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THE
BRIDGE AT ELUKHUSELWENI
The Bridge is a Children's Home where the children lead a
more ordered life and have usually settled into a school routine.
It is located in Khayelitsha - a community from which many
of the children originate - and offers a longer-term bridge
between the streets and community life.
Placement at the Children's Home is the last resort for those
children who cannot return home or to their communities for
a multitude of complex reasons. Often the situation at home
has not changed and the difficulties that drove the boy to
the streets are still there. In these circumstance, the Children's
Court orders placement in alternative care.
Here, they begin to put the hurt of the past behind them,
and we can concern ourselves with their future. The school
curriculum may or may not be appropriate for them. Those who
are young enough to start again, to get into the education
mainstream, are helped with this. Others may never do well
at school and have to learn other routes to mastery and self-reliance.
The experience of settled community living, with a strong
emphasis on learning, makes up the programme at The Bridge.
Each child has a Group Leader who spends quality time with
him, taking a special interest in his progress, building on
his strengths, and helping him to deal with the challenges
of his daily life at school and in the children's home. This
Child Care Worker also does Home Visits with the boy to get
to know his situation and help him resolve some of the pain
of the past.
We carry on working with the boys at building up their fragile
connections with their families and relatives. Many spend
weekends and holidays with their relatives - food parcels
are a help to this process. They are often now confident enough
to go home for trial periods secure in the knowledge that
a "safety net" is there for them as they venture
back into the disrupted and dysfunctional story of their lives.
We like to think that in our care they can rediscover roots
and find wings! |
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