GARDEN ROUTE | KAROO NEWS - During Premier Alan Winde’s Cycle Tour in the Eden Karoo region this week, Western Cape Minister of Social Development Jaco Londt, conducted several visits to various Child and Youth Care Centres (CYCCs)in the district.

One of the Department of Social Development’s core mandates is child protection, and during May this focus is sharpened as it is Child Protection Month.

When the department receives reports of alleged child abuse, it has a responsibility to step in to ensure the safeguarding of the child, like placing them in a place of safety - whether with a safety parent or in a Child and Youth Care Centre.

Designated Child Protection Organisations (DCPOs) also provide child protection services and the department currently funds 107 DCPOs across the province.

At the Masizame Child and Youth Care Centre, vulnerable children like those who have been neglected or abandoned, are provided with accommodation and support services.

Here, Minister Londt chatted to enthusiastic children who shared how their lives have been changed at the centre. 

One teen girl said, “Over the years at Masizame I learned how to be confident, how to speak to people, and how to trust myself. The social workers and care workers have changed my life.”

Child and youth care worker, Venus De Vries said, “I’ve been a child care worker for over twenty years. I chose this field because I come out of the same situation as these children. I was abused, neglected, and I ended up in the foster system. I just want to make a difference in these children’s lives and give them the love and care they do not get from their own parents.”

The department’s funding allocation for Child Protection and Child and Youth Care services increased from R370-million in 2024/2025 to R402-million in 2025/2026.

Minister Londt said there are over 42 000 children in the foster system. “These are children who have either been placed with foster parents or are in a Cluster Foster Care Scheme, which is a system where multiple foster homes, managed by an NPO, are registered by the provincial head of social development to provide foster care for up to six children in a home environment.

“Year after year we see the need for child protection services growing. We need to bring back the spirit of Ubuntu to communities, where your child is my child. Our department and the DCPOs are doing incredible life-saving work to safeguard vulnerable children, but we need YOU, the resident, to help us. This Child Protection Month I want to encourage people to protect children from harm, and report abuse to the police or DSD.”

He encouraged people to consider becoming safety or foster parents, or to volunteer at an NPO-run CYCC. “There are many ways you can play a part in supporting all those children who are in need of love, care, and a safe place.”

For more information, contact your nearest DSD local office, or call the tollfree number 0800 220 250 for more information. You can also find information here.

Minister Jaco Londt with staff from Masizame Child and Youth Care Centre

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