SEDIBENG.- The Gauteng Department of Social Services together with different stakeholders brought the service delivery effort closer to the community of Boiketlong Informal Settlement near Sebokeng recently.
The effort aimed to provide government service to the residents of Boiketlong.
Several government departments such as the Department of Labour, South African Security Agency (SASSA), and South African Police Service (SAPS), including other non-profit organizations such as Bokamoso Centre of Excellence and ReachOut Community Projects were also there to offer their services to the residents.
According to the community development supervisor, Maditaba Sootho, they aim to address the challenge of lack of access to information while ensuring that the vulnerable and neglected communities in the informal settlements receive the much-needed free government services.
“As Gauteng Social Development, after profiting from this area, we have realised that this community needs intergraded government services to address their challenges,” she said.
Sootho further added that teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, youth unemployment, and undocumented children are among the major problem that has a powerful effect on the area.
“We are pleased that SASSA is here and the Department of Labour including SAPS to render their services to our people, and we have partnered with various NPOs that are providing different types of skills training to encourage young people to utilise their services because they are free and fully funded by the government,” Sootho added.
Hundreds of community members including young people came together in large numbers to among others grab the opportunity of registering themselves on the Employment Service of South Africa Databases with the Department of Labour.
SAPS brought their mobile office to assist community members with certification on the site and attend to some of their complaints.
Katleho Thobeko (23) a Boiketlong informal settlement resident,t said that although life is a struggle in their area because of the lack of service delivery, but that they are grateful to the department that helped people with job applications and for addressing issues of HIV/AIDS that is very rife and further tackle the problem of substance abuse.
“We are hopeful when we see departments come in their numbers including SAPS because crime is another thing that gives us sleepless nights,” Thobeko added.
Another community member, Mmalehlohonolo Matsitsi (21) who managed to submit her curriculum vitae (CV) on the database said maybe an opportunity will ‘come her way’ this time since she has been applying for jobs with no luck.
