N Cape town opens ‘community safe park’

IN AN ATTEMPT to provide a safe and caring environment for children and youth who are especially at risk and vulnerable over the December and January period, the Northern Cape town of Loeriesfontein has opened its first “community safe park”.

Loeriesfontein Wind Farm and Khobab Wind Farm spearheaded the Isibindi Safe Park project and funded the construction and social intervention programme to benefit the local community by providing access to the services of family-focused professional child and youth care workers offering continuous support to children and families.

The Isibindi Safe Park infrastructure houses an office, homework area and a kitchen, which serves lunch for the children. Outdoor activities are conducted in the secure enclosed park and co-ordinated by trained child and youth care workers (CYCWS), who also provide care, support, and facilitate school homework.

The programme is especially targeted towards providing care and safety to vulnerable children and households affected by poverty, with the primary objective of improving the well-being of vulnerable children and youth, increasing social cohesion, job creation and educational success.

Whilst Isibindi is aimed at children between the ages of three and 18, the programme also reaches out to provide support to the whole family, when needed, through home visits.

Funding allows for 12 previously unemployed community members to be trained as skilled child and youth care workers, with a primary role of supporting children and families in their own homes.

Isibindi Safe Park is expected to benefit more than 2 000 community members each year.

“We are incredibly excited to be implementing this programme within the community of Loeriesfontein and would like to thank the National Association of Child Care Workers for partnering with us,” Vanessa Fredericks, economic development manager for Loeriesfontein Wind Farm, said yesterday.

Specific project outcomes include amongst others: improved services and support to vulnerable families and their children; improved economic well-being of families to support their children; the provision of specialised empowerment programmes; and providing unemployed people in the community with “decent jobs” through their training and employment as child and youth care workers.

“The creation of a safe space for our community’s vulnerable children is the motivation behind this new-build project,” concluded Fredericks.