From the Centre. Issue 32 August 2014

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1 Issue 32 August 2014 I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : From the Centre 1 From the Centre Zimbabwean Special Permit 2 Career Counsellor Joins Scalabrini 3 UNITE AS ONE 3 Cultural Orientation Programme 4 English Alive 4 Welcome New Interns 5 Mission Statement: Perceiving migration as an opportunity, Scalabrini Centre is committed to alleviating poverty and promoting development in the Western Cape while fostering integration between migrants, refugees and South Africans. In providing our assistance, we advocate respect for human rights and use a holistic approach that considers all basic needs. Values: -Inspired by the teachings and actions of John Baptist Scalabrini, the Scalabrini Centre offers a welcoming environment that is open to all and where each individual is valued and treated with dignity. -Guided by a sense of humility, we promote respect for cultural diversity. Objective: To foster the cultural, social and economic integration of migrants, refugees and South Africans into local society. As spring returns to the Western Cape, the Centre is seeing an increase in activity and energy with several recent additions. Our Employment Access Programme has brought a Career Counsellor on board, expanding the team and diversifying the services of the programme. Our English School is well into their second term for the year and the first term to have all beginner level courses using the English in SA curriculum. Additionally, English Alive, our school s extra-curricular programme, has expanded to include HIV Body Mapping workshops, Afrikaans, drama and more. Our Outreach team is wrapping up their third term in the schools with the Unite As One workshops. The result of each weeks workshops will culminate with final presentations and performances in the middle of September and be a fantastic way for the participants to carry the lessons with them into the next year. Recent news from the Department of Home Affairs regarding the upcoming end to the 2010 ZDP permits has kept our Advocacy team busy. The team is trying to remain up to date and well versed in the decisions coming from the government so as to best serve our clients as they submit their applications for the new permit in the coming months. Read further for an update on our Cultural Orientation Programme and to meet our newest group of interns! -The Scalabrini Centre Cape Town

2 Page 2 Announcement of the Zimbabwean Special Permit The Department of Home Affairs has officially announced the framework for the extension of work permits issued under the Zimbabwean Documentation Project (ZDP) which ran from 2009 to In the June newsletter, the Advocacy Programme discussed the initial ZDP project and the ongoing discussions in government about how to address the upcoming expirations of these permits. On 12 August the Minister of Home Affairs announced the basic framework that the government will use to address the upcoming ZDP permit expirations. While initial discussions focused on the possibility of forcing Zimbabweans to return to Zimbabwe to apply for extensions, the Department has now announced that all permit holders will be allowed to apply for extensions in country. This is a welcome change in the Department s previous stance and will greatly benefit ZDP permit holders. Queues to submit ZDP applications in 2010 Additionally, ZDP permits are set to expire at different dates depending on when they were first issued these expiration dates could be as early as the end of this year or as far forward as The Minister s announcement has stated that all ZDP permits will expire on 31 December 2014 regardless of the date of expiration listed on the permit. It is crucial that all Zimbabweans are informed of this change in expiration date to avoid any potential problems in having their permits extended. The Department will begin receiving permit renewal applications on 1 October 2014 and the final deadline for application will be 31 December These applications will be lodged through the new Departmental subcontractor VFS Global which now deals with the reception of immigration permit applications. The Department will establish four new offices in Gauteng, Western Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga in addition to the 11 offices already opened to deal with applications. As with the ZDP permits, there will be several requirements for permit renewals. Thus far the Department has indicated that individuals will be required to meet the following criteria: have a valid passport; have evidence of employment; and have a clear criminal record As opposed to the initial ZDP project that did not require any administrative fee, renewals under the ZSP project will be subject to an administrative fee but the amount has not yet been decided. Importantly, all ZSP permits will expire on 31 December 2017 and there will be no renewal of these permits at that time. Individuals will be able to apply for mainstream immigration permits within 12 months of the expiration of the ZSP permits. These applications will need to be lodged from Zimbabwe. The Advocacy Programme will continue to assist individuals who have fallen through the cracks such as those who never received their initial ZDP permit. There are also critical details that have yet to be finalised and the Advocacy Programme will engage with the Department on these matters in the coming months.

3 Page 3 EAP adds a Career Counsellor to the Team A big welcome to Stephanie with our EAP team! We would like to welcome our newest staff member, Stephanie Mackay who is a registered psychometrist and will be acting as the Scalabrini Centre s Career Counsellor. Stephanie will be working closely under the Employment Access Programme, offering one on one career guidance consultations to clients. Stephanie will evaluate clients education and work backgrounds in order to help them determine what they need to do next in terms of achieving their employment goals. Stephanie will be able to assess clients by using the appropriate psychometric assessments. Stephanie s role will also consist of developing action plans per client, aiding clients in the job search process, assisting in evaluating clients for possible skills training sponsorship, as well as facilitate the Life Skills modules of the Digital Literacy Workshop. The addition of a Career Counsellor will round out the services provided by the EAP team and allow further insight into the needs of our clients. Unite as One Term Three Term three for the Unite as One project has gotten off to an exciting start! Learners at each of our four partner schools are working on 3 different outcomes to promote diversity and demonstrate their learning over the first two terms. The first group is creating a dramatic advert with Khadija. Learners are developing their creative, collaborative and presentation skills in these sessions. The second group is creating a song with Jits, developing their creative writing and performance skills. The third group is creating a cartoon around diversity with Derix. The group has been learning about different cultures as well as their languages and customs and developing their artistic skills. We have been amazed at the talent already existing amongst the learners in all of the groups. Vista learners during a drama workshop Unite s new intern, Linda Mafuna, has been doing a fantastic job assisting with both organization as well as facilitation. Sandile Mercedes Mntungwahas also joined us as an assistant facilitator at Phandulwazi, and we are grateful for his enthusiastic presence. We are excited for the culminating performances to take place from mid- September. We look forward to sharing these with you on Facebook next month!

4 Page 4 Cultural Orientation Programme The Cultural Orientation Programme participants have done some exciting activities over the past few months. Jean, Jinow and Mireille went to the Castle and to do Putt Putt. Anthony, Bob and Abel have been to Kirstenbosch and the Green Point Stadium. Dillon, Jessica and Pacific spent some time at the beach. Antonia and Santa-Marie enjoyed a Waterfront cruise. We are looking for hosts for the next term of the Cultural Orientation Programme starting in October. If you are interested in participating in an enriching cross-cultural exchange, please contact Daniela at daniela@scalabrini.org.za or Cultural Orientation Participants enjoying Putt Putt! English Alive Heading into its third week, this term's extracurricular programme, titled, "English Alive", has taken off with a boom as about 130 students attend activities each week. The programme consists of drama, writing, debating, Afrikaans, Tai Chi, film screenings and daily conversation clubs that take place between the lessons of the day, every day. A very exciting extension to the programme is a series of Body Mapping HIV workshops that will be run by our ingenious intern, Yasmin Dunkley. Additional excitement is the poetry competition English Alive is running in celebration of National Book Week (1-6 September). Themed "Future Africa, poems will be judged by a panel lead by Khadija Heeger, a well-known and popular performance poet who teaches our Friday Elementary 1 class. Daily conversation club participants

5 Page 5 She already loves the work here and enjoys working with her inspirational co-workers. -Linda Mafuna Unite as One Intern Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town 47 Commercial Street Cape Town, 8001 Phone +27 (0) Fax +27 (0) mmadikane@scalabrini.org.za We re on the Web! own.wordpress.com Find us on Facebook: calabrini-centre-of-cape- Town/ Follow us on Twitter: CT Welcome to New Interns Yasmin Dunkley (English School) joined Scalabrini Centre in July. She will be working as an English School intern for 6 months, dividing her time between school administration, teaching beginners English classes and HIV-awareness workshops. She is from the UK, where she studied History and Politics at Oxford University. She also has a background working with refugees and HIVpositive youth. She loves to communicate and interact with clients hoping to help them with her contagious enthusiasm and determination. Julien Nizelin (EAP) joined Scalabrini Centre in July. He is from Mauritius where he studied Political Science at the local university and he decided to travel to South Africa for a sense of adventure and to gain valuable experience and knowledge. He will stay at the Centre for 3 months as an Employment Access Programme intern. He is enjoying his time here, especially meeting clients and helping them with writing their CVs and in their job searches. Kaelynn Macdonald (EAP) is from Australia but she was born in Joburg. She studied Politics and International Relations at Murdoch University in Perth and she is currently completing a Graduate Certificate in Human Rights. She will be working as an Employment Access Programme Intern for 4 months and is also assisting in the Digital Literacy Class to teach clients the basic use of a computer. She is loving her time at the Centre as she considers this a valuable and rewarding experience. Linda Mafuna (UNITE) is the Unite as One intern, working at schools to encourage the youth to think positively and embrace the difference of colours, races, cultures and to respect each other s intelligence and social state. She is from Cape Town and is very passionate about interacting with young people, listening to them and helping them on a daily basis. She already loves the work here and enjoys working with her inspirational co-workers. Rachele Rivetta (All-Arounder) joined Scalabrini in August. She fell in love with Cape Town when she was here in 2012 and decided to come back to gain experience as part of her studies in International Cooperation and Development. She is passionate about international issues, especially migration and integration, and loves to interact with people and clients. As an all-arounder intern she is dividing her time between different projects here at the Centre and is learning new things every day. She is looking forward to working together with this committed and enthusiastic team and is planning to continue working in non-profit organizations after her time at the Centre.