Give street children a future, not money

DURING the July holidays, Somerset Park-based NGO, I Care, is appealing to residents and holiday-makers not to give money to street children, but rather give money towards their future. Northglen News recently caught up with marketing manager, Gail Elson, to talk about the campaign, which is about successfully transforming the lives of street children.

“Some street children make as much R500 a day begging at the robots. This is a temporary fix, but what it is actually doing is prolonging their lives on the streets. So the campaign, ‘Don’t Give Me Money… Give Me a Future’ addresses that particular issue. It’s heartbreaking, saying no to a child begging at your window, but you are showing them that living on the street can be lucrative, and also enabling and prolonging their stay on the streets.

“That’s where our organisation steps in, in essence giving hope to children who live in desperate circumstances. Our outreach team builds up a relationship of trust with these street children and encourages them to come to our drop-in centre in Greyville, where all their basic needs are tended to. The boys have hot showers, breakfast and a cooked lunch at the centre as well as structured programmes, for example art, dance, numeracy and literacy teaching, chess, reading programmes, et cetera. It is here that our social worker and aftercare team have one-on-one counselling sessions with the boys.

“While the boys attend the drop-in centre, we are preparing them for rehabilitation. Our rehabilitation centre is in KwaMakhuthu (near the Galleria shopping centre) and they live at the centre during an intense 12-week programme. Here they are given tools to cope with a normal life, reintegration into society and weaning off substance abuse.”

Elson added the recent iDare2Care initiative was a resounding success. The project, working in conjunction with the eThekwini Municipality, dared residents of Durban to spend one night sleeping on the streets just as hundreds of homeless street kids do on a daily basis.

“It raised awareness about what we do but it also allowed people to understand the circumstances and the vulnerability street children face every day. We have also taken the decision to keep the initiative going next year,” she explained.

For more information about I Care contact 031 572 6870 or visit www.icare.co.za.