

What dietary tips do you have for those looking to lose few kilo’s before the race? Eat pasta at least 3 days before the race and dont try anything foreign 24hrs before the race or even in the morning of the race, or else it will be a lot of loo breaks for you!!

What do you eat on race day? Muesli and banana

What time are you aiming for in this year’s race? 4hrs

Why are you cycling for a cause and joining Team Philile? Philile is a organisation looking at uplifting people’s lives – I want to make a difference in someone’s life

Tracy Brown is an amazing, qualified Johannesburg-based occupational therapist and  Philile is fortunate to have her volunteering with us at our Diepsloot site. Over the past few months, Tracy has been visiting Philile Diepsloot every Wednesday afternoon to spend a couple hours with the teachers while the children enjoy their daily nap. She also spends an hour with several moms of the children attending the pre-school who have younger siblings.

Tracy's session with the teachers.

Tracy’s time spent with the teachers is primarily focused on: education, growth, development and visual perception. She has helped the teachers to recognize children who are struggling to cope in class and has given them skills to encourage development in those areas. The response from the teachers has been incredible. According to Tracy, “the fact that the teachers are able to pick out that this child does this or that shows that the awareness and recognition of these difficulties is there. With that knowledge they can do so much more to stimulate those areas inside the classroom.”

The time Tracy spends with the moms is really about providing them with tools that they can use to stimulate education with their children at home. The tools they are equipped with ranges from making toys to crafting story books. Most of these moms have a child at Philile as well as child who is below the age of one. Tracy encourages the moms to talk to their babies in a way that will stimulate them so that by the time they go to pre-school they already have that learning curve and have started gaining developmental skills.  “At this stage (0-1 years) they are like little sponges,” says Tracy. “They take in so much, so the earlier you can start with them, the better and the farther along they can cope at school,” she says. She recognizes that many people living in disadvantaged communities like Diepsloot lack the basic tools such as toys and books that help to stimulate early childhood development and as a result, this critical development is not encouraged. Her aim is to equip these moms and encourage them to stimulate growth in their children. Speaking about the time she invests in teaching the moms, Tracy says, “I hope that when they come here, they are also able to take something away with them.”

Tracy making story books with one of the moms

One of the teachers at Philile Diepsloot, Violet, shares that what they have learnt from Tracy has really helped them have a positive impact on the children, “when they go to other schools, they will have a proper education!” The feedback received from both the teachers and the moms has been really encouraging for both Tracy and for Philile. We are indeed seeing the provision of quality education in disadvantaged communities.

Thank you Tracy for helping Philile to provide these moms and teachers with the necessary skills that will equip them for life well beyond the classroom.

If you have a skill and some time that you feel could be utilised by Philile to improve and increase the provision of education in disadvantaged communities, please contact us at info@philile.org we’d love to grab a coffee with you!

As of July 2011, the site has more than doubled its enrolment spaces to provide pre-school education to 85 children, with a capacity to accommodate 100, and the employment of 3 new teachers.

This expansion has only been possible thanks to the generous donations of containers by Cargill, Corporate Traveller, Hyundai and Polyoak, as well as classroom resources and teacher training fees provided by Southern Business School and the ongoing support from GodFirst Church.

Philile children singing songs to their visitors

Following an array of songs, sung by the Philile children, time was taken to thank those who had made donations and to honour Philile staff for the incredible work that they are doing. Representatives from the Witkoppen Health and Welfare Clinic, who run a social welfare base and mobile clinic from the site, joined the celebration to show appreciation for the shared use of toilet facilities and jungle gym. We are thrilled to be able to have an impact that reaches beyond the lives of just the children and into the heart of the wider community.

Graham Haird cutting the ribbon on behalf of Polyoak

Each company was asked to cut the ribbon and officially declare their donated container “open”.

It wouldn't be a celebration without cake!

Each guest was given a Philile postcard with some goodies

Lots of exciting things are happening at Philile Diepsloot whilst the children are on school holidays this month.

Philile's new jungle gym.

Two colourful jungle gyms were recently delivered to the school providing excellent and safe playground facilities. One of the jungle gyms will cater to families accessing the services offered by Witkoppen Health and Welfare Center through a mobile clinic and social welfare base that share the site withPhilile. The other will provide an extra play area for the Philile children in the new term.

In addition to this, four brand new 40ft containers were delivered on Tuesday, July 5th, allowing for 3 new classrooms and a new toilet block. The toilet block will provide facilities that will cater to both the school and the mobile clinic, and the extra classrooms will allow us to welcome up to 60 new children next term. Violet and her team of staff will be registering these children during the school holidays. We are also thrilled to welcome Annah,Rebecca and Irene to the team as fulltime teaching staff. They have been in training since January and will each be teaching their own class come July 18th.

Our new containers will need a paint job so if you and your friends would like to display some of your amazing artwork for the children of Philile please contact us at info@philile.org. We also need resources to furnish these classrooms; especially needed are 2 desks and 3 bookshelves.

Philile's new classrooms being dropped off

Cuddled up underneath his duvet during one cold Johannesburg winter evening, Silas (aged 10), was troubled by the fact that there are so many young children out there who do not have the opportunity to snuggle up under a warm blanket on a cold night. He thought to himself, ‘how sad it is that not everyone has one of these. Everyone should have a nice, big, warm, fluffy duvet!’

Determined to do something about it he approached his mom, who could see his heartfelt desire to help those in need, for some assistance with fulfilling his dream of seeing young people receiving blankets to keep them warm during the winter. Wanting to encourage Silas to realise his vision, his mom suggested that they go out the next day to see how much blankets cost. They went out to check the prices of duvets and pillows and were disappointed to discover how expensive they were.

Despite this setback, Silas didn’t give up that easily on his dream, and thought up different ways in which he could accomplish what he set out to do. The idea of collecting teddy bears occurred to him because not only can you snuggle up to a teddy bear, but all children like teddy bears. When he realised that as a 10-year-old boy, he and his peers no longer played with their teddy bears as much as they used to, he was able to encourage his whole class at school to donate their cuddly teddy bears to children who didn’t have one. He managed to collect over 20 teddy bears. Through this idea, Silas was able to make his dream a reality when on a cold wintry afternoon on the 9^th of June 2011, a bagful of teddy bears collected by both himself and his class was delivered to the children at Philile Diepsloot. It was a heart-rending moment to watch each of the kids all run to hug a teddy bear that each could call their own.

When we asked Silas what the outcome of his idea was when he shared it with his class, he said that his class “was happy to give their teddy bears away. Some people brought five or six, some people brought one and some even brought blankets as well.”

Teddy bears are more than toys for children. According to Pricilla Marotta, writer of an article on the Four Psychological Powers of Teddy Bears “a huggable, warm teddy bear brings the comfort of touch which gives immense psychological comfort for children.” During cold winter nights such as the ones we have recently been experiencing here in Johannesburg, Silas, through a dream and a powerful idea has been able to offer a lot more to young, disadvantaged children through giving them something warm to snuggle up to. Silas is an exemplary example of how young people are, through their actions, adding value to the lives of others in their own, unique ways.

Children at Philile Diepsloot loving their new teddy bears

On the 6th of May 2011, Southern Business School held their 3rd Annual Charity Golf day at the Roodepoort Country Club. This fundraising event reflects Southern Business Schools commitment and dedication towards community development in Southern Africa as all proceeds are donated to a community development organisation. This year the Philile Foundation was chosen as the beneficiary of this fundraiser, contributing to transforming the lives of children in disadvantaged communities.

The Charity Golf Day was a great success as May 6th proved to be a beautiful day for a game of golf, with bright sunshine and a slight breeze. An atmosphere of fun and excitement was also in the air when tee off commenced at 11 AM with fourteen four balls ready to take the course. The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all the players who each received a prize at the end of the day thanking them, and the sponsors, for making this year’s charity golf day a day to remember.

For Philile, this event managed to raise just under R40 000, an incredible contribution, helping us to continue to provide excellent facilities and education to more children in Diepsloot, Hillbrow and the up and coming Cosmo city. Thank you Southern Business School for you much appreciated support!