New Apron Fabrics Now Available!

June is here and with it comes a selection of new fabrics for the Palala Clubs Traditional Aprons.  You can find the new fabrics (#35-#44) on our Apron Sales page, along with up-to-date quantities available in the other fabrics.  Our new fabrics include two new styles of Madiba fabric as well as two new reversible styles.  At this point we must apologize that there are a number of older fabric styles out of stock.  It has been difficult to locate these fabrics throughout the country.  We are working with a couple of fabric stores in the Pretoria area to try and secure more.  As soon as more of these fabrics are available we will update them on the Apron Sales page.

To order your aprons email us at palalaclubs@gmail.com.

Apron Sales Pass 450!

450 Aprons Sold and Counting!

The Palala Apron Project continues to sew up aprons for supporters of the Palala Clubs. Recently the leaders processed an order of 16 aprons with matching ‘dituku’, or head wraps, for a local society, all in a matter of only 5 days! Income from these and many other orders has gone to support a number of activities for the Palala Clubs this year. The first half of Palala North Girls Club 2009 has already passed. Girls this year have been able to learn how to bead, make earrings, sew quilt squares, create chain bracelets and tie dye socks. All of this has been possible through our apron sales. Thank you to all of you have supported Palala Clubs!

Due to the large quantity of aprons that have been sold recently, we will be working on updating our inventory on the website. During the month of May we will be acquiring more fabric and will have up-to-date availability for each style at the end of the month!

Proudly showing off their new socks.

PBC Curriculum

Although long overdue, a complete Palala Boys Club curriculum is now available for download on the Curriculum page. Please check it out if you are interested and let us know if there is anything else we can provide. The download is small and available in both Publisher and PDF formats.

Unlike the PGC Curriculum, instructions are not provided for activities and projects. Only sample lessons and discussion topics are included for a 12-week club year. We hope you find this useful and that it can be a stepping stone for the development of bigger and better programs. Good luck!

Apron Sales Pass 100 Mark!

Since the apron project began in mid-June, just 3 short months earlier, the Palala Clubs is proud to announce that it has officially sold over 100 aprons!

When this project began a few month ago, we had no idea how successful or well received it would be, but it has never ceased to amaze us. It all began with approximately 40 aprons being taken to the SA15 Close of Service Conference to test the waters and see if it was possible to sell all of them. Well, we did not come back empty handed so to speak because while we sold out of every last apron, we had an entire list of new orders to fill with the promise of many more orders to come. So began the apron business as it is today. 

Even after every order was filled from this one-time sale, we continue to get orders from all over and were happy to just recently even send a portion of our aprons State-side! Because of the success that we continue to experience with the aprons, we were able to increase the price and are selling the aprons for R100-R150. 

For more updated information on our apron sales, please visit our Traditional Apron Sales page!

Apron Sales Project Page

Due to the recent success of the apron sales, we have created a page dedicated solely to that project. You can now see the details on the Traditional Apron Sales page.

Palala North Girls Club Arrives!

Palala North Girls Club has officially begun! On Monday, May 19th the PNGC leaders gathered with 55 Grade 7 girls from Seleka Higher Primary School for their first club meeting. Proudly displaying their invitations, the girls talked excitedly as they lined up to enter the hall that was quickly converted after school from classroom to PNGC headquarters.

As the lavender cow bell rang and and music played in the background the leaders ushered in club with introductions, overviews of things to come, games, and the first craft project of the year. Each girl was given their own PNGC materials to add to their folders and had individual sets of earring making supplies laid out in front of them to enjoy with their homemade chocolate cupcake. After a short demonstration of the earring making process, the girls dove right in and leaders circulated through the room to assist where needed. Many of the girls caught on extremely fast and as they sported their chic new accessories they turned to help their friends finish up.

We ended the day with a quick photo shoot of all the girls. It is clear that none of these girls are camera shy. Our two hours flew by but left a very lasting impression for all involved. Girls and leaders alike were beaming from ear to ear and happily sporting their new PNGC earrings and materials as they strode home to show their friends and family. We are extremely excited to be off and running with PNGC and look forward to continuing the mission of Palala Clubs in Seleka.

To read more about PNGC visit http://africanwanderlust.blogspot.com

International AIDS Candlelight Memorial

Sunday, May 18, the Palala Girls and Boys Club members in Kgobagodimo Village all gathered under the night sky, like so many others around the globe, to commemorate those who have been victims of AIDS .

The Candlelight Memorial started just after sundown and was led by PGC Leader, Elizabeth Ditsela. There were approximately 90 youth in attendance, and as the night went on, many more came from young children to adults.

Elizabeth Ditsela spoke briefly to the youth about their role in changing the stigma that so many people hold against People Living with HIV and more specifically how our youth can stop the spread of AIDS by making healthy sexual choices. Her speech was followed by an extended time of youth-centered participation. Children recited poems, danced, gave motivational speeches and personal testimonies.

To read more about this event, please visit africandaylight.blogspot.com.

Announcing Palala North Girls Club!

Palala Clubs are excited to announce the addition of Palala North Girls Club. Located in Ga-Seleka, approximately 15 kilometers from Kgobagodimo, the club will be officially starting at Seleka Higher Primary School on May 19th, 2008. Peace Corps Volunteers Jessica and Paul Vig will be working with the six leaders, three from Seleka Higher Primary School and three from Baphoting Lower Primary School, and 54 7th grade girls. Their curriculum will follow the Palala model of teaching life skills and crafts to adolescent girls. Please keep checking the website for more information and pictures as they get underway!

Welcome to the Palala Clubs Blog!

Welcome to the new blog for the Palala Girls Club (PGC) and Palala Boys Club (PBC)! This is a project that was created by United States Peace Corps Volunteers in 2007 and funded by The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). This projects boasts of four official PGC or PBC club locations that reach over 20 community leaders, approximately 200 orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) and numerous other individuals in the five villages served by this project. In addition to these official programs, several similar clubs around South Africa have been started by Peace Corps Volunteers using the Palala Clubs as a proven and successful model.

The primary goal of creating this Palala Clubs blog is to reach even more people with the resources that make this project possible and allow other volunteers the opportunity to adapt our materials to fit their own communities’ needs. The secondary goal of this blog is to provide donors with the purpose and mission of the Palala Clubs as well as the support options that will lead the project towards future sustainability.

Please take the time to look around this blog and let us know if you have any further questions. We want this to be a productive collection of information and resources.

Thank you for your interest and support!