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Young people at risk have a safe haven in Hillbrow at the Lutheran Community Outreach Foundation youth centre, which offers recreation and even training.
EVERY day after school, 17-year-old Boyce Mgubasi visits the youth centre run by the Lutheran Community Outreach Foundation in Hillbrow, to play a game of cards or table tennis with his friends.
A safe haven for youths facing unhealthy life situations, the centre has prevented him from staggering down the dangerous path rocked by drugs and alcohol abuse that seem to have besieged many in Hillbrow.
A safe haven for youths facing unhealthy life situations
Boyce describes the centre as a second home. "I pass through this centre every day after school. It keeps me away from the streets and I know that I am safe whenever I am here," he says.
Before he was introduced to the facility by a close friend, he would spend his afternoons playing soccer in the streets. "I talk to a lot of adults here at the centre," he says. "They help me with problems I experience at home. When I talk to someone, the weight is lifted off from my chest."
Lucky Nkabinde is another youth who visits the centre regularly. He believes it has helped him to build relationships with his peers. "It has taught me to be friendly and get to know others better," Lucky says.
The youth centre, a simple and ordinary building, is cluttered with pool tables, huge chess pieces and table tennis sets. A few books by Steven King lie scattered on a round pale wood table.
"This place was a real mess when I came. I rearranged it a bit to make it look more attractive for the youth. We got it painted and created a library," Natasha Parhanse, the youth centre's creative facilitator, says proudly.
Difference
Parhanse belongs to a group of teachers who are trying to make a difference in the lives of many young people who call Hillbrow's hilly streets and back alleys home. The centre targets youngsters aged from 11 to 18, but does have younger and older visitors, she explains.
"We target at-risk youth but we have youth from all walks of life."
The youth centre is open from 12 noon from Monday to Friday, allowing the teens to enjoy unstructured diverse activities such as chess, table tennis and pool, and reading.
Not surprisingly, working with people from various backgrounds is not the easiest task. For instance, lively young Mandla Mahlangu, another facilitator, speaks of the reluctance of some of the youths to participate in some of the centre's programmes.
"Some of [them] prefer just to come to the centre and sit," Mahlangu says. "It is hard work trying to get the youth to participate in some of our programmes."
However, this may be changing; he works tirelessly to improve the programmes to make sure they will attract his young charges' attention. His twice weekly poetry sessions, for instance, seem to be gaining momentum.
Lutheran Community Outreach Foundation
The Lutheran Community Outreach Foundation has become a glimmer of hope to people desperate to transform their lives in the turbulence of Hillbrow. Situated in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the inner city, the non-profit organisation helps to promote self-supportive activities for the disadvantaged locals.
Originally an initiative of the German Lutheran Church, it became independent from the church in 2004 and now stands alone as a non-governmental organisation that provides services to the community. Single mothers, schoolchildren and people struggling to get by are among those who visit the foundation regularly for help.
Tall and upbeat wiry pastor Kees Appelo, the chairperson of the foundation, is determined to improve the lives of those living in the area. "The church's desire is to participate in the lives of those who stay in Hillbrow," he says.
Despite the shadow of crime and poverty in the suburb, Appelo believes that the foundation can make a sustainable difference in the lives of some of the inner city's disadvantaged people. Hillbrow is a downtrodden inner city flatland suburb of Johannesburg, where drug-dealing, poverty, crime and prostitution is rife.
Sitting alongside Appelo is Nomava Kibare, the manager of the foundation, who has seen first-hand the difference a project like this can make in people's lives.
"We depend on the support of the community," Kibare says, describing the impact the project has had on the community. Issues like hope, dreams, potential and belief in themselves crop up regularly in conversation.
The Lutheran Community Outreach Foundation is much more than just a collection of offices. There is a sewing centre, a play area, a theatre and a computer lab. But most importantly, there is friendship and mentoring for people who are often overlooked and neglected.
The dedication and high spirits displayed by most staff members is humbling.
Boitumelo Sewing Centre
The focal point of the outreach foundation facility is the Boitumelo Sewing Centre, which offers training in sewing and other crafts for unemployed women.
The Boitumelo Sewing Centre offers training in sewing and other crafts
Here, the constant chatter from women busy embroidering and the occasional droning of the sewing machines fill the atmosphere. Mary Mawela, a teaching facilitator, proudly arranges colourful embroidered bags on the table, all of them done by her students.
Some the bags are embroidered with simple, catchy phrases such as "Take care of our nature and plant trees" and "Joburg, a world-class African city with different cultures".
The artwork on the bags clearly portrays the hopes, pains and fears of the men and women living in the inner city.
"In the beginning it was hard working with people from various backgrounds. We had to teach people individually and make sure that they understood the basics," Mawela says, "but now we are like a family and have become open to each other with our problems."
Nine years ago, an unemployed Mawela had grown tired of sitting at home. She decided to turn around her life by joining hands with other women to establish the centre; and she has not looked back since then.
Through the centre, she has been able to send herself to school and learn more about her craft. "This is an opportunity for us to learn something and make our own income, and at the same time meet others."
Bhekezela Mahlangu came to South Africa from Zimbabwe in 2006 in search of greener pastures. She joined the centre in 2007 and does not regret it for a moment. "When I first came, I knew nothing about sewing and was surprised to learn that I could actually make money from cotton," she says.
Mahlangu, who has part time cleaning jobs in the northern suburbs of Joburg, makes a point of visiting the centre at least once a week. She maps out her future plans: "When I go back to my home country, I hope to start my own business and impart these skills to other people," she says. "Most of the people at home know nothing about this craft and are sitting at home doing nothing."
Music Centre
The sound of music brings the building centre alive. Inside, Sasha Sonnibichler, the head of the music centre, performs Mariah Carey's song, Heroes, on a piano for two eager students.
Sasha Sonnibichler is head of the music centre
Sonnibichler, who has been working at the centre for more than three years, describes the wonderful feeling of seeing people become happy from playing music.
"The Music Centre is committed to trying to help young people reach their full potential and realise their dreams and goals," he says. "Music has been shown to provide a means of establishing a rapport with young people."
However, he remains troubled by the sudden disappearance of people, especially those who show great musical potential. When some of his students don't return, it leaves a deep empty void in his heart. "I think personal problems at home prevent people from coming to the centre, which otherwise can be remedied by music."
Sonnibichler's goal is to change people's perceptions and help the community as a whole to see the beauty in music and the potential that exists. "Some of the children who have passed through this centre have been accepted in the National School of the Arts."
It teaches guitar, violin, piano, orchestra, saxophone, trumpet, cello, marimba and a variety of other instruments. "I was wary of Hillbrow in the first days I was asked to join the centre, and kept on asking myself what I was getting myself into."
By the time he was asked to head the centre, he was strongly attached to Hillbrow and could not dream of possibly going elsewhere. Sonnibichler interrupts the conversation to give instructions to a guitar student. "That is it. Thumbs must be ahead of your forefinger."
Not only has the centre become a distraction from Hillbrow's to day-to-day problems, but it has also become a fountain of hope.
Naledi Moledi is another young Hillbrow resident who comes in at least three times a week. He says practising music here helps him keep away from inappropriate activities. "I love music because it's an expression that comes from within the mind," he concludes.
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