A successful partnership has been forming between the Department of Social Development and Engo Youth Care Centres in the past months.
This led to the first combined celebration of Youth Day on Thursday (16/06).
Frikkie van Dyk, head of Engo’s Our Child and Youth-Care Centre in Victoria Road, also known as Ons Kinderhuis, said this centre had previously always celebrated Youth Day with a special treat for the children.
This year, around 230 children of Ons Kinderhuis, together with those of another Engo youth centre, Bolokanang, as well as children in the care of cluster foster parents and children of the Tshireletsong Child and Youth-Care Centre, celebrated the day in each other’s company.
The theme of the event, held at Ons Kinderhuis, was “Developing Myself for the Community”.
Children were made aware of issues like bullying, conflict with the law, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy through song, dance, drama and a puppet show.
They also took part in recreational activities like judo, drama, dance, boxing, cross-country, art, netball and soccer. Foster parents and youth-care workers of the various institutions attended workshops to improve their knowledge about how to care for neglected and abandoned children.
Mmamsiloa Shale of the Department of Social Development in the Mangaung district said the goal of these workshops were to empower them to go the extra mile for these children who come from traumatic circumstances. She said the department experienced a huge obstacle in finding foster parents and parents who want to adopt children.
Martha Lebaka, a cluster foster parent looking after six children, said her biggest challenge was that the community did not support her.
“There should be more awareness in the community regarding the huge need these children have. We have to go back to the principle of ubuntu,” Shale said.
“We do not only need more foster parents, we need people who really have a passion for caring for children.”
Shale said the biggest threat to the youth was unemployment and poverty.
“Much more have to be done to empower these children with skills to find work in South Africa.”
