SINIKITHEMBA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

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SINIKITHEMBA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

• WE GIVE HOPE

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INTRODUCTION TO SINIKITHEMBA

• Sinikithemba is Zulu for We give hope and the
  mission of McCord Hospital at the time that the
  centre was started in the mid 1990s was to
  create a place of hope for those who are affected
  and infected with HIV/AIDS. The vision was to
  establish a place where people could find
  acceptance, and help. The increasing numbers of
  patients who presented themselves at the hospital
  for treatment, unaware of their HIV status at the
  time, but seeking treatment for opportunistic
  infections, led to the decision to start a clinic
  dedicated to the treatment HIV/AIDS. In 1998 the
  Sinikithemba Care Centre was established at 35
  McCord Road, to assist both patients and their
  families.
• At the time the staff complement consisted of a
  small team of committed part time staff members
  who were dedicated to the care of HIV people.
  This team consisted of a nurse, two social
  workers, a pastoral counselor and one part time
  medical doctor.
• The number of patients increased and eventually a
  support group was formed consisting of both
  employed and unemployed patients. From these
  support group members eventually the Sinikithemba
  choir was started

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The Development Programme

• The income generating projects were initiated to
  assist unemployed support group members who
  struggled to provide for the needs of their
  families and who could not afford to pay for
  medical care. The first of these projects was
  beadwork. It was a skill that many were already
  familiar with and members taught each other the
  craft while at support group meetings and
  awaiting treatment. The first beadwork stock was
  made possible through a donation of R200, towards
  the purchase of beads and the items were
  displayed on a table at H35. Due to lack of
  funds, this was the only marketing the project
  could afford, but the items were sold, none the
  less, to visitors and staff members, etc, and so
  came requests for more specific items and the
  beadwork project grew through word of mouth, a
  very effective marketing tool. Unfortunately
  beaded items are produced in abundance and the
  concern was that the market would become
  saturated. For the project to be marketable it
  needed to sell more than beadwork. This meant
  that people needed to be taught additional
  skills, and this is where I came in.
• I was approached by an organization that had no
  money to pay for training, but they had so many
  people who were unemployed, could not find jobs
  but needed to earn a living. They had a vision of
  how they could help to improve the lives of the
  support group members. This was the incentive
  which led to the establishment of the sewing
  project.

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THE SEWING PROJECT

• Our first objective was to raise the funds to
  cover the cost of training, leaving us at the
  mercy of donors, and they don not part with money
  easily. We needed a rock-solid, well-researched,
  sound plan that we could present to potential
  donors one, of them being the Department of
  Labour. The idea was to equip trainees with the
  skill to produce sewn items for their homes and
  families, but also items that they would be able
  to manufacture and sell within their communities.
  The ultimate goal was to equip trainees for
  self-employment.
• We established a career path that trainees would
  complete over a period of a year. The idea was to
  multi-skill 2 groups of 12 trainees each. This
  included the following courses
• Basic Sewing
• Embroidery
• Curtain Making
• Home Decorating
• Textile Hand Painting
• Design and Garment Making
• Basic Business
• With Sinikithemba now being affiliated to a
  skills development institution, they were spared
  the immediate cost of machinery.
• We anticipated that this project, being a lot
  more structured than the beadwork, would take
  approx. 5 years, allowing for delays in funding
  and other teething problems we may encounter.

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5 PHASE PLAN OF ACTION

• Securing sponsors to train 2 groups of 12
  trainees on a multi-skilling course
• Training period of one year. During this time
  fundraising is done in order to secure machinery
  in order to equip Sinikithemba to provide ongoing
  training and to facilitate production
• Establishing income generating projects, and
  marketing the products which are manufactured
• Accommodating post graduates in a production
  incubator / mini factory, where their skills
  would be refined and emphasis is placed on
  quality. During this phase they earn an income
  from all items produced and are encouraged to
  secure private orders within their communities,
  thereby starting their own businesses
• Decentralization. Post graduates are
  decentralized into their communities. Domestic
  sewing machines are secured through various
  sponsors in order to provide trainees with a
  machine to start their businesses from home

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CHALLENGES

• At the time there were the obvious setbacks such
  as
• Lack of funds
• Lack of equipment
• Marketing - Not sufficient orders due to lack of
  full time marketing and not having the funds to
  employ the service
• Delays in securing donors.
• Members dropping out of the programme, for
  various reasons, and not completing training
• Major challenge we faced was absenteeism due to
  illness. This affects training as well as
  production
• Premises
• Staffing
• Delays in production, and sometimes not meeting
  deadlines due to absenteeism.

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OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES

• Fundraised in order to cover the cost of training
• Outside fundraisers were recruited in order to
  assist with the purchase of machinery
• Marketing is still a problem, but are working on
  brochures which will be distributed, as well as
  an electronic brochure that will be e-mailed to
  various companies.
• There is not much to do but keep busy. During
  this time we continue with whatever orders there
  are, and if none, we work on stock items for the
  shop. Ex-trainees are called and those who are
  available will work from Sinikithemba premises
  during this time.
• Members who drop out are welcome to join again at
  a later stage, to complete their training with
  another group of trainees.
• With regard to training trainees are given
  additional time to complete their course, within
  reason. In regard to production Due to ongoing
  training, there are now more graduates available
  for work when there are orders.
• We were able to work from premises made available
  at McCord Hospital.
• Ideally one needs two people to run the sewing
  dept. more effectively trainer/supervisor
• Marketing person
• Have trained a graduate who comes in on a
  part time basis to assist with supervision.
• Due to ongoing training, there are now more
  graduates available for work when there are
  orders.
• What we are working towards is that each of the
  members trained should become suppliers to the
  Sinikithemba shop, especially since they have
  machines to use at home

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• PROJECT PARTNERS
• Department of Labour
• Department of Economic Development and Tourism
• Berzack Brothers
• Old Mutual Staff Fund
• AECI
• OTHER PROJECTS
• Woodwork various donors
• Mosaic Training was funded by AECI
• Textile Painting An additional facility of the
  sewing dept.
• Wirework - An additional facility of the beadwork
  dept.
• Hairdressing Recent project Up and running,
  bit in the process of securing funds to equip it
  adequately
• TRAINING TO BE INTRODUCED
• Shoe repairs
• Screen Printing
• FUTURE PLANS
• We have been approached by eThekwini Municipality
  Health Dept. to train 3 groups of learners.
  Provide the facility to outside organizations as
  well, as this would mean additional income for
  all concerned.
• IMMEDIATE GOALS
• Accreditation as a skills development centre as
  this will also enable us to obtain Department of
  Labour training contracts.

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• WHAT MAKES INCOME GENERATION PROJECTS WORK?
• Sustainability. What I have learned through my
  Experience is that what makes an IG Project
  successful is its ability to function as any
  other business does. It has to be able to sustain
  itself independently but also cooperate with
  other stakeholders. You have to conceptualize
  methods in which the project could earn
  revenue/money.
• Networking is essential. You have to know what
  other similar organizations are doing and make
  known to them the type of service/s that you
  provide.
• Research your consumers needs in order to
  establish what products you will manufacture.
  Everything you do or make has to be for a reason.
  Before you produce an item you need to know that
  there is a group of people who need it and will
  purchase it. Likewise, there is no point in
  training for the sake of training you have to
  have a goal in sight. You have to know who you
  want to train (target market) and why. In an
  income generation project you need to ensure that
  your trainees will continue to earn an income
  through their training. You actually have to plan
  ways and means by which you can ensure their
  success and the success of the project.
  Everything that you endeavor needs to be
  researched and planned and followed through with.
  If we can sell 100 pieces of 20 different items
  each month at R40 each, we can provide 20 members
  with an income of R2000 a month. That would
  exclude their cost of materials.
• Marketing. You have to market yourself and your
  products. Key aspects APPEARANCE, ATTITUDE,
  DISPLAYS/SAMPLES, PRICING-COMPETITIVE, PRODUCT
• Commitment. No one else will believe in your
  project if you do not. If you are not totally
  committed there is no way you can convince a
  sponsor that you are, or that you know what you
  are doing. It can take one committed person to
  convince a group. It could take one group with a
  common goal/need. Commitment does not hold office
  hours. It is doing that paperwork when you get
  home, making that sample for a client when office
  hrs did not permit, it is getting done what needs
  to be done, come what may. It is seeing the
  bigger picture, and embracing it.
• Sound business plan. Not much will be
  accomplished without this.

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WHAT WILL WORK

• Over staffing -employing staff that are not
  necessarily essential to the business initially
• Over spending - purchasing items that you could
  probably do without initially

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IN CONCLUSION

• I WOULD LIKE TO LEAVE YOU WITH MY RECIPE FOR
  SUCCESS
• There are many methods of baking a chocolate
  cake, where the ingredients all vary slightly.
  Yet each cake could have you coming back for
  more.
• Vision
• Sound business plan
• Start small, but have big ideas
• Being able to access funding
• Committed staff
• Project partners sharing similar goals
• Marketing
• Venue