Elandsvlei Drop In Centre and Pre-school

Non Profit Organisation: 061 527 • Tax Exemption No: 18/11/13/2496
Manager: Brenda Naholo-Phiri • Cell: 073 330 6765 • Email: brendan@carryouministry.co.za

 

INTRODUCTION

Carryou Ministry has been operating the Elandsvlei Drop In Centre (DIC) and Pre-School since 2008 in the OR Tambo informal Settlement, a rural farming area of the greater Randfontein. Areas of operation include:

  • Ferming
  • Mablomong
  • Klein and Groot Elandsvlei
  • Jabulani Informal Settlement
  • Baipei A and B

Including the Farm Schools surrounding Elandsvlei and Wheatlands

The area has a high rate of unemployment and as such is rife with poverty. One of the big challenges is that many children have no proper identity documents as their parents are not South African nationals – this means the children are removed from schools and cannot access social grants.

The DIC is motivated to deliver quality services to the orphans and vulnerable children and has the best interests of the children at heart, thereby protecting them from neglect. Their main aim is to ensure their beneficiaries—orphans, vulnerable children – and their families – are assisted with the following:

  • Nutritional support
  • Material support
  • Administrative support
  • Health Care support
  • Psychosocial support
  • Educational support
  • Shelter and statutory services

This DIC’s primary funder is the Department of Social Development. A long serving benefactor from the United States of America, Sue Heywood, together with the generous sponsors from St Mary’s Church in Tuxedo, New York, have also provided financial support without which, Carryou would not have been able to continue to exist

The DIC has the following staff members:

  • 1 Programme Manager
  • 1 Administrator
  • 3 Social Auxiliary Workers
  • 1 Orphan Care Coordinator
  • 1 EPWP Coordinator
  • 1 Poverty Alleviator
  • 10 Community Caregivers
  • 9 EPWP Community Caregivers
  • 1 Cook
  • 4 Incentive grant volunteers

CHALLENGES FACED WITH THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

  • Cooked meals are no longer prepared at the centre, but food parcels are distributed monthly. Unfortunately the food parcels are not sufficient as there are 300 households and the programme is only able to distribute 150 food parcels per month. Each household receive a food parcel every second month.
  • More and more people are lining up for food parcels but funds are limited and not everyone
  • receives a parcel.
  • Children are no longer allowed to come to the centre in large numbers and staff member have to visit the children at their homes.
  • Appointments are made for counselling sessions or visiting other stakeholders for referrals like Home Affairs, SASSA etc.
  • The Early Childhood Development (ECD) project is temporarily closed as Carryou cannot adhere to Covid 19 regulations due to lack of funding. The ECD is not yet registered with Social Development as it does not yet have all the necessary compliance certificates.
  • Staff members have been divided into two teams and take turns coming to work.

SERVICES RENDERED (Prior to Covid-19)

  • Facilitation of Child Care Forums
  • Facilitation of all types of support groups
  • Facilitation of school holiday programmes
  • Provision of daily nutritious cooked meals five days a week
  • Help children with school homework
  • Assist with the registrations of birth certificates and ID documents
  • Assist in application for child grants and foster care grants i.e. all social grants
  • Basic counselling and debriefing
  • Refer cases to social workers and other relevant service providers
  • Assist post matriculation orphans for tertiary education placement
  • Teach the orphans basic housekeeping chores at their own respective homes