Christmas wish list for Durban Child and Youth Care Centre

DO you want to donate gifts this festive season but unsure of where to start?

Look no further as Durban Child and Youth Care Centre needs your assistance. Mandy Goble, a director at the centre, says the generosity of donors allows them to buy ‘Christmas food and gifts for orphans’. She also shares their Christmas wish list. Mandy says they are a registered NPO, taking care of orphans and destitute and neglected children.

“We are providing therapeutic developmental care to more than 70 children placed in our care. We believe that family is vital for a child to thrive and thus give focused attention to preserving family. Children are placed with us because of high levels of unemployment, poverty, crime, domestic violence, substance abuse, sexual abuse and HIV/Aids in the country,” she says.

Also read: Managing children’s Christmas gift expectations

Mandy reveals that they are among the child and youth centres in the province that have not received an increase in the subsidy they receive for children since 2019. “This year, we were informed of cuts to the budget. This resulted in our subsidised number of children dropping from 74 to 70. So our greatest struggle is trying to raise money to cover operational costs, which means we will not be able to maintain the level of service expected for the care and protection of troubled and hurting children,” she explains.

The director says the centre celebrates Christmas by holding an annual Christmas Party for all children where they are treated with gifts and goodies. She adds, “For almost all the children who joined us during the year, this is the first time they will receive a Christmas gift, a surprise, wrapped in pretty paper, something that is their very own. There is always a small group of children who remain in our care over Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. The staff on duty go out of their way to make these three days extra special.”

Also read: Berea elder shares Christmas wisdom

When asked about the centre’s gift rules for Christmas, Mandy said they need to be age-appropriate, durable, should not require batteries, should not be toy guns or knives, and they should bring joy. “As the year end draws closer, we reflect on the incredible difference one small act of kindness can make. Never doubt that you can make a difference because if everyone does just a little bit of good, it all adds up for the greater good,” Mandy concludes.

Here is the centre’s Christmas wish list:

School shoes, school bags, couches, laundry baskets, metal cupboards for storage, mattresses for single beds, baseboards for single beds, irons, toiletries, fridge, gloves, green soap, toilet paper, shoe polish, Vaseline, body lotion, toothpaste, long-life milk, rice, maize meal, meat, oats, breakfast food and school stationery items.

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