Levana Primary School pupils were the winners at the Human Rights soccer tournament at RAD.
Image: Picture: Supplied
Lavender Hill community leaders say the area's children need more support to prosper and have their human rights entrenched.
Ralph Bouwers, founder of Guardians of the National Treasure, said he is fighting a losing battle in trying to educate and entertain the children at risk as the school holidays approach in this Human Rights month.
The ongoing violence and increasing rate of unemployment have made it difficult to protect the children from social ills.
Lieutenant Colonel Delmore Manuel, station commander for Steenberg SAPS, said they had sporadic shootings in Lavender Hill but were dealing with the illegal activity in the Steenberg precinct.
He warned parents that they must know where their children are and who they are with.
Mr Bouwers said safety structures outside the home need to be built to help the children “holistically”.
Mr Bouwers said he created a dream plan to uplift the children of Lavender Hill but this came to a stand still when they lost funding after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Bouwers, who grew up in Lavender Hill, received an opportunity to go to the United Kingdom to study and when he became a qualified hypnotherapist, he decided to return to his community in 2017 and use his skills to help children make better life choices.
Lavender Hill Football Club cannot play due to lack of funds.
Image: Picture: Supplied
His plan was to serve the children, parents and grandparents under one hub. “When I came back in 2017 we unpacked my vision. In 2018, with the help of teammates, they started Lavender Hill FC who did very well and were thriving,” said Mr Bouwers.
Now, said Mr Bouwers, the children are sitting around in the courts and on the streets doing nothing.
Mr Bouwers said the children also excel at ballet, cycling and netball.
However, another organisation called Rise Above Development (RAD) has taken flight, signing a 10-year lease in 2021 from the City of Cape Town in Blode Street, which has been offering a “safe space for kids”.
Adele Campbell, one of the directors, said they are offering 185 children a chance to do their homework after school and they can also read and take part in arts and crafts daily. “RAD is a centre that keeps children off the streets while there’s sporadic gun shots in the area.”
Ms Campbell said they offer music lessons and DJ courses for the youth. We also give them a cooked meal every day using the produce from our garden.”
The dream is to build the centre into an accessible hub for skills development, sports opportunities, counselling service, etc.
RAD aims to help prevent school drop-outs and they are offering space for Grade 12s to study for exams and to do their homework.
Ms Campbell said with the support of the City’s Law Enforcemen, they managed to host a soccer tournament for three primary schools: Hillview, Prince George and the winning team Levana Primary. “The game was played at Levana Primary and the learners received their awards at RAD. We also educated the learners about the history of Human Rights Day and spoke about their rights as children, the rights to nutrition, education and safety.”
RAD will be hosting a “Learner at risk information session”, for educators, school governing bodies, faith leaders, SAPS, community organisations, parents and counsellors. For more information, email malany@riseabovedevelopment.org