RESIDENTIAL CARE Leliebloem House is a registered, non-profit Child and Youth Care Centre, founded in 1969. It serves as a home-away-from-home for 84 children from troubled families who are removed from thier primary caregivers for specialst intervention. The children come from higH-risk environments where very poor and negative socia-economic conditions prevail. Some of the characteristics are: * Families with poor parental control * Some of the children have been neglected or abused, either sexually, physically or emotionally * Many of them come from sinle parent families where unemployment and alcohol abuse are prevalent * Some of the children have lost a parent and guardians or have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS ISIBINDI “Within the Isibindi model, child and youth care workers visit identified orphans and vulnerable children in their homes and provide comprehensive services. This includes accompanying and representing children at schools, health services and government offices, when necessary. They also provide psychological support through memory box activities, grief work, building of relationships, identifying needs and feelings, providing developmental care, behaviour management, activity programming, risk assessment and life space counseling.” - Winnie Direko (Honorable MP), on the occasion of the second reading of the Report of Portfolio Committee on Social Development on Children’s Amendment Bill, Parliament, Hansard. 6 November 2007
ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME We provide a therapeutic development program to a 105 adolescents from the Athlone area and surrounding communities. The program equips young adolescents with life skills and mentorship training in order to make informed choices for themselves whilst simultaneously providing them with opportunities to interact with their peers and offer positive peer support to each other. The program offers experiential learning camps, intensive workshops, life skills training and weekly peer support groups to young people. The program runs over a 12 month period during which three groups of 35 adolescents participates in all of the above activities. At the end of the program the adolescents graduate from the program but after care support is still available to those adolescents who require it. Parenting skills training workshops will be offered to the parents and gaurdians of adolescents who is participating in the program. The parenting support workshops enable parents to better manage adolescent behaviour. The program comprises of a range of activities in order to uplift and empower young people and their parents/ gaurdians.
FAMILY REUNIFICATION PROGRAMME The Family Reunification Program is aimed at restoring family bonds and reintegrating children back into their families and communities. The success of our program lies in the fact that we have a team solely dedicated to reunification activities. This allows us to respond immediately to families in crisis and affords us the time needed to build supportive working relationships with the families.
