Nicht kategorisiert Archive - Hugo Tempelman Stiftung

The potato harvest begins – more than just a harvest

With spades, hands and a lot of pride: the time has come at AFAS Farm in Elandsdoorn – the potato harvest has begun! What sounds like an everyday work step is actually a significant milestone for an extraordinary project.

Because the farm is about much more than just farming. It is about education, empowerment and future prospects – especially for young people and people with disabilities, who receive in-depth training in agriculture here. In practical modules, they learn everything from sowing to harvesting – and experience how commitment and patience pay off in concrete terms.

“I didn’t know anything about farming before – now I can feed my family.“
This is how many participants describe their experiences. For them, the harvest not only means food, but also self-confidence, recognition and perspective.

The project impressively demonstrates how important practical training and sustainable development can go hand in hand. With the support of the Hugo Tempelman Foundation and its partners, the Ndlovu Care Group is creating a model that is both ecologically and socially sustainable.

A big thank you to our funding partners – first and foremost Energetix and the German Postcode Lottery, whose generous support makes this project possible. Their help literally plants the future.

More about our agricultural projects in South Africa:

“Now I’m going to school – with dignity.” Voices from the project show what really counts.

In recent months, together with the Deutsche Postcode Lottery and the Ndlovu Care Group, we have been able to supply over 4,900 girls in the Moutse region of South Africa with menstrual hygiene products – specifically with over 11,600 packs of sanitary towels in April and May 2025 alone.

What seems like a purely logistical figure means something completely different on the ground: security, dignity and genuine participation in everyday education.

The feedback from the schools shows how urgently this help was needed:

“Before the program, some of our girls were missing several days a month. Now they are confident in class.” – Principal

“I am so grateful. My daughter can now go to school like everyone else.” – Mother

“Menstruation must not be a barrier to education. This project helps us to change that.” – Teacher

However, the provision of hygiene products alone is only part of the success. Accompanying information events and talks, for example by the PowerMamas, have integrated the topic of menstruation openly and sensitively into everyday school life – a big step against stigmatization and for education.

During Menstrual Hygiene Month in May 2025 in particular, the initiative was able to increase its reach once again – with school campaigns, talks and targeted distribution. The positive response from the entire community shows how great the need is and how profound the impact is.

Together with the German Postcode Lottery, we are continuing our efforts to ensure that no girl is prevented from learning due to a lack of sanitary products. Education starts with dignity – and dignity sometimes starts with something as simple as a pack of sanitary towels.

Help make dreams come true: Boxing shoes for girls in Elandsdoorn

In Elandsdoorn, South Africa, there is a group of around 40 girls who not only pursue sporting goals through boxing, but also develop self-confidence and strength. But their training conditions are anything but ideal: without shoes and in everyday clothes, they do their best to fight for a better future.

With your help, we can change this! Give these girls prospects for the future and the chance to train under fair and safe conditions. The story of Kgaogelo Mahlake is an example of how important this support is.

Kgaogelo Mahlake – a young talent with a great passion for boxing

Kgaogelo, 14 years old, lives in the small community of Tambo Village with her parents and four siblings. She finds school difficult: at 14, she is only in the fourth grade. But thanks to her dream of proving herself in boxing and her dedication, she is one of two girls who have already qualified for district competitions. She trains regularly with great dedication.

However, her family’s economic situation poses a challenge. The father works 80 kilometers away, while the mother tries to cope with daily life on her own. A small garden that helped the family was destroyed by stray animals. The family relies on the support of the Ndlovu Care Group, which assists them with food, education and water supply programs.

Why boxing is so important for girls

Training at the boxing school not only strengthens the girls’ physical fitness, but also gives them the chance to assert themselves in a challenging environment. Boxing helps them to develop self-confidence and mental strength – skills that will accompany them throughout their lives.

Your support counts: Donations for shoes

The 40 or so girls at the boxing school are currently training without sports shoes. We want to give them the best possible training and are therefore collecting money for 20 pairs of boxing shoes.

How you can help:

Please make a donation to the Hugo Tempelman Foundation and enter “Boxing School” in the subject line. With your support, we will ensure that the girls no longer have to train barefoot in the future.

Bank details of the Hugo Tempelman Foundation:
IBAN: DE21 1012 0100 0007 7770 06

or via Paypal
spenden@hugo-tempelman-stiftung.de

Your donation counts and makes a difference! Let’s give hope together – for the girls in Elandsdoorn and beyond.

We would like to thank everyone who has supported us this year and wish you, your families and friends a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Hugo Tempelman Foundation

Tennis for all – An inclusive tennis tournament at the Ndlovu Care Group

This year, the Ndlovu Care Group organized a special tennis tournament that brought together people with and without disabilities. Under the motto of inclusion, a mixed tennis training session took place in which wheelchair users and non-disabled athletes played together on the court. The focus was particularly on new players who found their way to the sport through Joris House and were able to gain their first experience. Joris House, a center for people with disabilities run by the Ndlovu Care Group, has set itself the task of integrating and supporting disabled children and young people in particular. The day was characterized by intensive training and, above all, lots of fun.

The timing could hardly be better: wheelchair tennis has just taken on a special significance for South Africa. September 4, 2024 will be remembered as a historic day, as wheelchair tennis players Donald Ramphadi and Lucas Sithole made history by winning bronze at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. They are the first Africans to win a medal in wheelchair tennis at the Paralympic Games. This success impressively demonstrates how important it is to support disabled athletes.

The Paralympic Games, which take place from August 28 to September 8, celebrate the courage and perseverance of athletes who tirelessly push boundaries. The Ndlovu Care Group is contributing to this kind of change by working tirelessly to empower and integrate people with disabilities into society. Since 2007, this important work has been supported by the Hugo Tempelman Foundation from Germany. Thanks to the long-standing partnership with Energetix Bingen, numerous projects have already been implemented that have significantly improved the lives of people with disabilities locally. Together, we have ensured that people who are often overlooked are given the chance to develop their abilities and be part of the community.

Credits: Team SA Facebook, Ndlovu Care Group

A look inside the vocational school of the Ndlovu Care Group

This video provides an insight into the current activities of the Ndlovu Vocational Training Center. The participants of the Postcode Lottery Germany made the opening of this vocational school possible. The Hugo Tempelman Foundation would like to thank them!

Support for the disabled at the Jorishaus rehabilitation center

Support for the disabled is a major topic in the work of the Ndlovu Care Group. Mentally and physically disabled children are often not integrated into society, often they do not even receive adequate medical care, and the vulnerability of these children is even greater. Studies show that poverty in an area, lack of access to nutritious food, exposure to environmental factors and pathogens as well as social and other risks influence the incidence of disabilities. Inadequate housing is particularly detrimental to children with disabilities. Unfortunately, the prevailing view among affected families is still that locking these children away in the home is the best way to protect them. Alarmingly, evidence of abuse is becoming more common. The type of abuse experienced by disabled children is often linked to the nature of their disabilities: mentally and physically disabled children are more likely to be sexually abused, while learning disabled children experience particularly high levels of neglect and bullying.The result is a lifelong dependence on care from the family.

Early detection of disabilities is essential to ensure that children are treated and rehabilitated effectively. Unfortunately, disabilities are often not recognized until quite late in a child’s life. However, preventing these children from being stunted through neglect is possible through effective intervention. The Ndlovu Care Group has set itself this goal. The Jorishaus is a day care center dedicated entirely to these people. It is not a care home, but the children and their parents are educated here. They are shown how to deal with the respective disability and how the children can be supported. It is a day program. The children are not taken away from their families. Three days a week the program is in the house, three days the staff go to the families’ homes, look at the living situations on site and provide practical, individual support on how everyday life can be mastered in a more disability-friendly way.

The care is based on the Conductive Education System. Generalists are trained in the overarching areas of physiotherapy, orthopaedics, speech therapy and childcare. A training school is to be created in the future.

Read the following articles on this topic in detail:

Visiting Elandsdoorn: Jorishaus rehabilitation center for the disabled

The new transport bus – a great relief for the children from the Jorishaus rehabilitation center for the disabled

Remarkable success for the Jorishaus rehabilitation center for the disabled

Exciting times for the children from Jorishaus

Disabled children in South Africa?

The year of integration

News from Jorishaus; the care center for disabled children of the Ndlovu Care Group

Friends in wheelchairs: the special story of Danny and Uncle Joseph

YouTube video about the Disability Project

Conductive Ecducators teach families how to physically support their handicapped children.

The first two young people from Jorishaus have successfully taken part in a further training course and can now be placed in employment

Healthy and regular nutrition is essential at the Jorishaus daycare center.

Sport is also part of the care program at Jorishaus.

Many families from the surrounding area came to the opening of the Jorishaus and took advantage of the Ndlovu Care Group’s offer.

Mobile dentist

Traditionally, little attention is paid to dental care in rural regions. The Ndlovu Care Group has therefore launched an awareness-raising program which, in addition to dental care, aims to change the way people think about dental health – especially young people.
The motto: “Black is beautiful. But not in your mouth”
Trained dental assistants regularly visit schools, examine pupils in the first and second grades and make appointments with the dentist, who carries out his treatments free of charge in a mobile practice.

Mother-child program

The Mother and Child Program offers pregnant women comprehensive care around the birth of their children. The core element of the program is a therapy to prevent the transmission of HIV from mothers to their unborn children, which drastically reduces the risk of infection. This form of therapy has been used at the Ndlovu Medical Center since 2003 – with phenomenal success: thanks to treatment at the center, 99% of HIV-infected mothers now give birth to healthy, HIV-negative babies.

Since 2008, a total of 2838 children have been born at the Ndlovu Care Group’s mother and child clinic. 538 mothers were HIV-positive. Every single one of them gave birth to a healthy, HIV-negative baby. That is a huge success. As part of the mother-child program, the women at the clinic are also educated about sexual hygiene, protection against sexually transmitted diseases and the dangers of HIV and AIDS. Over 180 women take advantage of this information service every month. A free cervical cancer treatment program is also offered.

In 2016, the mother and child clinic initially had to be closed. Hugo Tempelman explained this in an open letter: “It is with great regret, but in good spirit, that we would like to inform you that the 24-hour mother and child clinic at the Medical Center in Elandsdoorn will be closed. We have been informed by the Ministry of Health that the private clinic license for 24h operation will not be renewed until extensive investments are made. It was never our intention to become a private clinic, but offering a 24-hour service puts us in that category.”

Read about this in detail: The end of an era of empathetic help and extraordinary success

However, basic medical care and support in the Medical Center will be maintained as part of a 12-hour clinic.

An extraordinary development!

Continuation of the 12-hour clinic in Elandsdoorn

HIV therapy program

Since 2003, Hugo Tempelman and his team of doctors have been treating HIV patients at the Ndlovu Medical Center with the antiretroviral therapies commonly used in Europe. Although the drugs cannot cure the disease, they improve the immune system and make patients less susceptible to dangerous infections. They increase life expectancy and significantly improve quality of life.

An HIV vaccine is the ultimate goal that research groups are working hard to achieve. In April 2016, the HIV Vaccine Trails Network contacted Dr. Hugo Tempelman. The network has developed a vaccine against AIDS and now wants to start human trials after the animal testing phase.

Aids education in schools and communities

The Elandsdoorner program focuses on educating teenagers about the dangers of HIV and AIDS, ideally before they become sexually active themselves. Five teams of young people of the same age are currently visiting schools in the region and using plays to provide information about the virus and its spread. In subsequent workshops, they discuss sexuality, the risk of infection, incest and sexual permissiveness with the pupils. Through regular information campaigns in villages and communities, the AIDS education programme also makes an important contribution to the fight against stigmatization and discrimination of those affected.