Kimberley- As the country marked the end of the Child Protection Week, the Department of Social Development turned its focus to children living on the streets by extending their winter relief campaign to them.

“It is not always that I get to be fully on the ground and directly engage with social security work, but this morning afforded me an opportunity to engage with the Children Living in the Streets to get first hand information of their lives and what we as a department can do to assist them” MEC for Social Development Sokatshana said.

MEC Sokatsha also stated that children living and working in the streets are a manifestation of the problems, which children and families experience in communities as a result of social and economic factors, leading to their marginalisation.

While some vulnerable children may be protected through social assistance and child care services provided by government and non-governmental organisations, other children are not detected.

He noted that the phenomenon of children living and working in the streets is worldwide, however, the precise number of these children is difficult to quantify accurately due to constant changes in the status of affected children.

“The extension of the winter relief program is a temporary measure to provide assistance to the children living on the streets, while we are in the process of re-uniting them with their families. The Department is also embarking on a process where all the children living on the streets will be profiled in order for us to have a comprehensive database of them” he said.

The Department of Social Development will be providing the children with a daily meal from Monday to Friday until the end of July and have given each child a pair of running shoes, a thick warm jacket, a blanket and a beanie to help them against bitter cold Highveld winter.

“As mentioned earlier we are in the process of attempting to re-unite them with their families and the clothing items we provided them is just temporary and the ideal situation is get them off the streets.”

Partnership with Gift of the Givers
The international organisation, Gift of the Givers, cemented a partnership with the Northern Cape Provincial Administration, when they handed over several goods to the Departments of Social Development and Sports, Arts & Culture, on Thursday.

Mr. Ikraam Omar, Head of Logistics: Gift of the Givers, handed over bales of blankets, sheeting, nappies, computer tables and food stuff, such as rice, samp, mayonnaise, soap etc. to the respective Departments, who will distribute these donations to the poorest of the poor within the Northern Cape Province.

The distribution of these donations will form part of the extended Winter Relief Campaign, of the Department of Social Development, launched on 3 May 2014 in Batlharos, in the Kuruman area.

The Winter Relief Campaign is an intensified campaign of social relief of distress, while social relief of distress is defined as the temporary provision of assistance intended for families who are experiencing undue hardship and are unable to meet their basic needs.

“Due to the poverty levels and unemployment in the Province the Department in 2010 embarked on the Balelapa Household Survey to identify poor and vulnerable families. Based on the outcomes of this survey one of the Strategic Goals for 2014/2015 is to migrate 2 000 families out of poverty to ensure that no one slips below a minimum standard of living” Mokatshana said.

Each of the five (5) districts will receive 100 blankets to distribute to the most vulnerable of the 2 000 no-income families, as identified through the Balelapa project. The break-down of these families throughout the province is as follows:

• John Taolo Gaetsewe: 453
• Frances Baard: 446
• ZF Mgcawu: 415
• Pixley ka Seme: 348
• Namaqua: 338
The Department would like to urge people, both organisations and individuals, to become involved in this programme. Interested parties can contact their local Department of Social Development offices.-TDN
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