Family unit key to a healthy society
Empangeni Child and Family Care makes a plea for more volunteers and resources.
FOCUSING on parenting programmes in outlying areas, Empangeni Child and Family Care (ECFC) continues to focus on the preservation of the family unit and care of orphaned children.
The organisation made an impassioned appeal for additional volunteers and manpower during its annual general meeting in Empangeni on Thursday night.
Despite limited resources, ECFC staff and social workers dealt with 278 cases, 168 foster care cases, conducting 1 180 interviews and 171 home visits in the past year alone.
With about 211 children in foster care, Senior Social Worker Hlengiwe Phakati said there was still a need to secure alternative care for orphaned, abandoned and abused children.
‘There has been an escalation of orphaned children as a result of the Aids pandemic,’ said Phakati in her report.
‘Our office also attempts to place these children in foster care so that they can receive grants, but if finances allow, families are encouraged to adopt children to give them permanent homes.
‘The family unit forms the basis of a healthy and sound community. More families are becoming over-extended and more grandparents have taken over the responsibility of caring for their orphaned grandchildren,’ Phakati said.
Guest speaker and Deputy Editor of the Zululand Observer, Ronelle Ramsamy, said we needed to start ‘healing our families before we tried to heal an entire nation’.
‘Before there were governments, before there were communities, there was family! The very foundation of society is where it all began – the family. Families are currently beset by divorce, a crisis in roles, absenteeism of parents, a breakdown of authority, inadequate time together, financial pressures, stress and a host of other problems. Therefore the work done by this organisation in trying to restore the family unit is paramount,’ said Ramsamy.
She said ECFC played an instrumental role in social upliftment and community development.
‘The greatest of all are the ones who choose to serve others. It is a selfless service, but one held in high regard. You might not be the headline makers and get recognition. But your valuable role in this community cannot be more overstated,’ Ramsamy said.
The organisation, which posted a deficit of R109 181 for the financial year, was pleased to report that they had secured Lotto SA funding for the new financial year.
