Lavender Hill in Cape Town is our second Tore Community, a township community of around 12,000 people located in the Cape Flats. The area has historically been inflicted with poor secondary school retention rates and issues with community development. Building structures are in poor shape, and few homes have plumbing, electricity or adequate sanitation.
As in Akokoa, we have already established strong relationships with the inhabitants through building a community centre which includes a crèche, a soup kitchen and a temporary safe house for women and children who are victims of abuse. Our community project has also a created a fenced off area in the local school where children have a safe place to play.
We will complement this work by utilising the ideals of Tore to enact a second development route: one that focuses on mental and intellectual stimulation and encourages political discussion. We will start by forming a peer-elected community leadership group, which will give students an active voice in the decision-making process. We will employ a mentor to guide the students, arrange meetings and ensure the successful fruition of the enterprise. As in Akokoa, we will implement debating as a central part of the school curriculum: this will give the children both the skills and the confidence to argue their case, and to recognise the merits and the pitfalls of the opposition.
We envisage that our programme will transcend the school confines and become weekly meetings where students put their debating techniques to use in discussing community issues. This will have symbiotic benefits: both building up students’ skills and aiding the community with fresh ideas. To further this intellectual atmosphere, we will sponsor students from Lavender Hill to study the liberal arts at college or university.
Akuapem Hills, Ghana
Registered address: 1 Aldsworth Parade, Goring-by-Sea, West Sussex BN12 4TX. Registered charity number: 1157095
© Tore’s Foundation 2015. In association with Projects Abroad.
