VIDEO: Back from the brink: Malvern children’s home thanks Queensburgh community
The home for children in Malvern has been saved, but continues to need the help of the community to keep working miracles in the lives of the children placed in its care.
MALVERN Child and Youth Care Centre (MCYCC) is still doing the work to help children in Queensburgh, defying the odds stacked against it.
Despite problems daunting enough to put the home at risk of closure six months ago, it has managed to keep going.
While not out of the woods yet, it has managed to make arrangement for the payment of historical debt for municipal services and is currently up to date with monthly payments.
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“We are so very grateful to the community, businesses and so many others from not only Queensburgh, but all over Durban who offered help,” said MCYCC director, Andile Ncamana.
“Companies from entertainment, to business services, have all helped out.”
Just recently, a branch of Hollywoodbets in Malvern donated some much needed appliances to the home.
Communications officer at Hollywoodbets, Simoné Scott, said the youth centre is located very close to the Malvern branch of the company.
“This centre has been making a difference in the Malvern community since 1963. They cater for the developmental needs of the 85 children in their care with the goal being to help them enter their community as upstanding individuals,” she said.
Scott said the team at the branch chose to get involved when they heard of the centre’s plight last year.
“We donated a washing machine, stove, freezer, printer and three flat-screen television sets to the home,” she said. Ncamana said he was grateful to the Malvern team for their assistance. “This donation will help with the day to day operations of the home and will enhance the services we give to the children we take care of,” he said.
Corporate assistance
“Big companies have helped a lot, but so have the community and people in their private capacity. We have been blessed in so many ways by being in the midst of a very caring community,” said Andile.
The home was also helped by a local marketing company, MSJ Marketing which provided leaflets and spearheaded a fund-raising effort using the popular online payment platform, Zapper.
The director of the marketing company, Margaret Stoop-McAvoy, even spent many hours at the home helping where she could before finally handing over the reigns for the public relations of the home back to the administrators of MCYCC.
Stoop-McAvoy’s connection with the home as a member of their board also attracted help from benefactors like the friends and suppliers of Boxer stores who, through networking, were able to help take some of the immediate financial strain off the home as well as provide some practical support in the form of groceries to feed the children.
“We are expecting another delivery by their 14-ton trucks and that should help keep the children fed for the next six months,” said a beaming Ncamana.
Help always welcome
Asked what people could continue to do to help the home do its work, Ncamana said he would find something for anyone who was keen to help out.
“People must contact me and I will find something for them to do as there is so much that needs doing,” he said indicating the grounds that need to be maintained and the grass which was growing quite high.
“If someone with a gardening service wanted to come and help out, we would be very grateful,” he said laughing. “The children need space to play and grow.”
ALSO READ: LISTEN: Malvern business challenges other companies to join in helping children’s home
Ncamana also said he was hoping that some of the offers for off-grid electrical solutions and grey-water collections which had been made by companies when the story first broke about the home’s huge municipal bill would come to fruition.
“That would help so much, as would our plan to have the electricity put onto a prepaid meter system so that we can actively control that expense.”
Ncamana said he was open to all suggestions and advice anyone would be keen to offer. “Every little bit helps!” he said.
https://www.facebook.com/MalvernChildandYouthCareCentre/videos/1096311474094555/?__xts__%5B0%5D=68.ARAwIF64ll-g2IQkBTDDGsmmLQ7YE-lobngXgAQQ6hbfwPbaRSFgnirS5ohVwqJJHMzSYDvZKn3DCr_nCcfO3oldHHAlF_aEnf1wOXeS1UqLRyZ3lz-ywEKf9aj2QwXWasvRI37ygNhHvlP9JrrLv4Lew7QFin4tUA5wMeAaNWewxQsVKWIQD4lSDL6p-ZeUbVXqJiSA0HGBnK5owXZgPXUhfttjy-HpoOGI6wPSSZkNVoRdvm5jXodCKz4ZZCNHtX8b_rCLXibN8Iq1LoJuFnX90FsYpG4OYDctHTdGCvQiboMwBzeU08T1ZAiD63O97O5DmcJbfDjPH6FoIa-wFGuGkpWNdvNQZugTqQ&__tn__=-R
Volunteer
Another area where people could offer practical help is to volunteer to sort through the donations of old clothing and other items for the charity shop.
“We give the children the clothing, and normally the adult clothes are sold, but all the clothes have to be sorted so that we can make use of it,” he said.
To offer help, or find out more about what the home needs, visit the Facebook page, or call 031 464 0231.
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