The Philani Child Health & Nutrition Project is a community-based non-governmental organization (NGO), operating in the informal settlements of Khayelitsha, Crossroads, Brown’s Farm, Mfuleni, Nyanga and Delft on the outskirts of Cape Town, 20-30 km from the city centre. An estimated 750,000 to 1 million people live in these areas (the majority of whom originated in the Eastern Cape), in simple core houses or informal dwellings made of corrugated iron, wood, and plastics – many overcrowded and without water and sanitation.

Unemployment, poverty, poor housing, and lack of basic services cause malnutrition and poor health in our communities. Women and children are most vulnerable. Twenty per cent of the population comprises children younger than six years of age, one in every ten children is underweight for age, and one in every four children is stunted. Half of the adult population is unemployed (The Khayelitsha Survey, UNICEF, 1994). The HIV pandemic has hit these communities especially hard, with women bearing the brunt of it. Around 30 per cent of pregnant women here are HIV positive, leaving young children orphaned in high numbers. TB is another major problem, with a high incidence of women and children suffering from both HIV and TB.

Taken from philani.org.za

If you’re into handmade works of art please have a look at the beautiful woven, silkscreen, beading, lino printed and other products that are for sale at Philani.Please support this great cause.

Below are the second lot t shirts that we’ve produced for the mentor mothers.