On 25TH of March, the CSC Midrand child protection unit held a breakfast meeting in Ebony Park with stakeholders,in an effort to gather community members and donors to address challenges and needs. Areas like Ivory Park, Ebony Park and Kaalfontein have a number of disadvantaged communities. However, the non-profit organisation has chosen to operate in these communities.
Social work manager for CSC Midrand, Prisca Mathabatha said that through the event they hoped to involve the community and highlight some of their challenges.Mathabatha said: “As much as we are a child protection organisation we want our community members to become child care ambassadors, so that they can assist us. Child protection must be everyone’s job as the saying goes, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.”
Francois Schoombee, Head of Marketing and Fundraising, also explained what social ills impact children in their area of service. “After speaking to some of the people and also being involved for three years with children’s programmes to help them with homework, skills development, art and photography, I got to know the children and hear from their hearts as well. That made me realise that we need to give them back their hope for their future.”
A vision was set on how to expand care to children. Thus, the organisation appealed to the community and businesses to join in bringing a change. Through having a second-hand clothing store, raising funds to hire more social workers, opening an early childhood development centre and building a safe house to assist children over 18 years old after they leave their foster care, they would be able to change the lives of the children.
In conclusion Schoombee said: “We need to create that facility here to accommodate them for three years and get businesses and all the networks to get them bursaries, get them jobs and give them hope. If businesses have any corporate social investment money to invest, and they need points for social upliftment, this is the place to do it.”
