New wheels for child and youth care centre

DURBAN Child and Youth Care Centre (DCYCC) recently received R250 000 from the IQRAA Trust for a new school bus.

Providing access to reliable and safe transport is a responsibility which the DCYCC takes very seriously, and Mandy Goble, director of DCYCC, said the high rate of accidents involving school children in the province makes the organisation even more aware of this responsibility.

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The organisation had two Toyota Quantums which transport 72 of the children to and from school each day. In addition children are taken to local clinics and hospitals, with trips to these locations happening on average three times a week.

“In 2007 we were fortunate to have received funding from two generous donors which allowed us to purchase our two Toyota Quantums. In view of our transportation requirements our organisation is cognisant of the value of these vehicles and importance of keeping them well maintained. We have done our best to ensure the longevity and safety of our vehicles through the form of regular services. Further, funding received from the National Lotteries Commission in 2012 enabled us to ensure that maintenance and repairs were done timeously,” said Goble.

Despite having the regular maintenance and repairs done, Goble said the DCYCC were mindful that these vehicles were becoming old and less reliable and needed to be replaced with a safer and reliable option for the youth and children.

“A formal appeal was submitted to the Trustees of the IQRAA Trust for consideration, which yielded positive results. In addition to the Trust’s donation of R250 000, we had sold one of our older vehicles to cover the shortfall needed to purchase our new school bus. We are truly thankful to the Trust for their kind and generous support to our organisation!” she said.