This year we welcome back Toronto Physiotherapist, Amanda Morin, to continue her exercise therapy work with the Botshabelo community.

Continuing work with existing and new community members, our goal remains the same, help those in need gain functional independence. 

In 2017 we provided the Botshabelo Community Development Trust with independent access to water using a 3.2 kilowatt solar panel system. Providing access was the first step, in creating an entirely independent water management system. 

This year, we're tasked with creating an entirely gravity fed water distribution system that moves water more efficiently.

This year Amanda Morin will be returning with us to Botshabelo community to continue her work.

With the help of our volunteers and the community members, she'll continue her work with Con, and Sarah. We'll check in with Annaleta's progress. Amanda will also be seeing some new community members with the continued goal of increasing mobility and improving their functional independence. 

CSW is committed to delivering education and skills training in everything we do. Education and skills training provides a long-term benefit to the entire community and the individuals learning something.

As part of CSW’s four branches, we believe that education is fundamental. That's why one of the major project objectives for 2017, was to enroll all of the school children through energy education programming that would compliment the work we were up to in the community.

What we know to be true is that dance connects us, lifts our spirit, celebrates our traditions, ancestors, and raises the vibration around us.

We've partnered with Toronto dancer and choreographer, Percy Anane-Dwumfour to lead dance and leadership workshops for the entire community and village.

With the help of Danielle Stevenson, in 2018 we got the Botshabelo Mushroom Project off the ground, quite literally.

Now that the mushroom cultivation has taken off, we'll be working with the community to fine tune their growing process and explore how the project will continue to evolve into the future. 

Pictures hold some of our personal favourite memories. And when we look at them, they give us the gift of reliving some of the best moments in our lives. In many ways, pictures are in and of themselves, gifts and we're excited to share this gift with Botshabelo.

Sustainability, refers to more than just the planet. Sustaining the humans on this planet includes the mind, body and spirit. Kinesiology and Masters of Physical Therapy graduate, Amanda Morin, joined us to help elevate the lives of several community members by increasing their mobility and improving functional independence.

In order to support Botshabelo's goals of living off the grid, we started our project with several major energy reduction strategies that would widely impact the community. From installing prepaid electrical meters, to a full overhaul of the community's lighting, we reduced the community's energy consumption by about 8%.

Since introducing Botshabelo to mushroom cultivation in 2018, they have worked through the steep learning curve of the fungi kingdom and began mastering their own growing operation. 

This project focuses on implementing mushroom education into the existing school curriculum, as well as offering skill-building workshops for the village, 

We teamed up with Software Developer,      Jean-Marc Skopek, to launch a micro computer lab and computer skills training program for the Botshabelo Community. 

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We live in a time where basic, and even advanced, computer skills are must when it comes to schooling and landing a job. Alongside Jean-Marc, we'll be delivering computer education and skills training for the community. 

This year we partnered with mushroom expert, Danielle Stevenson, to introduce mushroom cultivation to the Botshabelo community. Our introduction of fungi to the community included three major parts: 

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1. Infrastructure and construction;

2. Mushroom education and skills training 

3. Providing the equipment and tools required to operate a sustainable mushroom growing operatio

In August 2017, we gave Botshabelo independent access to clean water, bringing them one step closer to reaching their goal of living off the grid. This project is a major part of Botshabelo's energy reduction strategy, but more importantly, it's a major part of providing the community with a stronger sense of independence.