Sifiso Ndlovu
I’m Sifiso Ndlovu and I’ve been with ActionAid since 2006. I started working with the international communications team, but now I work with the country programme ActionAid South Africa.
My role as a communication person is to raise the profile of issues that affect poor and excluded people. We aim to influence decision makers so that they make decisions which have a social impact and help change people’s lives.
I also work with the ActionAid’s global youth network, uniting young people across the world in over 14 ActionAid countries (see here for more information www.actionaid.org/main.aspx?PageID=591). Our aim is to mobilise young people in rich and poor countries to campaign for positive and measurable changes.
I’m looking forward to answering your questions to the best of my abilities.
Questions and Answers (June 13, 2008)
Q: [from hannah] Someone from act!on aid has just been round to our house and we have signed up to help all the children £10.00 a month and i would like to know where does my mums money go to?
A: Your mum’s money goes to all sorts of places and is used in all sorts of ways by ActionAid.
Part of the £10 – about £4 - goes to support ActionAid’s work around the world. It’s tricky to explain how it might be used exactly as it’s a very long and varied list. For example: helping people in difficult circumstances prepare for disasters such as floods and cyclones, helping women get involved in decisions being made in their villages in Somaliland, helping people affected by HIV and AIDS overcome the stigma they face in their own communities and helping farmers in Brazil to share and build their skills.
The rest will go towards asking other people to join ActionAid, to make sure that we can help people not just this year but next year and the next. Every £1 of your money that we use in this way – is turned into at least £4 by our fundraising team!
We also keep a portion of your donation for our work in this country. This includes making sure that the voices of the children your mum supports are not forgotten by rich governments, supporting our ‘Who pays?’ campaigners to keep powerful supermarkets ‘on their toes’ and running our Chembakolli website, helping schools in the UK and children in village in rural India to learn about each other’s lives.
Wherever your money is spent we do our best to ensure that we get the best use out of it. If you have any other questions, please get in touch on supporterservices@actionaid.org
Q: [from Class 9 Manchester England] What are the hospitals like and are they far away from where you live?
A: It really depends were you are in South Africa. I’m in Johannesburg, so health facilities are nearer to where I live. However, deep down in rural parts of South Africa, like in the province of the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, people have to walk for over 50 miles to get treatment.
Q: what do you do at the weeckends.
A: Well, depends where my mood takes me! Sometimes I go and watch football matches or just hang out with friends.
Q: [from millie] what do the children play there.
A: Hi Millie, children from poor families here are very creative because they do not have resources buy toys, so they make their toys!! Using wire they design and make cars to play with, some use plastic bags to make a soccer ball.
Q: [from Syan] What’s the best way to communicate poverty issues?
A: Hey Syan, media has always been a crucial platform to raise such issues, because through newspapers, television and the radio you can get people to react and want to support issues. Then they want to put pressure on the decision makers to be accountable or answerable to all the people they make decisions for.
Q: [from Seb] Why did you want to work for ActionAid?
A: Hi Seb, ActionAid is amongst the few transparent organizations I know! By transparent, I mean we’re open about our work and can completely account for all the money we use. And the fact that ActionAid has offices in South Africa gave me an opportunity to be part of the winning team of ActionAiders.
