THE Joburg Child Welfare in conjunction with the City of Johannesburg have introduced a project that aims to create an environment that is safe for children living in the city. The initiative is called the "Best life for every child project".

A number of NGO's, JMPD officers, police officials and children attend a series of workshops facilitated by Dr Barbara Holtmann. Workshop attendees have thus far contributed ideas on how to create a better life for children.

"We want to create the best life for every child. The collaborative workshops will involve people and organisations in the corporate and public sector, who have a vested interest in fixing up the city for the children," said Holtmann.
Holtmann is the author of What it looks like when it's fixed, which is the main aim of the workshops.

From workshops held, visions were presented in the form of six drawings. The drawings consisted of a number of commodities like more parks, more organised shopping environments, safe and reliable transport, improved health and education, a welcoming and caring environment, a clean and beautiful city, decent public toilets, a civil society, a respect for diversity and a place that is safe to move freely at night.

The pilot project of the initiative is the Thembalethu centre which is located in Joubert Park in Joburg.

"It is a place of support, guidance and training for unemployed women and their children. It also provides a more comprehensive service than when it started," said assistant director of Joburg's Child Welfare, Aileen Langley.

The centre accommodates thousands of unemployed women aged between 18 and 35. Thembalethu is better known in the area for its skills training programmes which include beauty, nail care, hairdressing and computer training.

More workshops will be held on August 28 and 29. The vision will then be handed to the mayor of Johannesburg in September and will thereafter be available online.

– aarifahn@citizen.co.za