FARR is dedicated to building positive futures in South African communities PLEASE NOTE: Pictures in this newsletter DO NOT depict children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), but all children from the communities who participate in FARR’s activities. FARR 2019 1 Dr Leana Olivier Prof Denis Viljoen (CEO) (Chairperson) FARR COLLABORATION By Professor Denis Viljoen Dr Louisa Bhengu (Chairman: FARR Board of Directors) (Board member) The 22nd year of FARR’s existence, like Mr Adrian Botha South Africa, has seen further growth of our (Board member) activities, change in personnel, shifting fo- Board cus in line with natural needs and sadly, a Members fond farewell to Board Members who have Prof Tania Douglas served us so well. So goodbye and sincere (Board member) thanks to Dr Mike Urban who served as a Board Member for close to 10 years. Also hereby welcome to our new Board Member, Prof Marietjie de Villiers. We trust your new position will bring you further personal growth and your expertise will benefit us all richly. I know the following short section will em- barrass our CEO, who has continued to Prof Marietjie De Villiers (Board member) lead FARR so successfully to further new projects, renewal of existing services and broadening our footprint in the goal of mini- Prof JP van Niekerk (Board member) mising and preventing the effects of alcohol abuse especially during pregnancy. Dr Lea- na Olivier has attended several international meetings (Europe & Canada) and has been invited to Australia later this year to share Our some experiences regarding mainly FASD management and prevention. She has chaired key sessions during these meet- ings and often been approached to advise focus on numerous issues by fledging groups and even well-established organisations. Thank you Leana, for maintaining our profile inter- areas nationally as well as locally. Awareness FARR is dedicated to building & I am personally very proud of FARR’s contin- Training positive futures in South African Prevention Academy ued growth, impact and influence in national communities by significantly affairs during the 22 years of its existence. reducing birth defects caused I recall our development of staff members by alcohol consumption during (6 successful PhD’s and 2 masters to date) pregnancy. The focus of our ma- and many other academic accolades. Also, jor activities is on Fetal Alcohol FARRCare individual achievements once persons have Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Wellness left FARR for other endeavours, including Our mission is to establish sus- Programme leadership roles in other organisations both tainable awareness, prevention, locally and internationally. We truly have intervention and training pro- come a long (FARR) way! grammes designed to eliminate substance abuse with the focus Research, May we continue to “fight the good fight” to- on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Dis- Diagnosis & wards our prime goal to eliminate the hor- orders (FASD) as a preventable Management rendous effects of alcohol abuse on our un- disorder among children in South born babies in South Africa. Africa. 2 FARR 2019 None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful.” Mother Teresa Written by: Dr Leana Olivier (Chief Executive Officer) “No one can whistle PARTNERSHIPS: a symphony. It takes a whole OVERRATED OR NOT orchestra to play it.” H.E. Luccock Nowadays when faced with a daunting task one’s close friend Mr Google is just “a click away”. A consultation with wise Mr Google instantly assures one that partnership (team “Many ideas work, working together, etc.) is the best way grow better when to tackle a complex problem, and quotes transplanted into ? another mind than “Alone we can do from heavy-weight heroes are provided with- in seconds to strengthen this belief. Some the one where they so little, together we can do so of these impressive and striking remarks sprang from.” much.” include: Oliver Wendell Holmes Helen Keller “Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang from.” Oliver Wendell Holmes lead to a great performance enjoyed by threat, but in practice it is not as simple. In “No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a the audience. Provided, that all the part- the industry the question of “what makes whole orchestra to play it.” H.E. Luccock ners stay together and meet the criteria! your organization unique” is often asked by “Alone we can do so little, together we can funders. Uniqueness is closely linked to in- Partnerships in NGO’s require exactly this. do so much.” Helen Keller tellectual property which is difficult to protect A leader/visionary with a plan/idea, formu- during a joint venture or partnership. This But, how relevant is this in the real world, lated into a proposal/plan of action, skilled aspect is hard to explain to some stake- especially in the highly competitive NGO team players/partners, implementation tools/ holders who exist in a culture of sharing and industry where limited resources are com- material and the facilitation of an enabling collaborating and who do not have to fight peted for? Increasingly funders are en- environment. Theoretically this should cul- for their existence, such as government de- couraging or even demanding of NGO’s minate in a well-executed project. Oh yes, partments for example, where the culture of to work together and pool resourcers to and a funder who will provide the necessary sharing is inevitable. strengthen one another towards a great- resources. A formula as simple as that! er good, increase success, sustainabil- Partnering with the community is essen- ity and higher impact. Unfortunately, re- In practice, however, working in the field of tial to bring about community develop- quests for evidence of these ‘so-called’ substance abuse and FASD research, train- ment and behaviour change in substance best practices regularly lead to disap- ing, awareness and prevention, this formula abuse. It needs to be acknowledged that pointment, leaving the notion that funders is hard to follow. Acknowledging that part- “a community” consists of various factions, might either encourage this approach nerships are essential to conduct research, each with its own uniqueness’s and fluidity. since it is “the fashion of the day”, or it will implement community development and Forging agreements in unpredictable and provide the opportunity to simultaneously training, it is challenging to engage with suit- ever-changing environments with these es- fund multiple applicants, or limit funders able partners. Key aspects to successful sential stakeholders surely brings an inter- funding risks. and mutually beneficial partnerships are, esting dimension to the concept of “partner- amongst others, comparable ethical founda- ship”. And then, we have not even started to Be it as it may, as Luccock said, you need tions, similar work ethics and visions. Part- address partnerships with individuals chal- more than a lonely whistler to perform like ners have to be prepared to make equal, lenged with substance abuse! an orchestra. Thereby surely referring to meaningful contributions, share knowledge a well conducted orchestra playing from and resources, as well as the risks and pit- However, again reminded that a lonely whis- a clear musical composition with many falls of research and community engage- tler does not equate an orchestra, partner- hours of practice. A symphony requires a ments, and ultimately, to share responsibility ships are invaluable and, when managed composer with ideas (music) transferred and accountability for the outcomes of the with the necessary mutual respect and com- to paper, played by suitably qualified mu- joint venture. mitment, can surely be instrumental to bring sicians with the appropriate skills, experi- about impactful and sustainable change for ence and instruments. Hours of practice Given the above, partnerships between the greater good of all involved. In FARR we and teamwork, as well as a multi-disci- organizations and experts in the field are are fortunate to have experienced a number plinary back-up team taking care of the further challenged by the reality of compet- of positive partnerships and will continue to sound effects, venue, and numerous ing for scarce resources, such as funding. endeavour to explore new ones, since we other enabling factors, should eventually In theory, partnerships should alleviate this agree “together we can do so much more”. FARR 2019 3 Spreading the love L VE Written by: Tinashe Tombe-Nyahuma (Project Coordinator: Burgersdorp, Eastern Cape) in Burgersdorp on Valentine’s Day lobally Valentine’s Day signifies balloons and cupcakes to welcome Enveloped in this spirit of love and care, the celebration of love, affection the guests of honour. On arrival all participants decided to “partner” with the and partnership. It was there- received a blank Valentine’s card in future in mind, by establishing support Gfore very fitting for our Burgersdorp which they were asked to write a spe- groups amongst themselves. Each cli- project to spoil some of our past and cial message to themselves and their ent would join a group, based on where present Healthy Mother Healthy Baby© baby. Accepting the cards shyly, some they live in the three townships of Burg- Programme clients with a special Val- clients commented that they had never ersdorp. This would enhance continua- entine’s event. This Programme aims to before received a Valentine’s Day card. tion of the cohesion already created by support clients in having healthy preg- the FARR programme as they would be nancies by sharing the FASD prevention Apart from showing our appreciation able to support each other in having alco- message and engaging them in activities towards our clients, fostering a spirit of hol-free pregnancies, share ways of cre- that promote a healthy lifestyle.