Programme Director
Dr Don Mattera
Ms Connie Nxumalo
Mr Lorenzo Davids, CEO of Community Chest
Representatives from Various Stakeholders
Youth formations
Presenters and Mentors
Officials from Government
Our partners in Youth Development
Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a great pleasure to address this conference, which is dealing with matters that are indicators about the values of our society. I am particularly excited that it is hosted in the majestic Province of the Northern Cape, a Province of many firsts and one with immense potential and splendor.
Ladies and gentlemen, the former Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan once said that “there is no trust more sacred than the one the world holds with children. There is no duty more important than ensuring that their rights are respected, that their welfare is protected, that their lives are free from fear and want and that they can grow up in peace."

The discussions here today are therefore about our collective consciousness and how we can enrich the soul of this country. Building a society that invests in children and takes care of them, requires individuals and organisations to put the needs of children first. A consciousness about putting children first will allow us to let go of our professional insecurities, needs and wants in the pursuit of workable strategies that will indeed enable us to take care of all our children. I trust that this is the spirit that will underpin the deliberations at this conference.

Dames en here,
Ons byeenkoms oor die volgende drie dae is bewys dat waar dit by jeugsake en jeugontwikkeling kom die Regering altyd gestand sal doen aan die beloftes wat ons aan die jong mense van Suid Afrika maak. Ek het met ope arms die geleentheid geneem om vandag hierdie belangrike byeenkoms toe te spreek sodat u verseker kan wees dat die ontwikkeling en bevordering van die belange van nie net ons kinders in sorg nie, maar ook die van die onbaatsugtige werkers ons as Regering altyd sal by bly.

Ons is duidelik bewus daarvan dat die jeug van vandag gekonfronteer word met n magdom van uitdagings wat verskillend en kompleks is wat die jeug van gister mee te doen gehad het. Waar die jeug van vroër hulle lewe neergelê het om te verseker dat ons, ek en U, die vryhede en geleenthede geniet wat hulle ontneem het; word ons jongmense van vandag  in die gesig gestaar deur ontwikkelings, sosiale en ekonomiese uitdagings wat ‘n verskillende benadering verg.
We therefore cannot proceed with a “business as usual approach” and partnerships with stakeholders, business and civil society is of great significance as we work towards improving the lives of the children entrusted to our care and protection. It is also equally important that we keep developing the Social Work and Care professions in order to keep up with the ever changing environment and demands the profession pose to caregivers and social work professionals.
I am sure that guided by an understanding that in order to improve our services, we cannot work as we have been over the last few years, that you will assist us by developing clear and concise proposals about the roles of social workers and child and youth care workers.

The need to put children’s needs ahead of our own individual and organisational aspirations is predicated by the context in which we find ourselves. South Africa is confronted by many social ills which pose threats to the well-being of children and expose them to potential neglect and abuse. Poverty and the compounding impact of HIV and AIDS are the biggest of these threats.

Families have become dysfunctional with children assuming the responsibility to take care of their siblings as a result of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This essentially deprives children of the required care and support that could groom them for a better future.
The growing number of orphans places a huge burden of care on extended family networks and communities that traditionally support these children. This has also put undue pressure on the social workers due to lack of such professionals in our country.
Due to the high number of orphans as well as the persistent challenge of poverty, a number of responses to the plight of children tend to focus on material support aimed at meeting their basic needs. The death of a parent impacts negatively on the protection, quality of care, psycho-social well-being and access to basic services for any affected child. It further increases the child’s vulnerability to exploitation and abuse.
Research indicates that in addition to psychological distress resulting from the death of one or both parents, orphaned children are more vulnerable to poverty, illness and abuse. They are at higher risk of HIV infection, malnutrition, stigma and isolation. Orphaned children and those living in child-headed households have increased, adding to the number of children who are profoundly impacted by social and economic underdevelopment.

I am optimistic that this conference will create a platform for us not only to look at our own situation but learn from international, national and African programmes and practices. We will have an opportunity to network and form new partnerships in strengthening services in our communities.
Child and Youth Care is unique in that work takes place in the life space of children, youth and families, Child and youth care workers work with children wherever they may be, in residential care facilities, families and communities. They use ordinary daily events to intervene developmentally and therapeutically with children and youth.
The Northern Cape Department of Social Development’s partnership with the National Association of Child Care Workers goes far back as the 1980’s. Our collaboration includes the implementation of a range of training programmes for Child and Youth Care Workers at the Places of Safety and Secure Care Centres.  Departmental officials also served on the working committee which successfully hosted the 2003 Biennial Conference in Kimberley.
Since 2011 the Department has partnered with NACCW who is the franchise owner of the Isibindi Programme and the organisation provides the NQF level 4 training in Child and Youth Care and the mentorship programme. Currently there are 15 Isibindi programmes in the Province and 3 new sites- Pofadder/Pella, Roodepan and Colville    will be rolled out from July 2017. The Isibindi programme is aimed at community based child and youth care workers rendering psycho social services to vulnerable children and families infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. Currently 300 Isibindi Child and Youth Care Workers have undergone training in the Province. The total budget for the programme is R 5 million.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Children do not constitute anyone's property: they are neither the property of their parents nor even of society. They belong only to their own future freedom. Children who have lost parents to HIV/AIDS are not only just as deserving of an education as any other children, but they may need that education even more. Being part of a school environment will prepare them for the future, while helping to remove the stigma and discrimination unfortunately associated with AIDS.
The economic benefits of investing in children have been extensively documented. Investing fully in children today will ensure the well-being and productivity of future generations for decades to come. By contrast, the physical, emotional and intellectual impairment that poverty inflicts on children can mean a lifetime of suffering and want – and a legacy of poverty for the next generation.
The Children’s Act makes specific provision for adult supervision of child-headed households where the eldest child is over the age of 16 years. However, in cases where the eldest child is under 16 years of age, alternative care arrangements have to be considered for the children.

Given this situation, society has a responsibility never to allow children to feel abandoned because their parents have departed the earth of the living. At the same time, this responsibility must guide our actions never to let these children feel helpless or vulnerable simply because their parents are terminally ill. Our African tradition teaches us important and fundamental values that say: your child is my child and my child is your child.
As the Department of Social Development, we have a responsibility to create an environment of care, protection and support for children in line with the legislation. It is for this reason that we recruited a number of Child and Youth Care workers in the Department and across all Provinces to support children living in child-headed households, using the Isibindi Model.

This model was developed by the National Association for Child Care Workers (NACCW) to train and employ community-based Child and Youth Care Workers to provide intensive child care to children who live in child-headed households or households where adults are ill due to HIV and AIDS.

Based on available evidence it appears as if the Isibindi model is workable for the provision of prevention, protection and early intervention services for children. This initiative will contribute towards government’s priorities on education and health by ensuring that children stay in school and have access to nutritious food through the school feeding scheme programme and Early Childhood Development, among others. In addition, it will ensure that they are protected from abuse and have access to social assistance.

I must also indicate that the Isibindi Model will also support government’s priority to create decent work opportunities, particularly in rural areas. This will not only be about job creation, but also career paths that will expose the recruited trainees to skills development within the social development sector.
As the NACCW has been implementing the Isibindi model, my view is that over a period of time we should find other implementing partners in Civil Society who will be trained and capacitated on the Isibindi Model. For many years, a large portion of our work as the department, especially on welfare services, has justifiably been implemented by NGO’s.
We reiterate government’s commitment to support all organisations and initiatives aimed at addressing the plight of vulnerable children and protecting their rights. As a society, we must never allow space for children to be vulnerable, for their rights to be violated and for them to be abused or exploited.
I am also pleased to learn that this event will include a parallel Youth Conference where one hundred and thirty two children, all social service recipients, will deliberate and inform the adult event of their opinions and aspirations on improving the way we render our services to those in need. With this we boldly declare that we heard and we agree with young people when they say nothing about us without us. When the lives and the rights of children are at stake, there must be no silent witnesses.
With these few words I once again welcome all delegates to the conference and I am confident that we will emerge at the end of the conference with a renewed purpose and clearer vision and goal.
Together let us build the global alliance to realize that goal, secure in the knowledge that in serving the best interests of children, we serve the best interests of all humanity.
Thank you.