History was made today when KwaZulu-Natal Premier, Dr Zweli Mkhize officially opened the Lungisisa Indlela Village, which will provide shelter to vulnerable children.
Social ills such as HIV and AIDS, drug abuse and poverty have had devastating socio-economic effects with children being the hardest hit.It is for these reasons that the provincial government has set aside R90 million for the construction of the Lungisisa Indlela Village (LIV), which is a government/private sector initiative, based on the Operation Sukuma Sakhe model of integrated services.
The village is encored around stakeholders including the church, the business sector and government. All government departments have a role to play in ensuring the villages success.
During the launch, Dr Mkhize toured some of the houses that have already been completed and are occupied.
A four-year-old new resident of the village, was very proud to show Dr Mkhize her new home and school which is on the premises.
Each house has a guardian or house mother who looks after a “nuclear” family consisting of up to six children per house.
The project is an environmentally friendly setting, with most of the energy needs for the houses taken care of through solar energy. Water heating and most of the lighting is run off the solar system, while minimal lighting is through the main electricity grid. Gas cooking stoves are fitted in all the housing units as standard. There is even the Wonder Bag concept of cooking using an energy saving technique.
The school, which starts from Grade 00, and will eventually go up to Grade 12, is already running with the help of volunteer teacher under the leadership Margo Reid, who is the former Head Mistress at Durban Girls High and Umhlanga College.
Remarked Mkhize: “Construction is already underway and once completed, the village will boast multipurpose sports court, a clinic, a crèche, primary school and a secondary school to cater for the children.”
Dr Mkhize said LIV is a great model for dealing with a number of problems facing communities, including poverty, abuse and joblessness.
“The village is situated on a farm and negotiations to acquire more land have started. We are going to end up with a situation where the village can produce its own vegetables for instance, which can also be sold in the open market.
“This can be a source of employment which will help to alleviate poverty in the community. As a long term program, we would like to see villages like this one being replicated in all part of the province,” said Dr Mkhize.
Dr Mkhize said it is important for communities to participate in this kind of initiatives and to intervene in the interest of children, specifically those who come from unfortunate circumstances.
“If we fail to do this, we run the risk of having a whole generation of children who do not know what it means to be loved and to be raised in a proper family environment, with values and principles,” said Dr Mkhize.
“If the church, government and business work together, I truly believe that we can put of roof over every vulnerable child’s head, give them a mother that loves them, feed them and educate them to the glory of God, and the face of the nation will be changed through a generation that the world has turned its back on,” said founder of LIV, Mr Titch Smith.
For more information, contact:
Ndabezinhle Sibiya, Premier’s Spokesperson,
Cell: 082 3754742
E-mail: sibiyand@premier.kzntl.gov.za
