PROJECT SHOWCASE
We would like to highlight some of the Projects we have implemented across South Africa, showcasing our Awareness, Prevention, Intervention and Training Programmes
CAPE TOWN HEAD OFFICE
PO Box 4373
Tyger Valley, 7536
Unit 5, Amber Place
42 Bloemhof Street
Bellville, 7535
Cape Town, South Africa
Telephone: +27 21 686 2645/6/7
Fax: +27 (0)21 685 7034
Email: info@farrsa.org.za
Website: www.farrsa.org.za
RECENT PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
BRITSTOWN PROJECT
We are very excited about the recent implementation of the Learner Support and Nutrition Programme in Britstown, at the 2 Primary Schools. The target for this programme is to see 30 learners diagnosed with FASD or Nutritional concerns three times a week for 30 weeks. In May 2022 we were fortunate enough to welcome a new Community Worker, Ruenele Boesak, to the FARR team.
BURGERSDORP PROJECT
The Burgersdorp Healthy Mother Healthy Baby© Programme was blessed with a set of triplets in February 2022. A HMHB© client gave birth to 3 healthy baby girls. The first set of triplets since the inception of the HMHB© programme in 2017. The FARR team visited the client in March and donated formula and baby clothes. The client was grateful for the donations and all the support she received from FARR throughout the complicated pregnancy.
The Burgersdorp project hosted a Valentine’s event on the 11 th of February 2022 for Clients of the Healthy Mother Healthy Baby© Programme. The theme of the event was “Self-Love”. The focus of the Healthy Mother Healthy Baby© programme is to ensure that clients have healthy pregnancies by sharing the FASD prevention message and engaging them in activities that promote a healthy lifestyle. The programme also focuses on the psychosocial well-being of clients therefore the project staff saw it fitting to appreciate, spoil and remind these women how precious they are. A total of 25 clients attended the event and they all received special gifts from FARR.
HANOVER PROJECT
FARR Hanover welcomed a new Project Coordinator, Cornel Stevens to their team in June 2022.
At Youth-day celebrations in Hanover, Cornel was invited to do a presentation about the various FARR activities in the area, and in particular about our Adolescent Support Group, which has proved to be a valuable source of support for the youth of Hanover.
All the other Programmes at the Hanover Project (Healthy Mother Healthy Baby©-, Knock-Knock©-, Grandparent Support Group and Learner Stimulation Group) are running full steam ahead and enriching the lives of our precious Clients.
DE AAR PROJECT
This has been one spectacular year for the De Aar team. It started off with the Department of Education approaching us for an Educators training. This training was held in February and it was a roaring success.
FARR De Aar was also approached by the Medical Students from Stellenbosch to assist them with their programmes that they are presenting in De Aar. They rotate on a monthly basis and we have met with each monthly group assisting them where we can.
RENOSTERBERG PROJECT
Ther Renosterberg Project kicked off January 2022 with a Legacy Dad Course as well as a Think Twice Workshop attended by enthusiastic men/fathers from the communities involved.
The Renosterberg Project has further been presenting various lively and successful Support Group sessions for the Youth as well as for the Caregiver Grandparents in the areas serviced by the Renosterberg Team (Philipstown, Petrusville and Keurtjieskloof). These sessions are always well attended by eager Community Members who enjoy the informal interactive sessions as well as the themed creative activities.
Two of our staff members, Charlene Grobbelaar (Project Coordinator) and Leonora Mouers (Community Worker) were invited to the Opperman’s Child Protection-Month function to present an awareness talk as well as a “Do you have 3 Minutes?” presentation.
UPINGTON PROJECT
In February 2022, the Upington team welcomed their new Project Coordinator, Ms Angela VanWyk-Marinus. As the Upington Project area was expanded to include nearby Keimoes, Angela had to hit the road running with her excellent team in hosting the first FAStrap© Course and Think Twice Workshop in Keimoes. The FARR Office in Keimoes opened it’s doors in May 2022, and will be serving the Community with various Programmes towards the prevention of FASD.
In April 2022 the Upington Project Team gifted Easter eggs to the clinic staff in Upington, Louisvale, Raaswater, Paballelo, Keimoes and Progress to thank them for their support with the HMHB© Programme .
During May 2022 a very well attended Alcohol Harm Reduction Seminar for Professionals was presented by the FARR Upington Team as well as a Think Twice Workshop at the SANDF base in Upington.
Another FAStrap© Course and Think Twice© Workshop was presented in Keimoes after a request from community members in the area. We also celebrated Youth Day with the Kalksloot
Community
WESTCOAST PROJECT
The FARR flag has been flying in the West Coast for more than 9 years! We started in 2013 with the initial prevalence study, and we ran the Healthy Mother Healthy Baby© programme for three years. In this time we were privileged to be a part of the Clients’ journeys and we shared in their joy and sometimes their sadness. We have seen in the past how the impact of a project and intervention can wane over the years, but our relationship with the Western Cape Department of Social Development has enable us to conduct a long term sustainability and awareness programme in the area. We see the ups and downs in the communities we work in, and we are gratified to see that the knowledge of FASD and the desire to combat it remains. With such a long running project we have also had the opportunity to pilot new ideas and interventions, like the Do You Have 3 Minutes? Programme and the evaluation of a computer based cognitive training game. We have also come to know the stakeholders in the community and we are all working together to reduce the harm caused by alcohol exposure during pregnancy.
TRAINING ACADEMY
Some of the highlights for the Training Academy from January to June 2022 include:
- Travelling far and wide to present training on our Projects in Upington, De Aar, Philipstown, Petrusville (Northern Cape) and Burgersdorp (Eastern Cape).
- In the Western Cape we collaborated with stakeholders in Mossel Bay, George, Vredenburg and the TVET College in Crawford, Cape Town.
- Presenting 23 training initiatives and reaching 651 beneficiaries (417 community members and 234 professionals)
| Training Initiative | Total Initiatives | Total Beneficiaries |
|---|---|---|
| FAStrap© Courses | 6 | 143 |
| Legacy Dad Courses | 1 | 13 |
| Think Twice Workshop | 8 | 261 |
| ECD Workshop | 16 | 162 |
| Professionals | 2 | 72 |
| TOTAL: | 23 | 651 |
- Connecting with participants and increasing their knowledge and understanding of the
negative effects of substance abuse and FASD. - Receiving positive feedback from participants and experiencing their pure gratitude for
being empowered with new information and insight. - Sharing FARR’s purpose and activities with other NGO’s and social upliftment partners
at a Speed Networking event on the 10 th of June.
- Celebrating the 60 th birthday of Theresa Castle, the Training Academy’s super efficient,
young at heart and much loved Administration Clerk.
NEURODEVELOPMENTAL ASSESSMENT UNIT
The first two months of 2022 Psychometrists Martlé Vosloo and Tersius Lambrechts (contracted to FARR) assessed the development of babies referred through the HMHB© Programme’s 9- Month Clinics at various Project sites including Graaff-Reinet, Kirkwood, Prince Albert and Jacobsdal.
This was followed by Martlé Vosloo leaving FARR at the end of Feb 2022 and immigrating to the UK shortly after, and Liska White returning from maternity leave at the end of March 2022. FARR’s Private Clinic has been busy with an increase in referrals and subsequent FASD assessments. The NDA Unit is also actively involved in the coordination of the Knock-Knock Programmes and Learner Support Programmes at various Projects.
RESEARCH UNIT
The Research Unit was quite busy during the last 6 months. Apart from the normal operational duties of the Research Coordinator and Data Clerk regarding the Data Management of all FARR Projects, the Research Unit was able to implement a new research study at the beginning of the year.
This study aims to investigate the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on our pregnant Clients at the start of the hard lockdown in 2020. The data collection occurred between January and March 2022 with 6 of our Projects participating in the study, including Burgersdorp, De Aar, Hanover, Prince Albert, Renosterberg and Upington. The study aims to highlight the impact that the lockdown had on our pregnant clients with regards to alcohol use and cigarette use, access to healthcare and antenatal care. We plan to capture, analyse and report on the data soon.
The Research Unit is also currently in the process of writing a scientific article on the Stigma Study for which the data collection and capturing was completed in Prince Albert last year. This study investigated whether using alcohol during pregnancy is a stigmatized behaviour in the community and to what degree it is stigmatized. We plan to complete and publish this article soon.
MONITORING AND EVALUATION (M&E) UNIT
The M&E Unit was hard at work at the beginning of the year to finalise the update of the Standard Operational Procedures for the Healthy Mother Healthy Baby© Programme, after it was evaluated and audited at all Projects during 2021. This included production and distribution of all the Programme research tools, documents and Client files for use at 6 Project sites. This included the training of existing staff as well as newly appointed staff.
Monthly monitoring of targets of most FARR Programmes at Projects, according to individual Project Plans, are an ongoing main function of the M&E Unit.
The M&E Unit is also actively involved in the development of guidelines for the facilitation of the Grandparent Support Programme which is being presented at various Project sites.
Furthermore, the M&E Unit is scheduled to conduct annual on-site audit visits of all Projects within the coming months in order to evaluate programmes and procedures in place.
