GEORGE NEWS - Wynette Terblanche, a concerned Blanco resident known for her invaluable support to numerous welfare organisations, was shocked to learn that the Blanco Home for Street Children in George Street will be closing at the end of August. 

"The house has been a pillar in the community, a light in a dark tunnel. What will happen to the children and the community workers who have been running the house so competently?"

George Municipality Community Services Director Walter Hendricks confirmed that the service provider at the home, Youth for Christ (YfC), that has been rendering services since 2005, will vacate the property at the end of August.

The idea behind the home was that it would be a safe haven for children sleeping on the streets. 

The plan was to bring the children to the home every evening and hopefully this caring attitude would install a culture of returning to school. Ten years ago the then council was warned that in terms of the Child Care Act it would not be feasible, as the law clearly states that a single house mother may only take care of up to six children.

Council's welfare department wasn't in a position to round up the children on the streets and put them all in one house as envisaged.

Hendricks elaborated, "It has come to the attention of Council that the house wasn't being used as a sleep-over facility for children and served mostly as a feeding scheme for children who had been re-united with their families or reincorporated into their communities. Council officials visited the premises and confirmed with the house mother that children were no longer sleeping there. 

This information, combined with ongoing requests from the local community that the house be used optimally to provide a safe gathering space for the elderly and youth organisations, led to a decision by the George Municipality mayoral committee to terminate the contract."

As part of its mandate to provide a secure environment for children, the municipality contributed R26 250 per month on a month-to-month basis to the project, which had to cover all operational costs including the house mother's salary, food and transport.

Hendricks said, "The house remains available for street children support programmes, but will now also be available to the many other local social upliftment projects and programmes. The municipality is consulting with organisations to determine their specific needs and to work out a schedule that would serve a wide range of social development needs. The funds previously used for the Blanco Street Children contract will be reallocated to the Department's projects budget."

Jonathan Gelderblom of YfC said that it is a sad moment for YfC, "but we are grateful to the municipality for the opportunity to have worked with them. A special thanks goes to the municipal staff for their support over the years."

ARTICLE: MYRON RABINOWITZ, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST

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