​During this International Child and Youth Care Week, we’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the dedication, hard work, and love that Child and Youth Care Workers in various child and youth care institutions pour into their work all day, every day.
As we celebrate Care Workers across the country Weekly Bulletin spoke to Xolani Mthembu, one of the dedicated and diligent Child and Youth Care Workers stationed at Luckhoff CYCC in Heidelberg. The 39-years-old said his love for children is immeasurable, especially for children who need care and protection from vulnerable families.

He said his passion for helping vulnerable children arises from his experience of growing up without his parents next to him until he turned (17) years.

“I was taught Ubuntu at young age and today I like helping children, and I enjoy seeing them succeed,” Mthembu said.

Mthembu started his career as a volunteer in one of the organizations in KZN where he gained experience as a Care Worker. He later went to study child and youth care work at Durban University of Technology.

He said besides providing shelter and psychosocial support to children they also ensure that children are reintegrated back into their families where possible. He added that their work is also to do early intervention and rehabilitation to get the children back into society either through family reunification or foster care placements.

Mthembu said the centre implements a structured programmes covering educational, developmental, and therapeutic elements which caters for all the children from the ages of 13 up to 18 years. He said these are children who have suffered various forms of violence, abuse, and neglect, and who are in need of care and protection.

Mthembu said JW Luckhoff CYCC accommodates only boys in need of care and protection, however, he highlighted that recently they have admitted two boys who belonged to the LGBTIQIA+ community which raised a new challenge for the institution. The capacity of the facility can cater for 50 and currently the centre has 18 children and one of them is in grade 12.

“It's not the first time we having a child who is in matric, we had many of them previously and some of them are reunified with their families”

He added that the centre accepts any child declared in need of care by the Commissioner of Child Welfare in terms of the Children’s Act.