Yellow Care transforms Thusong Youth Centre

For 21 days, Yellow Care volunteers of MTN South Africa descended on Alexandra with one mission in mind – to invest in the infrastructure and projects of the Thusong Youth Centre that is designed to transform it into a habitable community and childcare centre.

Since 1 June, various contingents of volunteers have been exchanging time and space at the centre as they got their hands dirty in refurbishing the centre’s leaking roof and freshening the children’s library. In addition, Mapula Bodibe, an executive of the Consumer Business Unit of MTN South Africa, said the cellular communications company had invested 30 computers in the centre’s ICT programme, including offering 24 months of free internet access.

All this was being done in Youth Month and the projects were designed to benefit, develop and impact on the youth. MTN South Africa will then engage the centre with a desire to ensure the ICT projects were resourced and sustained for a much longer time in order to have a meaningful impact on the vulnerable youth of the township, Bodibe said.

Angie Maloka, senior manager at the MTN SA Foundation, said they had identified the centre through an SABC programme, One Day Leader, and had then engaged the centre management to find out what their needs were and how to assist.

Maloka also took the opportunity to clarify the MTN SA relationship with the centre, saying they were not donating anything but were in actual fact investing in the centre to ensure its success.

“When you donate, you simply dump whatever and walk away but investing means you also want to see the dividends in the form of end results of your investment. You cannot simply walk away from your investment just like that,” she said.

Judith Maluleka, manager of special projects at the foundation, said the volunteers had paved and beautified the garden of the centre to make it attractive and appealing for both the users and passersby.

“As MTN SA employees, we clubbed together to raise funds to buy school shoes for the needy children who are offered after-school meals and do their homework at the centre. We also, during our 21 days of stay at the centre, fed the children with meals each day and also contributed groceries for the feeding scheme that would last for some time,” Maluleka said.

They also installed new air conditioners for the main computer room and contributed a four-plate gas stove and gas cylinders as well as an electric stove and chest freezer to store perishables for the feeding scheme.

Beauty More, centre director and founding member, said she was grateful for all that has been undertaken and done by MTN SA and its Yellow Care volunteers, especially on the feeding scheme which she said was the biggest spender of their meagre resources.

“I still strongly believe in the African idiom that says ‘your child is my child’ and wherever I can help I will help children regardless.”

Veronica Mabilu, Ward 76 committee member on behalf of the ward councillor, expressed her delight at the help rendered by MTN SA to the centre that cares and feeds more than 400 children on a daily basis.

“Our kids are now being hijacked in our streets just like cars and I applaud More for her work and taking care of these vulnerable young members of our society,” Mabilu said.

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Have you been to Thusong Youth Centre lately? What else did you notice that needs to be fixed? Tweet @AlexNewsZA to share your ideas