"Youthspace" South Africa
Street children are given a home
The Youthspace project is the flagship project in Siemens Southern Africa’s corporate social responsibility portfolio. So far five houses are involved, in which 40 to 50 children from disadvantaged backgrounds have found a new home. As well as protection and nutrition they are given love and attention, and receive the schooling that will give them a future.
Three boys suddenly dash out of the house. One of them throws a ball and almost hits an elderly man who is passing by. A woman now comes running out of the house and scolds the ball thrower. He laughs, and then snuggles up to her. What looks like a typical expression of familiarity is in reality something entirely new for this small boy: having someone who looks after him and whom he can lean on, and having a home – because only a short time ago, like the other two boys, he was living under extremely difficult circumstances.
Like all children in the world, the Youthspace kids enjoy soccer and netball much more than homework and household chores.
Thanks to the Youthspace project, which Siemens has been running for 11 years in four South African cities, he and many other children now have a home. As Nelly, housemother in the Youthspace House in Mayfair, a suburb of Johannesburg, puts it, “Here in Youthspace we can make a big difference to the children’s lives. Thanks to Siemens we have everything we need here. The children come from very difficult circumstances, but here they can leave their past behind them and are finally able to build a future for themselves. Here they get regular meals and clothing and are sent to school, and many of them have their own toys for the first time in their lives.”
Doing one's homework is much easier if you can do it together - and with the assistance of a computer.
Siemens, a local player in Southern Africa since 1896, knows that the company can only be successful itself in a stable and successful environment. The company’s philosophy is thus to enable the people in the country to experience success in their lives. For Siemens this includes offering protection and support for children and adolescents growing up in a climate of poverty, violence and neglect, who are in danger of succumbing to drug and alcohol abuse, and integrating them into society. This means providing them not only with the essentials of life, but also with education and training to enable them to become valuable members of society.
Siemens is currently running four homes: in Mayfair (Johannesburg), Soweto, Port Elizabeth, Cape Town and Durban. The Youthspace homes are supported by the company, management, the employees and aid organizations.
Please read also our interview with Emily Molefe, responsibly for the Youthspace program. 