Local street-child rescue organisation appeals for support

I CARE, the charity transforming the lives of street children, is appealing to the public to support the local organisation to help them continue the amazing work they do to transform the lives of boys living on the streets.

I Care is an NPO that reaches out to support, rehabilitate and educate the children our outreach workers have taken from the street corners every day.

According to Gail Elson from I Care, the non-profit organisation has been operational for over 22 years. “Our main team works from our drop-in centre based in Morningside. We have outreach workers who go out into the area every day, and they pick up boys who are living on the streets. They bring them here, and we look after all their basic needs. They are able to have showers, we do their washing, we give them two cooked, nutritious meals a day, and we have psycho-social interventions and social workers who counsel with the boys. They stay until 15:00 every day, and chess lessons, art lessons and sports like soccer are also included. This is all to prepare the boys to go off to the rehabilitation – the next stage of our programme after the drop-in centre.”

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Elson said the boys spend about three months visiting the drop-in centre before going off to the rehabilitation stage of the programme. “We’ve got a rehabilitation centre down in Malagazi in Amamzantoti, where they live when they leave here. They are there for three months, and then, from there, our social workers and our aftercare team try to reconnect them with their families to find out why they are on the street. If they can go home and there can be a reconciliation, then they go home, and we get them into school and involve the family in workshops, and they go into our aftercare programme where we monitor their progress. We’re always holding their hand throughout the process.”

Elson said there are cases where the boys can’t return home, and they are sent to purpose-built family houses. “We have three houses – each house has two house parents, and we recreate a family environment there and get them into school, as well. So at I Care, we’ve got a cycle – it starts with awareness, then outreach; they then come to the drop-in, then go to rehab; they then go home or to aftercare, and then for the boys who are finished matric, we help them go to university. We have a few graduates amongst our boys.”

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How you can help

I Care is strongly appealing to the public to support the organisation. “We have debit orders available – R50 or R100 a month can go a long way for us. Purchase our stickers, put them onto your car and this will spread awareness about our organisation. When beggars come to your car asking for money, show them the sticker and tell them to go to I Care. We can help them much more than a little money in their hand will. That money is never used for something good.”

Elson said that any monetary donations are helpful to the organisation, but they are also in need of non-perishable food items for their food parcels. “If you are a soccer coach or run any recreational activity, we would love for you to come by and take the boys for a soccer lesson. People who can teach the boys fun and exciting skills – we’d love for you to contact us.”

“We are also in need of boys’ clothes – we use any boys’ clothes, soccer boots and school shoes suitable for boys who are aged 8 to 18. Anything else we can’t use for our boys, we sell at our clothing shop, so any bit helps,” said Elson.

If you would like to make a donation to I Care, contact 081 331 5484 or visit their website for their banking details at www.icare.co.za.

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