The small town of Ladybrand in the Free State - 17km away from the border of Lesotho - is no different to anywhere else in South Africa. Take a drive into town on any given day, and you will soon notice groups of young boys, barefoot and dressed in tattered clothes, begging for small change from passers by. Many of them sleep and live on these streets because they simply have nowhere else to go: their parents have died and there is no one else who can take care of them. Others may have left home because of a number of reasons: poverty, overcrowding, abuse or neglect. Once they are on the streets, they are left to fend for themselves, without anyone to support or protect them. Before long, they find themselves caught in a cycle of hunger, drugs, violence and aimlessness which is virtually impossible to escape.
Faced with this situation, an interdenominational group of concerned people opened a soup kitchen in 1994 for young people living and begging on the streets of Ladybrand. In 1996, a simple 2-roomed building with a kitchen, store and ablution facilities was built at the entrance of the township of Manyatseng, on the outskirts of Ladybrand. This relocation attracted young boys who lived in Manyatseng and who had never been to school. The new facilities enabled the Centre to offer daily literacy classes plus a mid-day meal; school drop-outs were returned to the classroom and non-school goers placed in Grade 1. Older illiterates were given basic reading and writing skills.
In 1999, the Centre was asked to provide a mid-day meal for children from severely disadvantaged families. 30-40 children were fed daily. Some of the children from that group have now matriculated and have expressed their thanks for the help offered to them at that time. In the winter of 2000, the Management Committee noted that the number of children living on the streets had increased and the decision was taken to run a 24 hour service, opening the Centre for sleeping accommodation. 15 boys moved into the Centre, which was registered by the Department of Social Development as a Shelter in 2002.
At present, we have 20 boys sleeping at the Centre who, for various reasons, cannot stay with their relatives in the township. Vumani provides them with food, shelter, support, guidance and help with their schooling. Six of the boys are in primary school and eight are in high school. Several of these boys are over 18 and need to move out of the Centre; Vumani aims to help them as much as possible in finding housing, basic household and food supplies and the support that they need to start their own lives. The Centre facilities are also used as a Drop-in-Centre at lunch time; 17 boys attend this regularly.
Vumani is constantly on the lookout for help. Volunteers and visitors are always welcome and donations are hugely appreciated; for these boys, the support that the Centre provides is life-changing. Please take the time to look around this blog and to get acquainted with some of the boys. For more information on donating to the Centre, see the How YOU can help page, or email dhmorija@yahoo.com.
