Short description

Eastern Province Child and Youth Care Centre offers accredited vocational and lifeskills training to create a sustainable livelihood for the youth of the Eastern Cape.

Need

Most orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) support programmes target children and young people under 18. It is often the case that when vulnerable youth reach 18, they no longer qualify for the support programmes, despite the fact that they are still very much in need. The prospect of furthering studies at tertiary level for most of these young adults is improbable and with high levels of unemployment in South Africa (25%) they end up unemployed after finishing high school.
Port Elizabeth, like many South African cities, has a shortage of skilled artisans. Moreover, in the Eastern Cape more than 50% of youth between 20 and 24 were unemployed and not studying in 2011 (not in education or training – NEET). This reality demonstrates the desperate need for skills development programmes that not only give youth skills but also help them to secure jobs.

Overview

The Eastern Province Child & Youth Care Centre was established in 1889 as a home for children who had been removed from their homes by the court. When the children turned 18, they had to leave and received no further support because by law they were no longer children. The Centre found that even as young adults, the youth needed help to further their studies past matric and struggled to find employment as they had no skills.

In response to this, the Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre was opened in 2006 as an extension of the Eastern Province Child & Youth Care Centre, providing accredited vocational training to youth from the home between the ages of 18 and 25. The Centre is now open to all in-need youth in this age bracket who have lost one or both parents, come from tough socio-economic background and/or who come from child-headed households.

The Ray Mhlaba Skills Training Centre offers accredited training courses in sewing and crafts; hairdressing; woodwork and upholstery; hospitality studies; bakery training; mother and baby stimulation workshops; early childhood development and HIV, AIDS and Palliative Care. All courses have a life skills component and all students receive basic computer training to prepare them for the workplace. Once students graduate, they are placed in various positions at hotels, retail stores and hair salons, for example.
The Centre also subsidises bus fare to cover the students’ travel costs. The students must complete 30 minutes of chores (which include sweeping and cleaning the grounds) in the morning before classes commence and in turn receive a monthly travel allowance.

What we like about this organisation

  • Many of the youth do not have an understanding of the work environment. The Ray Mhlaba Centre was established in response to the need for programmes that assist vulnerable youth in maintaining sustainable livelihoods. The training includes a life skills course to help with work-readiness. In addition, the students have the services of a qualified psychologist to call on.

What difference can your money make?

  • R10 000 will provide bus fare for 20 students to attend classes at the Ray Mhlaba Skills Centre for a month
  • R250 0000 will fund a training course for 15 students
  • R750 000 will pay for the renovation of an empty building that can be used as a training facility to increase the Centre’s student intake capacity

Volunteering opportunities

  • Mentors
  • Artisanal skills (painting, tiling, plumbing, repair electrical items)
  • Staff training for time management and report writing