The 121@VMA Team

Lizette Venter directs 121@ VMA. Having worked in the corporate world for many years (IT and Project Management) she felt the strong call to get more involved in community work. This led to her starting up 121@ VMA where she does her utmost to keep the rest of us (young ones!) in line!


Ian Stuart is pastor of the Pretoria North Baptist church. He is actively involved in every part of 121@ VMA from guiding us with his wise council, to daily decision making, to sorting out technical hitches, to facilitating with the detention program.


Cori Wielenga is involved with all the day-to-day runnings of 121. She initiated the project in Soshanguve and is developing material for the detention program. She is currently working on her doctorate in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies, in which she is focussing on reconciliation processes in Rwanda.


Ian Dewbury and Rene Jobse are both on our board and involved with the long term planning and visioning for 121. Ian brings with him enormous amounts of experience in working with children in ministry. Rene's interest is around connecting business and ministry, and was part of a team that developed the fantastic MoneySkills boardgame.

Salome van Niekerk joined our team only a few months ago and is helping out in a hundred-and-one ways, from administrative tasks, to facilitating detention sessions, to training our volunteers in Soshanguve. She is preparing for a six-month missions outreach to Mozambique and is further exploring the possibilities of full-time missions.

Hope Nkadimeng has joined us specifically to coordinate the project in Soshanguve. He has worked for several years in the NGO world in Soshanguve, building relationships with schools and volunteers. He has also assisted with the detention program in Pretoria.

121@VMA Update, November, 2006

PEOPLE
With the last update, we made mention of new people who had joined our team, including William. Unfortunately, William has left us again, having landed a good job with the CSIR in Pretoria. We wish him all the best and thank him for his contribution to 121!

Pray: Continue to pray for the rest of the team as we prepare and plan for 2007.
Financial: At this point, we need R2000 monthly to cover team expenses. If you are interested in contributing to this, please use ‘121 team’ as your reference.

CONSTRUCTIVE DETENTION PROGRAM (CDP)
Last week Monday was our last detention session at Pretoria North High. On Friday we treated the staff to a finger lunch and filled them in on what we’d been doing the past term. The feedback from staff and school management was extremely positive. We’ve been invited to carry on our program there in 2007. We’re also waiting to hear from a couple of schools in terms of getting involved with them next year. During this break, we’re hard at work developing more material to present during detention.

Pray: Please pray that we develop relevant, life-changing material that will impact lives in the new year.
Financial: Developing material for detention programs costs in the area of R500 a session. If you are interested in contributing to this, please use ‘CDP material’ as your reference.

PROJECT SOSHANGUVE
We’re still training our volunteers in Soshanguve on a weekly basis. There are about twelve regulars who we are both discipling and equipping in terms of being effective facilitators. There are numerous challenges related to working in Soshanguve, from communication, to a secure venue for training. Although schools we’ve approached are excited about our program, again, communication is a challenge and we still need to finalise what schools we will be working in, and the logistics around that.

Pray: Pray for the volunteers, that they will fully understand 121’s vision and mission and become deeply committed to following Jesus. Pray for ease of communication, both with the volunteers as well as the schools. Pray for Hope, who continues to coordinate the project in Soshanguve for 121.
Financial: Training the volunteers in Soshanguve has a weekly cost of around R200. If you are interested in contributing to this, please use ‘Project Sosh’ as your reference.

TRAINING
On Saturday, Edgar Ramsami from Sonlife in Johannesburg, took us through a fantastic training program that looked at the character of a youth worker, understanding the world of a young person and exploring the difference between punishment and discipline. It was great to have both our team in Pretoria North and our volunteers-in-training from Soshanguve together for this event. At the end of November, we’re planning a training with Scripture Union.

Pray: Pray for the training at the end of the month, that it will be meaningful, equipping our volunteers for the task ahead.
Financial: The training with Scripture Union will cost R1000. If you are interested in contributing to this, please use ‘training’ as your reference.

‘BOSBERAAD’
On the 5th of December, the 121 board and team will have a getaway day to strategise and plan for the year ahead.

Pray: Please pray that we will have a productive time together, that we will be able to communicate effectively and be continuously aligned with what God would have us be busy with.

THANK YOU again to all our supporters, all those who pray and care and support us financially or through an encouraging word or email. This past month we have been truly blessed by so many people who have assured us again that they are praying for us. We often feel so overwhelmed and small in the light of such enormous challenges and need; so ill-equipped and weakly-financed for such a great task. Yet with a team of supporters like yourselves that extends across the globe, and with our eyes on Jesus, we know we can continue to walk on water, as the impossible becomes possible through Him.

Yours,
Cori, for the 121 team.

Our Bank Details
Name: 121 At VMA Catalysts
Bank: Standard Bank
Account No: 011351470
Branch Code: 010445