Community Educational Development Centre
Together with the economic and political changes in South Africa
since 1994, there is increasing awareness of issues such as free
market economics, privatization and global competitiveness. With
paradigm shifts such as these, the emphasis on local and regional
economies also changed, and
renewed interest in local and regional economic development came to
the fore. it is now realized that by decentralizing certain
responsibilities, scarce resources can be applied more productively
by embarking on programmes where private sector initiative is
developed to take over initiatives that were previously exclusively
dealt with by public sector authorities.
Picture: Volunteers busy sorting cloth for distribution amongst
the disadvantaged children.
With the transfer of responsibility and accountability from a
national to a regional and eventually, there is a recognition that
those structures closer to grassroots levels know and understand the
developmental needs of their respective communities and societies
better. Through such a process, creative though is stimulated and
local people are motivated to play a greater role in developing their
own communities to the benefit of the larger whole
 Raymond
Matabiele and four Johnson Controls employees formed The House of
Restoration in 2000. We have realized the extent of deprivation and
squalor in our neighborhood, we decided to take it upon ourselves to
start an initiative that would make a difference to the lives of the
inhabitants of Mandela Ville, a squatter camp in Uitenhage. By
digging deep into our pockets providing practical assistance,
we’ve set out with the objective of empowering the local people
with new courage, hope and energy that would enable them to regain a
feeling of self-esteem and self-worth.
OUR OBJECTIVES
-
We feed school going and non-school going (toddlers) 2 meals per day,
and to unemployed people.
-
We provide a save and smoke free environment where the kids can study
and do their homework under supervision of a qualified teacher. We
provide 1 meal per day for the unemployed people in our area, while
they are in a process of looking for a job.
-
We act as an intermediary for short-term and permanent employment. We
are running a grass cutting service, a spaza shop and small paint contracts.
-
We have place about 20 street children back into schools successfully.
-
We also provide administrative assistance in the completion of
application forms, explaining/interpreting letters/correspondence for
the illiterate. |
