Development Talk

New Internships Available!

 

March 10, 2011

We’ve added internship openings onto our Web site and we couldn’t be more excited!

Check out our Internship page (http://www.developmentworks.co.za/internship) for more information and details. We’re giving candidates the opportunity to intern with an NGO or to work in-house and see the innerworkings of a full-fledged consultancy business serving development organisations.

Find our individual postings here on our Idealist page:

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If you are interested, please send an email to internships@developmentworks.co.za

NOTE: This programme is designed for visiting North Americans and International young adults ONLY wishing to gain development experience in South Africa. This is a fee-based internship programme where candidates pay for a placement.

Filed under: Uncategorized — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:56 pm

Khoikhoi and San want rights to be recognised

 

September 13, 2010

Dispossessed, unrecognised and facing a ‘cultural genocide’, South Africa’s Khoikhoi and San community are petitioning the government for full recognition of their rights as indigenous people.

They claim that their history of oppression and dispossession has long been overlooked, with government preferring to focus on rectifying the evils of apartheid’s land policies.

Indeed, South Africa’s indigenous population have lived in the region of the Cape for thousands of years, but lost their and land and water to the first settlers who arrived in 1652. The current Land Restitution Act however, only considers claims for land that was dispossessed after the 1913 Native Land Act came into effect.

Zenzile Khoisan, a spokesman for the Khoi and Boesman National Assembly argues “In 1913 most of our land had already been usurped by various entities including the colonial authorities. Under the Land Restitution Act it is impossible for us to claim because we were the first in opposition of colonialism.”

Their grievances came to the fore in a march on Cape Town’s Parliament Buildings on Saturday 4th September, as reported by the U.K Guardian. They have issued a memorandum to President Jacob Zuma outlining their demands for recognition as the original inhabitants of South Africa. (more…)

Filed under: civil society,Communications,community,Constitution,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,cultural issues,democracy,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,donors,Film,Government,identity,Inequality,legislation,marginalised,media,NGOs,Parliament,Policy,politics,poverty,rights,South Africa,Videos — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 12:30 pm

Car guards turn gift into a non-profit organisation

 

August 12, 2010

Three car guard received an Audi R8 and decided to use it to help others. Photo: Fritz Park via Flickr

Three car guards received an Audi R8 and decided to use it to help others. Photo: Fritz Park via Flickr

What would you do if someone gave you a brand new Audi R8 as a present? Two car guards who received such a car from a Cape Town man earlier this year did not selfishly enjoy their gift but are using it to help others.

They are planning to start their own non-profit organisation to help disadvantaged communities.

News24.com reported in the article Car gaurds trade Audi R 8 for NGO that: “Desire Shima and Fabrice Munganga- Mugala had initially turned the R1.4m Audi R8 into a ‘car for good’, by carving a slit into its bonnet for people to slide in donations and messages. Around the slit are words: ‘A Future for all’-words printed there by the original benefactor to inspire the guards.”

A Phillipi crèche that looks after 35 orphans have benefited from the goodwill of these men. They gave the money collected with the car to the creche, as well as books, stationery and clothing.

Now the car guards want to sell the car to raise the money to start a proper non-profit organisation. With the more than R1 million that they could possibly get for it, they could will be able to help many more people.

This has truly been a gift that keeps on giving. Do you have any ideas on how we can use the many gifts in our lives to help others? Leave a comment below!

Filed under: children,civil society,community,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,NGOs — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 3:46 pm

Refugee children promote love and unity with musical

 

July 21, 2010

A refugee girl in one of the tents used to house people displaced by xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2008. Photo: Development Works

A refugee girl in one of the tents used to house people displaced by xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2008. Photo: Development Works

Beautiful! Exquisite! Professional! Captivating! This is what everyone sang after a well-presented musical play by Lawrence House, a refugee children’s home, which forms part of the Scalabrini Centre’s welfare programmes.

The show, commemorating Lawrence House’s 5th anniversary, was entitled “Mad Word” and was advertised by word of mouth. The “mad word” spread and it generated more than a hundred audience members.

While some disturbing incidences of xenophobia have flared up in South Africa after the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and a number of foreign nationals have left their homes in fear, this show displayed the theme of unity and love and emphasised the importance of “a happy family”.

Formed in 2005, Lawrence House is dedicated specifically to the care of abandoned and unaccompanied refugee minors. Its motto is the Bible verse “I was a stranger and you accepted me”. The House and its separate teenager cottage can accommodate up to 30 children. Boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18 are taken in. Currently the House shelters children from Angola, DRC, Rwanda and Zimbabwe.

We at Creative Consulting & Development Works are firm believers in equal rights and observing the Constitution of South Africa, that is why we have also worked with the NGO for refugees, Adonis Musati Project.

If children from different walks of life can come together and use their talents to put on such a wonderful show, why can’t we as adults bury our differences and work together as well?

Filed under: 2010 World Cup,Africa,arts,Asylum seekers,children,civil society,CREATIVE CONSULTING & DEVELOPMENT WORKS,cultural issues,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,Family,fundraising,NGOs,Refugees,South Africa,xenophobia,youth — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — admin @ 11:25 am

If you love software, set it free

 

June 1, 2009

 
NGOs, CBOs, small business owners and even government are increasingly making use of Free Libre and Open Source Software.

NGOs, CBOs, small business owners and even government are increasingly making use of Free Libre and Open Source Software.

If you still think that FLOSS is just something you do after you have brushed your teeth, you have not yet joined the ranks of those realising the benefits and potencial of  Free Libre and Open Source Software (FLOSS).

Free means the software gives you freedom, but it is not necessarily always cost free. With FLOSS you can view the source code of a program and if you have the technical know-how, you can alter that code to enhance the program. With proprietary software the code is hidden. You are also allowed to copy and share Free and Open Source Software and do not need a registration code, as is the case with proprietary software.    

The Free Software Movement, consisting of people who believed that if you love software you should set it free, started in the early 1980’s.  It culminated in the Free Software Foundation, founded in 1985 by Richard Stallman. They are dedicated to promoting computer users’ right to use, study, copy, modify and redistribute computer programs.  

Groups working on a tight budget such as non-governmental organisations, community based organisations and small businesses are increasingly making use of this type of software. Even government has realised the potencial of FLOSS, announcing in 2007 that they would migrate to Free and Open Source Software. However, they have not fully implemented the use of FLOSS yet.  

Free and Open Source Software can also be used for education in resource-poor schools and by entrepreneurs trying to make a living.  Members of Development Works team were trained in Joomla which is Free Libre and Open Source Software

Members of the Development Works team attended Joomla training conducted by the organisation FLOSSnet last week. Joomla is Free and Open Source Software used to design and manage websites.

     

Filed under: CBOs,development,DEVELOPMENT WORKS,education,Entrepreneurs,governance,internet,media,NGOs,Small Business,Software,technology,Training — Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , — @ 12:58 pm