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Manzamnyama Village, Eastern Cape

Manzamnyama Village is a Xhosa community in the middle of the Eastern Cape (Old Transkei). Education is very basic, jobs are scarce and the average family income is low. The young people leave the village to find jobs in the city or in the mines, and they send their salary home to support their families. So the population here is mainly elderly people, women and children. Progress in the village is almost impossible as all the capable workforce and educated youth have left the area and moved to the city in search of a better life. Hygiene standards are also practically non-existent in the village. There are no toilets, no showers and no education about the importance of hygiene. Simple wash basins are used and water is often collected from contaminated sources.

Aim of the Project

We are here to help the community to raise their living standards. The idea is to set up a Volunteer and Backpackers Lodge to create an income stream for the village. With this money, the Lungusile projects can be financed: A creche (early learning centre) for little children, a school based on Cambridge Distance Education Systems, a vegetable garden to teach organical gardening, a sewing project, and many other things. In the course of these projects, we plan to build compost toilets and solar showers for the village, install water pumps and a central tap to fetch water etc.

The lodge and all other projects are partly owned by the village, partly by us. With this system, they have a vital interest for the project to succeed, because it will benefit the community directly. The overall goal of the project is to raise the living standars of this village, create a system that generates income for the people, raise the education level of the villagers and make them independent of us or any other help from outside, such as donations etc.

Background of the Project How did it all come about? Why are we here, in this particular village, to do what we are doing?
The project was initiated by Mr. Rufus, one of the eldest of Manzmnyama Village, who workes for Bulungula Lodge as a driver. Seing what the Lodge did for the village of Bulungula, he wanted something similar for his own village. So he started telling people to come visit his home and do a project there ... read more

Who is working on the project? Meet the people behind the screen, who have dedicated their time and effort to make this project happen ... read more

Manzamnyama Village watches Soccer World Cup 2010 Everywhere around South Africa it says "feel the vibe ... it's here!" Well allright, yes it is! Thanks to a generous donation we were able to buy a projector and could therefore show the soccer world cup in the village. Old and young gathered in front of the screen to witness the wins and losses of Bafana Bafana ... read more

Mpame Spring Couch Surf 2010!!!! Come and join us for the Mpame Spring Couch Surf from September 1st - 14th! We will host a big couch surfing event in Manzamnyama. Couchsurfers and volunteers, travelers and adveturers from all over the world are invited to spend their spring holiday with us. This is a great opportunity for you to combine your holiday with volunteer work, and it will benefit the community immensely. read more

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