This Mandela Day Cape Town’s SOS Children’s Village in Thornton is now a Learning and Development Centre richer.
Radisson Hotel Group has unveiled the centre at the SOS Children’s Village, which has been in the works since 2018.
According to Ephraim Sithole, the Cape Town programme director at SOS Children’s Village, the Learning and Development Centre is for the children in their care to utilize and access virtual learning platforms, the internet for assignments and research and in-person workshops and group work in a relaxed and conducive learning environment.
The Learning and Development Centre
It entails private study rooms, activity and reading rooms as well as a conference computer room with laptops, internet access and printing facilities. The centre will also be used for training and development of our child and youth care workers (SOS Mothers) for their virtual and in-person training and workshop and the kitchen for demonstrative lessons on meal preparation, food and safety hygiene and dietary planning workshops planned for the future.
“We hope to be able to extend the use of the Learning and Development Centre to our beneficiaries in our family strengthening community to ensure access to such resources is available to all vulnerable children in our care,” Sithole added.
SOS Children’s Villages in South Africa operate from 11 centres across the country. There are eight villages: Ennerdale, Mamelodi, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Mthatha, Nelspruit and Rustenburg. Each village consists of 10 – 12 family homes.
Within each house, an SOS family unit with up to 10 children lives and grows up together, looked after by the SOS Mother, a trained professional child care worker.
According to Sithole approximately 900 children live within the villages in family based care.
Radisson Hotel Group
As part of the project, Radisson Hotel Group renovated one of the houses in the village and turned it into a modern learning centre featuring a computer room, a reading room and an activity room.
Sandra Kneubuhler, District Director for Radisson Hotel Group in South Africa, said: “One of our sustainability pillars at the Radisson Hotel Group is ‘Think Community’, and we are constantly seeking ways to contribute to the needs of the communities we operate in. Nelson Mandela was known for his love of children, so Mandela Day is the perfect day to launch this centre, but this has been and will continue to be a long-term partnership that extends far beyond just one day of the year.”
Since starting the project in 2018, RHG has repaired ceilings and windows in the house, painted the rooms, and installed computers, software and wi-fi in the centre, turning it into a space where young people can learn, do homework and get creative. The hotel group also hosts training sessions and career counselling for the young people using the centre.
Launch
The centre has been operational for a while, but its official launch was delayed due to Covid-19.
“Covid-19 had a significant impact on the communities we operate in in South Africa, with young people being especially impacted.
“It is our hope that this centre provides a safe and inviting space for young residents at the SOS Village to learn, develop and grow,” Kneubuhler concludes.
The centre was officially opened during a ceremony on 18 July.
