The Excitement and Challenges of Partnerships: South Africa and Australia

1. Global Connections…
The Excitement and Challenges of
Partnerships: South Africa and Australia
Margie van Zyl
Director : Strategic Partnerships
GERATEC

2. It all started on a dusty road in the rural district of
Rorke’s Drift, KwaZulu Natal….

3. SAGE, Australia and EMSENI, Rorkes’ Drift, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
LONDON IAHSA
sets the stage
Emseni’s first ironing press – a gift from the delegates at IAHSA London
The excitement…the first global connection is made and formalised

4. IAHSA LONDON 2009 was the springboard
for this global connection

5. South Africa
KwaZulu-Natal

6.  Durban
 Pietermaritzburg
 Wasbank
 Rorke’s Drift
 Kokstad
KwaZulu-Natal

7. Connections facilitated since IAHSA London 2009:
SOUTH AFRICA AUSTRALIA
Elonwabeni Eldercare Inc.
Emseni SAGE
Issy Geshen St Joseph’s
Sunnyside Park Grande Pacific
SAAHA Aged Care Channel
Crafters Raelea
Emuseni ARCARE
St Antonine’s Uniting Care NSW

8. St Joseph’s in Australia, and Issy Geshen Old Age Home
in Durban, KwaZulu Natal

9. Grande Pacific, Gold Coast, Australia and
Sunnyside Park in Pietermaritzburg, KZN
Sometimes, like friendships,
partnerships struggle, and
don’t succeed. Possible
reason: Partnership entered
with different expectations.
What began…
• staff emailing and residents writing
to each other

10. Aged Care Channel, Australia, has partnered with
South African long term care facilities through SAAHA,
the South African Association of Homes for the Aged.
Regular donations of Learning Resources – training
DVD’s and notes – have been shared, and used in
training, particularly in the rural homes.

11. Global links need to be “relational”
This programme is about
• building authentic relationships
• developing friendships
• exchanging stories, happenings, ideas
• triumphs and challenges, as well as
• sharing resources, both material, financial and expertise

12. This takes TIME… and… PASSION
Connections that last, and are sustainable,
are connections of the HEART.

13. What are the benefits?
• Fun
• Friendship
• Sharing
• Learning about each other
• Exchange of staff and residents
Not just about finance and handouts.

14. Ultimately the global link should be interactive -exchanges
between both staff and residents can be both formal and
informal. An informal connection… between crafters

15. Each country needs a Champion – someone to enthuse
other organisations, someone who is passionate and
appreciative of the value of such connections.
Each organisation needs a Champion.
Organisations need to be encouraged to tell their stories:
story telling is powerful, so too are pictures!
It’s all about Champions… and visionaries...
Ordinary people doing extraordinary things

16. Some of the Challenges:
• Introducing the concept of international
friendships/partnerships to folk who have had no
experience of such a “connection”.
• Particularly in the rural homes in South Africa, people
have worked for years in isolation.
• New to networking, even local networking, the value of
international networks has to be explained, understood
and embraced.

17. A huge challenge for some rural homes is being without the
internet due to poor reception deep in the hills, so reliance
is made of faxing (when the fax line works!)
EMSENI experiences this problem

18. Looking for an International Partner:
Emuseni Centre for the Aged, Plessislaer, Pietermaritzburg –
A sub economic home in the peri-urban area

19. EMUSENI: Showers & flooring in need of repair

20. St Antonine’s Home for the Aged
Wasbank,KwaZulu Natal
Meet Sister Lucia, the Director and Charles Ngubane,
the Chairman, after their introductory slideshow…

21. St. Antonine’s greatest need… a new water pump

22. For the future… a connection between homes that have
started the journey of the Eden Alternative in South Africa
and Eden homes in other parts of the world.
Sharing a philosophy of care makes for a good foundation of
shared values in order to establish working partnerships.
Eden in OZ and NZ and Eden UK have expressed interest.

23. So… watch this space as IAHSA continues
to reach out, facilitate partnerships and
create global connections
of reciprocal value!
Come along…
Join hands too!

24. Margie van Zyl
Director: Strategic Partnerships
GERATEC, South Africa
Contact:
mvanzyl@geratecza.com
+27 84 556 2076