The Eastern Cape has long been the province with the highest unemployment rate in South Africa. As of Q4 2023, the official unemployment rate was 41.9%, and 53.2% for those aged 15–34 years (Eastern Cape Socio-economic Consultative Council: https://ecsecc.org.za/informationcentre ). In addition, municipal service delivery in the province has been very poor due to corruption in the provincial government, fragmented planning, and limited infrastructure maintenance. The resulting crises in, for example, water supplies and road maintenance have added to the misery and sense of hopelessness in many poor communities.
The Eluxolweni Charitable Trust was launched in 2001 and is registered as the Eluxolweni Child and Youth Care Centre with the Department of Social Development. EYCC provides a home for neglected and vulnerable boys from Makhanda (Grahamstown) and other parts of the Eastern Cape including East London, Port Alfred, Grahamstown and Uitenhage.
Eluxolweni means ‘a place of safety and forgiveness’, and that is what the EYCC strives to provide. At any one time 20-33 boys aged 6–18 years of age are cared for. The boys come from a family background that cannot provide them with care and are admitted to EYCC via a court order and a social worker’s report. The staff do their best to provide a family atmosphere of love and care. For many years Eluxolweni functioned as a shelter for street children, who face ongoing abuse, mistreatment and neglect. However, the centre had to accept that it did not have the capacity or the money to build needed facilities to keep street children who had behavioural and drug issues.
In some cases, there is rehabilitation and boys are able to return to their families. Boys who need to leave Eluxolweni when they reach 18 and have the potential to benefit from further studies but are unable to return home are also helped by the centre. Education is a cornerstone of the Shelter’s work and all the boys have to attend school. In 2023 one of Eluxolweni’s boys was appointed head boy at Fikizolo Primary School!
With the help of many volunteers, including students from Rhodes University, the boys participate in a range of activities designed to provide fun and facilitate socialisation. Funding is partly from the government but the centre is in constant need of additional income from donors in order to survive. Eluxolweni boys who are musically talented have contributed to raising funds for the centre by playing the marimba in town and at business functions.
Thembisa funded Eluxolweni for a few years prior to 2010 and has started to do so again following an application in 2023.
https://www.eluxolwenicharitabletrust.co.za/
