LDA Stories

Bot River: Helping Young People To Imagine A Future

Building hope and encouraging young people to imagine a future is the main focus of the Community Development Centre in the Western Cape village of Bot River.

The village started as a trading station where the Dutch East India Company could barter with the Khoikhoi in the early 1700s and is situated on the N2, en route to Caledon, from Cape Town.

Today Bot River is an agricultural centre in the Overberg with abundant vineyards, orchards, and cash crops that provide seasonal work for the local community. Despite the idyllic setting poverty is a way of life for many in the community and the Community Development Centre, which turns 21 next year, offers desperately needed services and support.

Ten full time staff focus on four core areas: Youth, HIV/Aids, Early Childhood Development, and Senior Citizens. There is also a busy Human Rights desk that deals with labour disputes and other legal issues.

Administrator Marie Swartz, said youth development is the biggest part of the Development Centre with the other core areas feeding into youth projects.

Central to this is a partnership with the Department of Social Development.

For example, on December 1, World Aids Day, the HIV/Aids programme involved the local school in a march through town to raise awareness about the disease.

Young people in the community are also undergoing training to assist with the home-based care of the sick and elderly.

The Community Development Centre encourages Bot River’s youth to continue with their education, even once they leave formal schooling.

“We encourage the youth and unemployed to develop skills that make them more employable,” said Swartz.

The Community Development Centre partners with a number of initiatives that promote basic education and training for example Boland College and Elgin Learning Foundation.

The Youth in Business initiative encourages entrepreneurship and mathematical literacy skills among students from Grades Nine to Twelve.

Also under the Community Development Centre umbrella is the Early Childhood Development Crèche, which is a partnership with the Department of Social Development and a local farmer.

Funding for Bot River’s Community Development Centre is raised through ongoing fund-raising projects throughout the year. Funds channelled through Scat are used mainly for the day to day running of the office. Funding has also been allocated by the national Lotto.

“Our next big goal is to fund our own building so that we can be guaranteed a permanent home,” said Swartz.