Right at the start of the new year, SALDRU, the Centre for Social Development in Africa (CSDA) and the DG Murray Trust’s Basic Package of Support (BPS) team opened the project’s very first pilot site in Atlantis, Western Cape.
Demonstrating the strength of Partnerships for Change, the pilot has been made possible by the long-term support of the European Union – via the Capacity Building Programme for Employment Promotion, based in the Government Technical Advisory Centre in the National Treasury; UNICEF funding for staff salaries and operational resources of the site; the Department of Employment and Labour’s generous offering of venue space at their Atlantis satellite office; Western Cape Government funding for site management capacity; the National Association for Child and Youth Care Workers’ rigorous approach to selecting child and youth care workers who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable about working with young people; and the DG Murray Trust’s unwavering work to develop the youth coaching tools, the training approach and materials.
Onboarding and training of the full site team began on 12 January, and by the end of the month, doors will have opened for the first 10-20 (of the targeted 100) young people to begin their 12-month journey as BPS beneficiaries.
The team could not be more excited, as this site rolls out and preparations begin for the opening of Orange Farm (Gauteng) and KwaZulu-Natal sites later this year! For more information on the Basic Package of Support programme, keep an eye on our webpage here.