The Department of Social Development, in partnership with stakeholders including the Department of Agriculture, National Development Agency and Sassa, launched the Stilwater Community Mobilisation and Empowerment Site on Friday, 23 September 2016
The Northern Cape department of social development has given R495000 to the Boitumelo Feeding Scheme in a bid to ensure that children learn and eat.
Garden equipment for the community gardens, school uniforms and educational toys were distributed to the community.
The scheme acts as a channel and implementing agent for the community mobilisation and empowerment processes in the Stilwater area.
MEC Gift van Staden said the department had many programmes and interventions to promote the ideal of responsible and healthy families. He said the initiative was but one of many that the department in collaboration with stakeholders implemented.
He said: "This is based on challenges as identified by the community, focusing on alcohol and drug abuse which leads to poor family relations, poor school attendance, and challenging behaviour of children, child neglect, family violence and mismanagement of income."
"With this the department celebrates another milestone in the delivery of services to our communities."
"With the launch of the Stilwater community mobilisation and empowerment site sees yet another chapter in the government's commitment to uplift communities being written.
"This impressive and well-organised; initiative is indeed consistent with our government's philosophy to encourage communities to participate in their own development.
The hope is that the launch of this community mobilisation and empowerment site will reignite the spirit of community development and self-reliance among the people of; Stilwater and beyond.
Our philosophy, as the government, has always been about the increased participation of communities in development."
We have also noticed a large amonnt of learners leaving school at a young age, a high rate of teenage pregnancies, as well as increasing number of HIV Aids infections as a result of leading reckless lifestyles."
Van Staden added that family preservation programmes that would be offered included parenting skills, active parenting of teenagers, relationship strengthening programmes and behaviour management while Ke Moja programmes would be intensified through a partnership with Boitumelo Feeding Scheme.
"The scourge of alcohol and substance abuse has a devastating impact on families. It affects children, young people and adults. It is associated with a lot of social ills including unsafe sexual practices or rape that could lead to the spread of HIV and Aids, unplanned pregnancies, aggressive behaviour and domestic violence."
In commemoration of International Older Persons Day in October, he called on families to support older persons and not to view them as a burden.
"Older persons within families are critical for the transmission of culture, heritage and positive values within families. They are the support system within families, they care for orphans and vulnerable children, and they use their social pensions to educate their grandchildren."
He pointed out that older persons were often exposed to abuse, sometimes by their very own family members.
"We have a responsibility to ensure that their rights are protected and that they are treated with respect and dignity."
