Umthombo Volunteering
Volunteering at Umthombo
Umthombo is an organization that aims to enhance the quality of the lives of street children by treating them with dignity and respect, providing them with basic rights, identifying their goals and aspirations and encouraging their physical, emotional, social and mental empowerment.
Our goals are:
- To build relationships with new children identified through out reach work, and to encourage children to seek alternatives to street life.
- To provide psychosocial support services to address the trauma endured through creative, child friendly therapies
- To rehabilitate anti-social behaviours, teach life skills and foster positive social skills through the medium of sport and recreation.
- To reintegrate children with family and community and provide aftercare support through family therapy interventions
- To empower children, families and communities toward sustainable development and a spirit of common care
- To promote and lobby for the basic human rights of marginalised children through advocacy, community education and rights based work.
As a volunteer at Umthombo, you can assist in the following programmes/organisational activities
Outreach/Street work: The first step in reaching out to children is meeting them on their own ‘turf’ and understanding their situation from their point of view. One of the primary interventions of Umthombo is street work and contact whereby the children are met by the street workers at the places they live or frequent. Child and youth care workers (street workers) spend time with these children responding to their immediate needs through engagement and relationship building. Basic health services, education and awareness and counselling is also provided. Outreach is our core business as initial contacts made with the child must be child friendly, positive, motivating and encouraging for the child.
Safe Space: This is a centre in the city centre that provides a structured environment where children can seek safety and comfort away from the streets. Children are given adequate opportunities to develop a holistic personality. Their innate talents and potentials are identified and developed. Situational and need based counselling is provided. An ample dose of music, recreation, sport, dance and art is given. Street Children have ample time in hand. If this time is not purposefully directed, they veer towards unproductive and antisocial activities. Instead of condemning their habits the safe space provides them with various opportunities to develop their social and recreational skills as well as providing a conducive environment for therapeutic social work services. Services provided are nutrition, one to one counselling, group counselling, non-formal education, hygiene and health awareness talks, life skills and all forms of artwork.
Aftercare: Children are constantly encouraged to re-establish ties with their families. Contact is established through telephone calls when possible and home visits. Home and financial circumstances are assessed through social work interventions and short term goals are determined. Destitute families are provided with material assistance and children placed at school. Family mediation and support services are provided, as well as referrals to district service providers to access relevant services. Empowerment and developmental strategies are utilized to mobilize and empower families to seek rights based services in their communities.
RECREATION – SPORT
Surfing: This has become a popular engagement programme and has become an ‘escape’ mechanism for many children. Children in this programme acquire skills in surfing, receive trauma intervention and are encouraged to return home. Surfing has also provided opportunities for older youth to find employment in surf shops and factories.
Soccer: This is a popular sport which also has a dual purpose of recreation and rehabilitation. Through the medium of soccer children are engaged and relationships built with them. Encouragement, empowerment and seeking of new alternatives are done through group sessions and individual sessions. Often important conversations are done during training sessions.
Art: it provides an opportunity for children to express themselves and discover their innate talents. Art is co-ordinated by an in-house artist who encourages children to engage in the many forms of art, namely visual art, beadwork, pottery, paper mesh art, graphics, drama, music and dance. Art is also used as a form of therapeutic intervention as children’s traumas and life experiences are interpreted through art by social workers.