[WATCH] Ikusasa children thankful for Ritmia donations

A group of boys will sleep a little warmer this winter, due to the generosity of the Ritmia congregation from Wilro Park.

The 39 boys all live at the Ikusasa Development Centre in Krugersdorp, a house of safety that aims to break the cycle of abuse in children’s lives by healing and re-integration. They provide educational and recreational opportunities, as well as access to basic health care and regular meals. Most of the boys they take in, live and work on the street. Each one has a story to tell, but Ikusasa is where they find a loving place to feel safe.

Ikusasa also assists children with reconnecting with their biological families and tries to have them integrate into their families’ lives. Children at Ikusasa are also provided with counselling to help them come to terms with past traumatic events.

When you walk in at Ikusasa, you feel the cold winter wind nipping at you. The building is old and split in two sections. To the right is the hall where some computers are lined up against one wall, and a few exercise bicycles against the other. In the front is the stage on which these boys usually practise their dancing and singing routines.

To the left are the living quarters, an open seating area and a kitchen. Through two doors into the dormitory one finds the bunk beds, three on top of each other. In the middle are cupboards that look like old office furniture. The doors hang on the last remaining hinges and there are no shelves.

There are holes in the walls, which need new paint. The front door has no glass and one struggles to open and close it.

There is only one shower and one toilet for all the boys, and the toilet is out of order. The boys are separated from the outside by two safety gates and until recently, there were no doors, which meant that the cold air filled their living space every night when they tried to sleep.

The team from Ritmia visited the centre and realised that it was in dire need of some basic upgrades.

The congregation recently hosted a golf day with the News’ sister paper, the Roodepoort Northsider and some of the funds raised at the event were used to help the development centre.

The Ritmia team returned to the centre and replaced some of the doors. On 6 July they came back again, this time to treat the boys. Each boy received two blankets, a sweet treat, a Bible and a tasty lunch.

The boys thanked them by treating them to a few performances and the ReCreators, an a cappella group from Randfontein, also performed for the crowd.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” said pastor Donald Nyinenda, the Ikusasa Development Centre’s project manager.

He explained that all their prayers used to be about asking for help, but finally they can change their prayers to giving thanks.

The team from Ritmia said they wish to continue helping the centre as there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.