In May 2007 we opened the doors of our youth centre to the youngsters living in Monwabisi Park.
This place has been created through a truly joint effort from around the world – some of the building materials came from a film set, others were donated by local organisations and a group of international students from as far as South Korea, Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Switzerland all helped with the final painting.

Our kind anonymous friends D and R, donated a pool table and a football table to the centre for the older youth. SpiritAid UK donated the air hockey table, large screen TV and the equipment for the younger group – boxing ball and cricket set.

The centre has opened with a major achievement – a movie made by our own youth with help from the Shooters Project of SpiritAid. A group of young men and women have had a chance to learn some skills such as filming, directing and editing.

The principles by which this centre is run are: No alcohol or drugs on the premises, no drunkards admitted and the centre is open to all youth from every section of Monwabisi Park.

The youth are getting organised and the first open meeting is planned for this coming weekend. There a young man and a young woman from each section (5 sections in all) will be voted by their peers onto the committee. The committee will then choose office bearers, put together a constitution and begin to take responsibility for their unique and valuable centre.

This place is a safe haven for youngsters. We have tables and chairs for homework sessions after school, comfortable couches and chairs, games equipment and even a small fridge and microwave.

Parents now have peace of mind knowing where their children are, and youngsters have somewhere to focus their energy and creativity. The local police have given their unqualified support for this endeavour and we look forward to having our own youth crime watch.

Dizu Plaatjies will be running music workshops for all budding musicians and we already have some instruments for our own music group.

The sky is the limit now for the children, young men and women of this informal settlement.