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The philosophy and motive that
drives
CIFKIDS'
activity at home and abroad:
With
young victims of sexual violence and
abuse in African nations in numbers
not yet accurately calculated,
CIFKIDS
founder and president
Margot Hyland, has adopted a
strategy of “Love
in Action” to
bring help and comfort to those most
affected by this insidious plague of
human ignorance.
This
has meant a number of real,
on-the-ground efforts in just the
first year of
CIFKIDS, following
the trail blazed by
Catherine Hyland, the founder’s
mother. Looking to the future,
CIFKIDS is
organizing simple and effective
programs at key locations in
Africa for maximum
benefit to abandoned and victimized
children.
Initial efforts are focused on
South Africa,
where Reverend Frank Jardine and his
wife, Lorraine,
operate an outreach in Lawley, a
town near
Johannesburg.
Rev. Jardine helps as many as 120
victimized children from the
surrounding squatter camps, who live
in sub-standard conditions and
abject poverty. Clothing for the
children is sent every six months,
along with other gifts. In the past
two years, about $10,000 in cash has
been sent to assist the efforts.
Thanks to these donations, Rev.
Jardine can now take the children to
receive medical care and on outings
in a 15-seat mini-buses and his
personal car, also provided by the
late Catherine Hyland. Mrs. Hyland
worked extensively with Rev. Jardine
and also made substantial
contributions to a Bible school in
Cape Town.
She also sent contributions to
Pastor Tony Harts and purchased a
personal car, now in Bosmont,
Johannesburg,
South Africa.
"They
miss my mother tremendously," said
Margot Hyland. "I have a vision to
do bigger things for all of them."
Margot has solicited donations of
much needed shoes and clothing for
the orphans being aided by Rev.
Jardine and his wife. The Shoe Bar,
a company in
Lafayette Hill,
Pennsylvania, and shoe
manufacturer, Noat Yaleet, Inc.,
from
New York,
have donated several boxes of
shoes. Generous individuals and
businesses have also donated
clothing for the children at Rev.
Jardine’s orphanage.
Work in Africa
and overseas
Thrive Africa, an American group
working in
Harrismith,
South Africa,
and other overseas, human-rights
organizations have expressed an
interest in partnering with
CIFKIDS. Thrive
Africa is associated with an
American spiritual group from
Texas and
works with the population near
Harrismith, in Kwazulu. As a
CIFKIDS partner,
Thrive Africa helps over 1,000 high
school students and is also active
in the community in Harrismith.
Planned meetings with Thrive Africa
during Margot’s December, 2005,
South African trip will allow the
organizations to solidify their
plans to move forward with giving
victims of child rape practical
assistance.
CIFKIDS will also
meet with frontline workers like the
municipal worker in Kwazulu who is
currently working with reverend Juta
who is caring for 57 orphans.
Catherine’s Inspiration for Kids
future goals include working with
groups in nearby
Lesotho,
Botswana,
Mozambique and
Swaziland
to assist child rape victims.
As
many as 600 young victims in various
locations around the world have
benefited from
CIFKIDS’
assistance. "This is just the first
year," Margot Hyland,
CIFKIDS’
President and Founder, commented.
"We’re just really beginning work
now."
Volunteers and programs
Real
estate agent Sioborn McMahon of the
Kurfiss Real Estate Agency in
Doylestown,
Pennsylvania
worked with the Real Estate
Association of Montgomery County
last year on a toy drive. Ms.
McMahon organized all the real
estate agents in this group, who
collected gifts for 125 kids and
paid for shipping and airfreight to
the Lawley church outreach.
"I
thought that was amazing," said
Margot.
At
the Lawley group, Rev. Jardine
receives food and money to run a
soup kitchen. "He has a problem
being able to feed these kids," said
Margot. Between $5,000 and $10,000
has gone to this essential effort in
recent years, in addition to $25,000
to $30,000 in “out-of-pocket” funds
contributed by the late Catherine
Hyland.
A
construction fund is being created
to collect donations to build
facilities for the Lawley church
outreach, which would include a
better kitchen and a recreation
center. Land must be purchased for
this facility, so Catherine Hyland’s
home in
Ennerdale,
South Africa,
is going to be sold, with proceeds
going to this
effort. Threeorphanages are planned
for construction in
Johannesburg,
Kwazulu,
Swaziland.
These
plans are in line with
CIFKIDS two-part “Love
in Action”
strategy. Part One is health and
care, such as nutrition and
counseling. Part Two includes
orphanages and facilities to provide
food, lodging, and education for
young abuse victims.
As
facilities are built and staffed,
CIFKIDS hopes
young victims in
Southern Africa and
elsewhere can rebuild their lives by
learning job skills in a co-op
program. Generating an income,
becoming self-sufficient, and
getting a basic education are
realistic goals even for the most
impacted victims. It is our hope
that advanced students will be able
to get a college education in the
United States--and
then return to their countries to
help others in need.
CIFKIDS sponsored
orphanages will be grouped under the
name, “Mahnwe,” which means
“rejected one” in the African
dialect of Sotho. This was at the
request of Catherine Hyland before
she passed away. Margot will honor
her late mothers request.
An
essential component of the
CIFKIDS programs
in Africa
will be counseling and emotional
support for victims. In cases of
rape, abandonment or abuse and
violence, psychiatric scars and
wounds can run deep and affect
victims for a lifetime. But with
only two mental health clinics in
all of
South Africa
for rape victims, the need is
overwhelming.
Under
the direction of Dr. Romani George,
and with the help of Dr. Lin
Montgomery, area hospitals in
Pennsylvania
will be organizing student residents
to help meet this need. Drs. George
and Montgomery, both psychiatrists,
will be developing a treatment plan
for victims to help ease the most
painful aspects of their mental
condition following abuse and to
provide sound guidance and advice.
Psychiatric resident interns
from area hospitals are planning for
travel to the South African
facilities in person to treat and
counsel the victims. Margot met
recently with Dr. Montgomery, who
agreed to work with Dr. George to
put together a plan of action and
assist with the implementation of a
psychological clinic in Kwazulu and
Johannesburg.
Rehabilitation, AIDS prevention, and
adolescent health status, as well as
nutrition and simple loving
kindness, will be available to those
who are hurting the most.
Getting Organized
The
work and labor needed to reach these
young victims of rape, sexual
violence and abandonment in
Africa and elsewhere
almost seems overwhelming. But if
even one child, or 100 or 1,000
children can be assisted and know
that they are loved,
CIFKIDS feels that
the program will be a success.
CIFKIDS is
currently staffed by only about six
full-time people. In the
United States,
new volunteers have recently begun
much-needed fundraising, and will
work as volunteer coordinators for
the foundation. Amanda Golasa, Becky
Molotsky, Mark Camay and Pierre
Hyland are also working to create
funding sources, such as the
upcoming
CIFKIDS’
fundraising event in
Philadelphia,
PA
in 2006. Newcomer Roxanne Ravenel,
who has an established virtual
office support service, has become
invaluable by providing
CIFKIDS with much
needed administrative assistance and
organizational skills. Volunteer
Melanie Carter-Jigles is working in
South Africa
to secure contacts and logistics for
an upcoming documentary featuring
Margot Hyland in
South Africa
talking with victims and workers.
Other board members and staff are
listed elsewhere on this site.
There
are many common needs, including
clothing, organizing toy drives,
construction, maintenance,
fundraising, accounting, office help
and communications. Please see the
‘HOW CAN I HELP?’ page on
this site for details.
HIV/AIDS is an epidemic in
Africa that impacts one
in three people in these regions. As
parents die prematurely, very young
children are often left to fend for
themselves. Destructive beliefs and
practices passed on by traditional
natural healers lead infected males
to believe the HIV/AIDS disease can
be cured by having sexual relations
with a virgin. This practice leads
to the brutal rapes of young girls
and even infants. Relief for the
poor and distressed, education and
the eradication of misconceptions
such as this myth, easing the
burdens of government, and promoting
social welfare while combating
community deterioration, are all
lofty goals.
CIFKIDS is working
through “Love
in Action” on
a modest scale now, with the hope of
providing a brighter future for some
and a light in the darkness for many
others in the future.
"I’m
very optimistic," said Margot
Hyland. "Once the documentary is
done, I cannot see how it will not
be successful. This is going to be a
one-of-a-kind project. The subject
matter is so horrific, but it will
bring this very important matter to
the attention of the world, so we
can make a difference in the lives
of these victims."
For
more information email
info@cifkids.org;
to get involved please email
volunteer@cifkids.org.
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