Since opening its doors in 1916, Child Welfare Stellenbosch has rendered multiple child protection and care services as well as various community outreach programs. These include life skills and foster care initiatives that target the most vulnerable children in the Stellenbosch area.
The most recent of these programs is the upcoming Sewing Project and Mandela Day fundraiser that will be taking place next month. These initiatives are particularly relevant as school holidays place the school leavers in a vulnerable position due to lack of support, supervision and vital resources.
As Child Welfare aims to address the pressing issues of the Stellenbosch community, an influx of volunteers are needed in order to facilitate the running of these initiatives.
“We need people to give of their time and hands … any help would be greatly appreciated”, said Child Welfare marketing manager, Karen Badenhorst.
Through the diverse range of volunteering programs that Child Welfare has spearheaded, individuals of the community are urged to give of their time, resource networks and donations to the cause.
“With a decreased reliance on state funding it becomes vital that people take an active role in uplifting those who need the help,” said Child Welfare volunteer, Ingrid Nordengen.
Child Welfare’s commitment to social responsibility is seen through their new Sewing Project that seeks to engage members of the Stellenbosch community with responsible and reliable means of job creation and skills development.
“The sewing campaign is an important project in providing the community with skills that will later become a source of income for them, to ensure that they are not always reliant on hand-outs but rather become self-sufficient,” said intake social worker, Sorene Williams.
The organisation, which acts in accordance with the Children’s Act, aims to empower and uplift children in the Stellenbosch community by addressing the numerous issues that plague disadvantaged areas.
“In Stellenbosch there are high unemployment and substance abuse rates and a lack of parenting skills, that subsequently see parents fail to take care of their children and that’s when we step in and protect these kids from these circumstances,” said Child Welfare social auxiliary worker, Lizelle George.
Child Welfare not only emphasises the need for socially conscious individuals but emphasis their dynamic nature in the constant broadening of their scope in order to address and facilitate the needs of the children between the ages of zero and eighteen.
“When people ask me what Child Welfare does it’s so hard to have a singular answer, because the organisation is so broad in its approach to child protection,” said Nordengen.
Students are encouraged to volunteer during the holiday season and become active participants in the upliftment of Stellenbosch and those who are most vulnerable to the socio-economic issues of the town.
“Children often don’t have a voice, and it is our job to become that voice,” said Badenhorst.
To find out more details about Child Welfare Stellenbosch you can visit their official page here.