Ethembeni was established by members of the Howick Community Church in November 2000 as a social outreach programme in the township of Mpophomeni, about 12km’s outside the town of Howick in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
For the first 17 years, Ethembeni was focused on families affected by HIV and AIDS. Between 2012 and 2017 there was an abundance of funding available to NGO’s to help address the HIV and AIDS crisis. We set up mobile HIV testing and counselling teams, a four bed house to care for very ill AIDS patients as well as a home-based care outreach. On Thursdays, we had a large team of volunteers as well as international volunteers who would go out into the communities to minister and pray with very ill patients and their families. These volunteers did amazing work. Through sharing the Gospel and through showing care, they gave people hope. Many of these volunteers still support financially today.
In 2012 we started a Maternal Health programme, working with pregnant women and in 2014 we formalised our Education Support programme at our family centre which assists school going children with homework, projects and life skills.
From 2017 funding streams for addressing HIV and AIDS stopped altogether as government clinics and hospitals became the main service providers for testing, counselling and everything related to HIV and AIDS. The introduction and distribution of ARV’s was and has made a huge impact on the wellness of HIV positive people.
We prayed and persevered, we listened to the community and we focused on two of our programmes addressing some of the vital needs in the community – Maternal Health and Education Support and Family support which was mainly food relief.
At the end of 2020 we opened our Pregnancy Centre in the old Care Centre, dedicated to serving women with regards to maternal health.
We have a rich history of serving communities in the Natal midlands, walking with families through their hardship and pain and assisting them to move into a place of wholeness and resilience.
Ethembeni started its maternal health programme in 2012 working from our Family Centre providing ante-natal classes as well as visiting local Howick and Mpophomeni clinics to offer support and advice to women there. Over the past 12 years, we have developed a passion for maternal and child health which has resulted in us providing services to over 450 mothers and their children every year. We have developed a close relationship with local clinics and the Department of Health supporting them by being available for home visits and offering safe spaces for women to access services they don’t have the capacity to provide.
In November 2020, we opened a dedicated Pregnancy Centre at a property owned by Ethembeni in Mpophomeni. From this centre we facilitate our Maternal Health Programme using Unicef’s 1000 day principals (first 1000 days of life) as well as Dlalanathi’s Ibhayi Lengane – LovePlayTalk in the first 1000 days.
We also run Playmat sessions where we teach Moms to play educationally with their children using recycled materials. We provide support and care for moms to enable them to care for themselves and their children. We can testify to the inspiring impact between mothers and their babies, when they are both given focused love, nutrition and care.
Fathers Support Groups – We target partners of the women who attend our ante-natal classes and talk to them about the importance of their roles as fathers and help them to find ways to connect with their children. The fathers really appreciate having a space where they can talk with other men about the journey of fatherhood.
In 2012 we formalised our Education Support programme providing much needed assistance to vulnerable children educationally as well as mentoring them. Our centre is a haven to these children, a place they can go to where they are assisted to become the best they can be despite difficulties they may experience at home.
The Covid lockdown in 2020 had such a damaging effect on children’s education, particularly in disadvantaged communities who had very little to no access to internet learning tools and communication with their teachers. Statistics show that in the years 2020 to 2021, 750 000 children in South Africa dropped out of school, they did not return.
At Ethembeni’s Education Support Centre we are focused on keeping a child in school. They have access to a team who assists them with their homework and projects. They are given extra lessons in English and Maths and we try to instill the love of reading and comprehension.