The work of international NGO Oxfam Italia, which has poured millions into developing communities just outside East London, comes to an end next month.
The organisation has injected millions into the Eastern Cape, creating early development centres and supplying micro business finance and credit to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Associate country director Riccardo Riccardi said the partnership with EC municipalities had been challenging but fruitful. “We had a partnership with the municipalities based on a three-year memorandum of understanding,” he said. “It has been challenging working in the Eastern Cape because of all the barriers of all the poverty-stricken areas and some of the instabilities within the municipalities, but we have also had very rewarding successes which have made the effort worthwhile.”
Earlier this year the NGO built a fully equipped multi-purpose community centre at Tsholomnqa. The chief of the area, Nongenile Pato, commended the organisation for work done in the area, including the construction of a daycare centre. “Besides the daycare centre, the youth have also been catered for. They now have resources to empower themselves and change their lives for the better.”
Riccardi said although they had reconstructed early childhood development centres in Tsholomnqa, Nxarhuni and Vergenoeg in the Buffalo City Metro, they were also busy with waste management projects in other areas. “We have focused on health as well as the prevention of mother to child transmission . Riccardi said they had also hosted various capacity building and alternative placement workshops for municipal officials. “We have currently launched an Oxfam South Africa which is based in Pretoria which will also be overseeing the projects we have been doing.” Although the Oxfam Italia office will now be closed in the Eastern Cape, they will continue completing other projects around the country. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
Development project ends
The organisation has injected millions into the Eastern Cape, creating early development centres and supplying micro business finance and credit to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Associate country director Riccardo Riccardi said the partnership with EC municipalities had been challenging but fruitful. “We had a partnership with the municipalities based on a three-year memorandum of understanding,” he said. “It has been challenging working in the Eastern Cape because of all the barriers of all the poverty-stricken areas and some of the instabilities within the municipalities, but we have also had very rewarding successes which have made the effort worthwhile.”
Earlier this year the NGO built a fully equipped multi-purpose community centre at Tsholomnqa. The chief of the area, Nongenile Pato, commended the organisation for work done in the area, including the construction of a daycare centre. “Besides the daycare centre, the youth have also been catered for. They now have resources to empower themselves and change their lives for the better.”
Riccardi said although they had reconstructed early childhood development centres in Tsholomnqa, Nxarhuni and Vergenoeg in the Buffalo City Metro, they were also busy with waste management projects in other areas. “We have focused on health as well as the prevention of mother to child transmission . Riccardi said they had also hosted various capacity building and alternative placement workshops for municipal officials. “We have currently launched an Oxfam South Africa which is based in Pretoria which will also be overseeing the projects we have been doing.” Although the Oxfam Italia office will now be closed in the Eastern Cape, they will continue completing other projects around the country. — mbalit@dispatch.co.za
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