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Supported by

Equilibrium 4 Changing Times

Equilibrium is a Christian

Non profit Organisation

based in Cape Town,

South Africa. We look to

partner with schools,

churches and the commu-

nity within Cape Town.

Working through the me-

dium of sport, arts and

counselling we provide

quality Christian role

models into key areas

within the educational

sector, community and

church. We give every

young person in the com-

munities the opportunity to

be inspired and influenced

by them.

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From the CEO‘s Bench ...

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E4 Church Project

Page 4 & 5

School Project .....

Page 6

Community Project ...

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End of Year Family Day...

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Partnerships

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―Only a life lived for others is worth living.‖ - Albert Einstein-

Dear Partners and Friends, Greetings in the name of Jesus from all of us at Equilibrium! Welcome to our second edition of Changing Times, our quarterly newsletter. Let me start off by expressing our heartfelt thanks for partnering with us. Please know that we keep on praying for you, that ―our God will make you worthy of the life to which He called you and that by His power, He may fulfil every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.‖ (2Thes 1:11) Albert Einstein said ―Only a life lived for others, is worth living‖. As Christmas is a time of giving and sharing, may you use the opportu-nity to make a difference in the lives of others — maybe visit a shelter and feed the hungry; invite a missionary for lunch; adopt a child for the day or go to an Aids Hospice. The opportunities to make a differ-ence are literally endless! LOVE IN ACTION is what will bring Transformation in our families, communities, workplace, schools, and churches. And over the last 3 months, we at Equilibrium have endeavoured to increase our acts of love and service to others; without a doubt it‘s been worth it! The main highlight of this quarter is definitely the start of our E4 (Equilibrium for) Schools Project by Deon Petersen and Charlie's Angels Heather Miller, Helen Francis, Hilda and Margeret Their work not only during the school hours, but also their efforts in our after-school clubs and holiday programmes has been absolutely outstanding. According to the educators, the work that‗s been done was remarkable! We hope that you enjoy reading this update. Many Thanks & Merry Christmas Elroy

Equilibrium Extra Murals: The All Star Programme Through the implementation of our All Star Programme, we have witnessed (in a short space of time) how exciting, balanced and well managed range of extra-mural activities can transform a local school into a Community Hub school. The All Star Leadership Programme is a reflection of the beliefs, values and princi-ples of the Christian faith; and is designed to encourage the Life Skills & Leadership Development of Grade 8-12 pupils through mentoring style interaction. The sessions are written in accordance with the National Curriculum. We believe that leadership is influence. Therefore the Program‗s content is structured to influence the in-fluencers, and encourage them to get involved (on a voluntary basis), in the many Equilibrium initiatives and Extra Murals activities. All Star pupils are given the opportunity to practically experience the dynamics of leading on Coaching days, Holiday Programmes and After School Clubs. Throughout the Program the All Star pupils are encouraged and coached to demonstrate qualities such as: COMMUNICATION, RELIABILITY, ENTHUSIASM, COMMITMENT, INITIATIVE, RESPONSIBILITY Each Extra Mural Activity (sport, arts or community support service) include these elements: 1. Socio-economic Awareness – promoting responsible citizenship and providing links to the world of work, encouraging entrepreneurship 2. Personal & Health Awareness – life skills for personal development and building character to face chal-lenges 3. Christ Awareness – Proclaiming the Gospel and providing the opportunities to accept Christ.

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The E4 (Equilibrium for) Church Project got off to a great start with more than 70 peo-ple (from our partner churches) partaking in our Children & Youth Development Train-ing Days, over the last 3 months, alone! Our goal is to build a bridge from the school to the church and place a Youth Worker in partner Churches. The church becomes the beneficiary of the kids who committed their lives to Christ and the Youth Worker disciples these kids. Students at our partner schools are already coming to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ and many Churches are indeed keen to partner with Equilibrium. However, due to logistical and financial reasons, we are not yet able to place Youth Workers. But despite the challenges we are continuing to support in our partner

churches by providing training resources. Listed below is the Training Courses we currently offer:

Children‗s Church Training

Youth Leadership Training

Discipleship Training (Remodelling A Generation for Eternity Training Package)

Counselling (1 on 1)

We are delighted at the huge interest from churches in our training. There‘s an immense need for children‗s church

training; most of the Children Church teachers are under resourced and don‗t always have the time always to do re-

search. So we believe that this phased approached of providing training and development before we eventually plac-

ing a Youth Worker is definitely a step in the right direction. After all, it‗s very difficult to disciple without resources.

And we at Equilibrium are committed to the Great Commission by providing resources (whether training, people or

services) to our partner churches

This is what some of our Churches had to say:

―I‘ learnt so much about myself—and how to present a programme to our kids in a fun and practical way‖

AFM Matroosfontein

―Equilibrium inspired and equipped us with relevant skills to be better counsellors.‖

New Heritage Church

―The way Equilibrium empowered our youth leadership was amazing! I‘m excited to imple-ment these programmes in our youth.‖

Didasko Student Ministeries

Counselling Training

Children Training

Counsellin

g (1 0n

Youth Leadership Training

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South Africa – alive with possibility! Host of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup; winners of the 2007 Rugby World Cup and also been crowned 2009 Tri- Nations Champions. What a blessed nation we are on the field, but off the field we faced with so many challenges.

Problems in our Education System: Low levels of literacy and numeracy: 4 out 5 Grade 6 pupils cannot read or write.

Progress from grade to grade in the primary school on teachers' recommendation

Most pupils falling progressively further behind which give rise to ill discipline in the classroom.

An ever increasing drop-out rate; for every 1.2 million pupils who enter in Grade 1, only 500 000 finally reach matriculation. More than 50% have left by the time they reach Grade 10, without any education qualification

Young People standing early in

the morning on the Corner ....

Our Partner Schools:

Range High & Valhalla High

The Past Being perfectly situated to service the

surrounding communities, these schools have established themselves, in times past, as major role-players in the lives of youngsters. Both schools boast a proud history of quality education and being a stepping stone for many a young per-son‘s future.

The Present The decline in moral fibre of our society

is clearly manifested in the schools where pupils show no regard for author-ity and live according to lawlessness, and accept no responsibility for their actions.

The Future There is hope for our future! We can still make choices today to secure a good future. We believe relationship-building is fundamental to seeing the desired change. By restoring and improving rela-tionships between teacher and student, the quality of education in the classroom will improve. With hope the possibilities are endless. The glimpses of hope are appearing at Valhalla High and Range High, and we

believe these schools have the potential to reach and achieve even more than they ever thought possible!

We are seeing glimpses of that hope,

and believe soon people will start seeing

a new Range High and Valhalla High

Our Pioneer Workers Our pioneer workers Helen Francis, Mar-garet Mambuke and Hilda Stewart are doing outstanding work at our partner schools. The future of our students is looking brighter because we are shining a light of HOPE in their lives.

Study Method Workshop The Study Method Workshop was highly successful. After the workshop the stu-dents were empowered and encouraged to apply the newly learnt study tech-niques. Our first pilot school Goodwood College were amazed at the difference the workshop made in students‘ grades. The student with the best results was presented with our inaugural Annual Award for Best Progressed Student of 2009

Highlights 2009 The Number of Learners that we engaged with during 2009

Literacy Program

162 learners

Counselled

135 learners

Career Expo

2650 learners

Leadership Camp

25 learners

Assemblies

4800 learners

Anger Management Workshop

290 learners

Study Methods Workshop

286 learners

Life Orientation /skills

2940 learners

After school & Holiday Clubs

735 learners

Literacy Program with Helen and Mar-

geret Mambuke in Norwood Primary

Study Methods Workshop at

Goodwood College school Career Exhibition Day at West Bank

High School

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Memorizing 45 items in 30 seconds

TRUST FALL is not for

the faint hearted

Getting Ready for Teambuilding

Try m

aking a re

ctangle B

lindfo

lded

Our very first Leadership Camp was held 2nd

- 4th

October 2009, and kicked off with a bang!!! The Students of Wes Bank High School were very excited about the camp, so much so, that some couldn‗t sleep the night before! The Theme for the weekend was ―Myself My World and My Future‖ The Aim was to help students to discover and develop their identity. We took them through our 5-Step‖LIVE THE LIFE‖ Course: 1. Life‗s Gifts – Identifying their gifts and talents 2. Life‗s Mission – Formulating their mission statement 3. Life‗s Vision – Setting goals to achieve their mission 4. Life‗s Challenges – Preparing for the obstacles on the path 5. Life‗s Company – Inviting others to help & join in on the road to suc-cess During exercises, some of the echo‗s amongst students were ―I can‗t do it‖; but it was amazing to see how these peers challenged each other on negative speech. And flowing out of the camp these young people started their own prayer group at school. Wow! We believe that greater things are yet to come as these young people will not only impact their immediate world but they will change the Future of South Africa. After all,

“A small group of committed people can CHANGE the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” (Margaret Mead) The camp was a resounding success and we believe that throughout the weekend God was touching and equipping these youngsters to do great things in their school and community. Please pray that God who began a good work in these young people will carry it on to completion; and that may they keep on growing in love, knowledge and understanding of God, so that they may live pure and blameless lives until Christ returns. (Phil 1v6-10)

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Equilibrium‗s vision is purely motivated by the love of Christ.

On the 1

st of October which

was International ‘Teachers Appreciation Day‗ we used the opportunity to celebrate teachers at our partner schools by presenting them with gifts. Their gratitude was heart warming. One of the teachers remarked ―I have been teaching for 30 years and no one has honoured me in such a manner‖

Deon handing out the gifts

from Equilibrium

Vahalla High Teachers Appreciation Day

Love in Action

In Matthew 25v34-40 Jesus said 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom pre-pared for you from the founda-tion of the world: for I was hun-gry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. ... Assur-edly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.' People all around us, are crav-ing to see love in action; thus we seized the moment and re-cently handed out clothes to the needy, widows and or-phans. It‗s His Hands that touches hearts through our availability. Are you available to be used by Him? Are you too busy? Who‗s not receiving a blessing? What or Who are you living for?

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Year end function 31 October 2009 Gordans bay

Well it‗s that time of the year again when we dust off the weights and take the running shoes out from under the bed to get into shape for the summer. It‘s also the time for end-of-year functions. We decided to have our end of year function on the beach at Gordans Bay. God graced us with one of the most beautiful days we will see this sum-mer, and it was enjoyed to the utmost. Besides the braai-ing, eating, swimming, fun and games, we also presented our volunteer group with a Certificate of Participation to honour them for their hard work and commitment for the past year. It was the perfect day and the perfect way to celebrate our achievements and express our appreciation for each other. At this time we also wish to send forth season‗s greetings to our whole Equilibrium family: To our Prayer Partners: You are very important to us; because your prayers made it possible for us to achieve beyond our human capabilities. Thank you — May you have a blessed Christmas and a fantastic new year! To our Financial Partners: Your contribution and support is highly valued and greatly appreciated. And we want to wish you a merry Christmas and a prosperous new year. To our Partner Schools: We pray for God‗s protection, and may this be a blessed festive season and an exciting new year.

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Our website is currently under construction.

We will keep you posted.

Or Contact us :

Inside SA (021) 931 7745

Outside SA (+27) 931 7745

Watch out for the next newsletter in March 2010

Address: Lower Balvenie Avenue

Matroosfontein,

Elsies River, 7940

Cape Town ,

South Africa

8000

The Equilibrium vision are sustained

by the generous giving of our partners.

equilibriumcentre145@gmail.com

Our on going Needs

Prayer, Finance and People

As we advance with the vision that God

would link us with the right people.

Our Workers in the Schools and churches

We are trusting God for an office space &

Internet facilities.

Pray for our Different Projects