You see them everywhere. At traffic lights, in parking lots, outside shopping malls. At the centre of things, where people come and go. It’s a similar procedure every time. The tattered clothes. The pleading looks. A shy, mumbled request followed by an outstretched hand. You feel uncertain, guilty, annoyed.
Heartbroken.
Children opting to live on the streets, often due to dire circumstances or a lack of better alternatives, is a harsh reality confronting both developed and developing nations. In South Africa, where it is estimated that over 13 million children live in poverty, according to a recent report by Statistics South Africa, the problem is especially severe.
However, it is a phenomenon more visible in some places than others.
Youth Outreach is an article 21 company that was established in 1997. The organisation aims to rebuild the lives of street and high risk children in the Stellenbosch area. PHOTO: Nell Hofmeyr.
In Stellenbosch, masses of homeless adults populate the town centre, but street children are virtually nowhere to be seen. This was not always the case and their absence today is no coincidence.
It is largely thanks to the vital work of a long-standing, but little-known Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO)—the only one of its kind in the region. Youth Outreach (YO), established in October 1997, has been working tirelessly for two decades to ensure that Stellenbosch’s at-risk youth stay stimulated, in school, and off the streets.
“Currently, Stellenbosch is in the fortunate position that the phenomenon of small bands of homeless children roaming its streets is something of the past – in part, we believe, because of Youth Outreach,” says Professor Johan Hattingh, a founding member of the organisation and current Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Hattingh, a former Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Stellenbosch University (SU), helped set up YO after the Moedergemeente (Mother Church) asked him in 1996 to lead efforts to find a solution to the issue of local homeless youth – a “big problem” at the time.
One of the young boys who calls YO home looks on as general manager, Charleen Vermeulen converses with the resident cook while she gathers supplies. PHOTO: Nell Hofmeyr.
Once YO launched, the chief objective was to move the children to a place of safety. Using a clever argument, Hattingh and his team were able to convince the City Council of Stellenbosch to let them repurpose storage space allocated for tables at the Bergzicht Market Square in the centre of town. “We pointed out that it would not look good if it became clear that the town looked better after its tables for a market than children with no shelter,” says Hattingh.
In the early days, YO served as little more than a crisis facility designed to address an immediate problem. They functioned as a drop-in centre offering a warm bed, a shower, and a meal for children with no other place to sleep. Resources were minimal. They started with just 25 children, a group of volunteers, and one permanent staff member.
“We pointed out that it would not look good if it became clear that the town looked better after its tables for a market than children with no shelter” – Prof. Johan Hattingh
Today, they are a Section 21 company registered with the Department of Social Development. Their team of permanent staff cares for ten girls and ten boys, who have been removed from traumatic environments and placed there by court order, in two full-time households.
The drop-in centre caters for up to 40 children from the community who can seek support in whatever form they need it – academic, emotional, developmental or otherwise.
Children at the drop-in centre enjoy a hearty lunch before they begin the afternoon’s program of homework and play. PHOTO: Nell Hofmeyr.
The volunteers who dedicate their time to the cause see what they do as a labour of love. Sandra Cilliers, a long-time resident in Stellenbosch, first became involved in 2014 as part of a music skills program. She finds the work to be difficult but rewarding and encourages everyone to give volunteering a try.
“Giving time, skills and expertise without expecting anything in return makes such an enormous difference to the lives of so many people and one’s own,” she says.
For Cilliers, the most challenging aspect of the job is to find effective ways to assist children who are traumatized or struggling at home. It can be emotionally draining at times, a fact which the permanent staff can attest to.
A young girl waits patiently for her friends to finish eating so that they can enjoy the outdoor play facilities in the garden. PHOTO: Nell Hofmeyr.
YO is eligible for some government funds, but not enough to keep the operation afloat. For the rest, they rely on donors and strategic partnerships with other organizations in the community. As for their facilities, the drop-in centre currently caters for double the children they can handle on any given day.
“We’re built for 40, but on some days we have 80 kids coming through our doors. The need is great,” says the manager, Charleen Vermeulen.
Despite the obstacles, the staff are optimistic about the future based on a shared belief in the worth of the work they are doing.
“It’s the small things that make it worth it,” she says. “A child giving me a flower, slipping a note under my door, greeting me with a smile in the afternoon. It’s not only a case of us helping the kids, but them helping us too.”
After the boys finish up their game of soccer, the girls join in for some fun on the playground. PHOTO: Nell Hofmeyr.