1. INTRODUCTION: 

The origin and development of this Center in the heart of Riverlea is testimony to the level of partnership between the community, religious institutions, the private sector, education and local government in the development of children and young people. On this basis, a model is set which will be beneficial to the development of youth, which in the words of the former president Nelson Mandela is an important step in the reconstruction and development of our former disadvantaged communities.

2. ORIGIN AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

The Alpha Youth Center (the Center) development started in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the need were identified in the local community for a program that would address the holistic development of children and youth. The deplorable conditions of children and youth at that stage in the dark days of apartheid drew together the abovementioned concerned stakeholders who started to roll up the sleeves and work towards the ideal of a youth development center. This process was driven by local community members, members of the educational fraternity and parents in a community-based effort. The local council were also very supportive in providing the piece of land as well as a donation for this effort. On 18 October 1975 all these efforts culminated in the official opening of the Center. Since this opening, a creche has started.

3. STATUS:

In the following years this creche is still one of the most successful creches and preschools in the community with a total number of 60 children and 4 teachers teaching. The Center has her own cook, cleaner and caretaker and a management team coming from the community, or being born and bred from the community is doing the administration. Currently the finances of this very successful and sustainable project are coming from the community of parents, the local Uniting Reformed Church and her partners. In this respect the community that is being served by this institution provides 80 % of the funding. This has been so for the last 27 of her existence. The projects are not subsidized by the local government or any public funds al all and are proud of this achievement in terms of being sustainable. In order to further develop the impact and scope of these kind of services broader partnerships however have to be found and developed within the private and public sector. The financial administration of being carried out by the highest standards of financial admin and accountability and this process is being monitored and audited annually by an independent auditor. The books are also open for any member of involved for scrutiny within the framework of confidentiality.

4. CURRENT PROJECTS AND DEVELOPMENTS:

The development and planning processes of the Center is being managed in terms of a planning process that started in Nov 2001 whereby the staff, board as well as various community members and people living in the area as well as surrounding community, who want to share in the developments came together to look at the situation in the community. This process was facilitated by an organizational development expert and culminated early in January 2002 in a planning document, which serves as a road map for developments. All the following projects and developments hence will have to be seen in the light of these long term planning processes.

4.1. CRECHE

This unit of the Center is the oldest and hence more developed in terms of sustainability and impact on a broader scale. Planning are underway towards the development of a fully fledge Early Childhood Development program drawing on the expertise of academic institutions, other social agencies and education specialists. Already the needs of the staff and children are assessed and attended to by

Discussions has also started with a property developer and planner to assist with the process of optimally developing the space of the Center for the after-school classrooms as well as a seminar rooms for community youth development training and counseling sessions.

Donations from community members are already earmarked to be used in the further development of this infrastructure. These donations are however just a fraction of what is needed to put these plans into action. Partnerships are invited with all stakeholders to make this dream a reality.

4.2. CARE (Compassionate Assistance and Relief Endeavors)

The Center provides a nutritious warm meal to children in the neediest areas of Riverlea in order to care for the most vulnerable. This program is however still inadequate for the vast number of children, who go bed without any supper, or in some cases no food for days. Volunteers from the local religious community and friends help in providing the food. The CARE group also provides relief food parcels, blankets and clothes to needy households on a adhoc basis. In this respect, partnership with The Fontainebleau Community Church has been developed and volunteers monitor the impact of this process through regular visits of these households and asses the situation as well as support the family in terms of joint action plans.

4.3. HIV/AIDS:

Discussions and consultations are underway for the development of a program dealing with the scourge of HIV/AIDS in our community. A programme focusing on child headed households is being explored and planned and at this stage we are consulting with various stakeholders in order to assess the situation and to mobilize churches, community based organizations and other concerned members. Out of this consultations process it is envisioned that an appropriate program could develop to address this critical area.

4.4 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The Board has already identified the economic empowerment and development of as one of the key developmental areas that has to be addressed in order to deal with the scourge of unemployment and illegal economic activities like the selling of drugs, liquor and prostitution (human trafficking). In this respect the process is underway to develop partnerships between the private sector and the development sector. a Group of micro-co-operatives started to experiment with business training and putting in action some of their ideas with the aim of building for themselves sustainable incomes. What is envisioned is a program that trains, supports and mentors micro enterprises focusing on niche areas in the tourism and service sector. The prime target group is young people and women by being out of school and out of work. Linkages with tertiary institutions like the University of South Africa are in place and being developed in order to put these development initiatives on a solid academic and research foundation.

5. FUTURE PLANS:

As a matter of urgency, we want to implement the following development, as a proactive step towards also dealing with current challenges facing our Riverlea community. We do it with a sense of urgency in terms of an action plan that needs to be implemented now, conscious of the fact that these challenges can only dealt with by having a thorough and long-term commitment.