Family Care needs urgent support
In an interview with the ZO, board member Lungile Magoso pleaded with the public to step in before the organisation is forced to shut its doors
DESPITE being a pillar for those in need, Empangeni Child and Family Care is struggling to stay afloat amid growing operational costs and an increasing number of vulnerable children.
In an interview with the ZO, board member Lungile Magoso pleaded with the public to step in before the organisation is forced to shut its doors.
Some of the services provided include poverty alleviation, woman empowerment, foster care screening and placement, adoptions, family preservation, HIV and Aids campaigns, parenting programmes and assisting families who face financial challenges.
‘We have two main sponsors, but we have to apply for funding and we do not yet know the status of one of the applications.
‘The second sponsor’s funding only goes towards the training of social workers and our child protection programmes. Our operational costs, which include salaries for four staff members, add up to R67 000.
‘Our main sponsor is the Department of Social Development. Their sponsorship is a top-up for salaries and they do not cover any other operational costs.’
In the past five years, the need for the welfare’s services has almost doubled relating to some programmes, with foster care and adoptions rising from 51 in 2014 to 123 currently, and poverty alleviation services increasing from 410 to 821.
Magoso said they are trying to raise funds to meet their target of R100 000 by the end of the year by organising a number of fund-raising initiatives.
‘To enable us to reach our target, we request the public to open their hearts and wallets. Direct deposits can be made into our bank account.’
Bank: Standard Bank
Account name: Empangeni Child and Family Care
Account number: 062 034 235
Account type: Current Account
Branch Code: 057 530 40
Reference: Full name and contact details
The organisation is also calling for donations of children’s clothing (from newborns to adult sizes), non-perishable food parcels, bed mattresses, blankets, school uniforms, books and stationery, toys and paint for the upkeep of the organisation’s premises.’
The public is also encouraged to sponsor one or more of the welfare’s operational costs for a year, which includes municipal rates and taxes, auditing fees, bookkeeping services, telephone account, office cleaning material, petrol, vehicle servicing costs, licence renewals, maintenance or document printing costs.
For more information contact Hlengiwe Phakathi at 035 7925358.
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