Lapeng Child and Family Resource Service

Project coordinators at Lapeng are interested in contributing to the social transformation of the inner city of Johannesburg by involving children and their families in appropriate arts and cultural processes. One programme that seeks to empower participants in this way is the Art in Early Childhood Development (ECD) trainer training course designed specifically for caregivers from the inner-city preschools. “The course participants, including the staff and families of Lapeng, the ECD practitioners and trainers of Joubert Park and other areas, are helped to set up creative learning environments for children in their ECD services in high-rise buildings in Joubert Park.” According to the organisers, “by providing adults with an opportunity to express themselves through art and culture, they are able to understand the importance of creative activities in developing self-esteem and a foundation for life-long learning.”

In addition, organisers seek to communicate positive messages about learning through creativity with the institution of a Drop-In-Arts Programme. This programme invites children and their caregivers to participate in a full-time arts facility in Joubert Park. The programme is a strategy for identifying talented and ambitious youth in the community. Lapeng trains selected youth to run arts programmes under the mentorship of arts facilitators in an effort to create opportunities for community members to sustain such programmes in the future and involve youth directly in the development of the programme. One plausible consequence of this programme, according to organisers, is to “enhance the park as a safe place for children and families.”

Another communication strategy for youth empowerment at Lapeng involves workshops on children’s rights for community youth. In these workshops, participants are invited to perform “inner child exercises” which organisers believe can strengthen children's ability to hear their inner voices and “learn to recognise their own boundaries and respect those of others.” The programme seeks to emphasise the development of parenting skills for pre-adolescents, an intervention supported by UNICEF South Africa. “UNICEF is supporting the development of a National Integrated Strategy for early childhood development and to increase national, provincial and local understanding of ECD in a practical and accessible manner. Special focus is being given to the development of materials for primary care-givers focused on the psycho-social support of 0-3 year-old children and to promoting skills development at community level for these groups, particularly child-headed households.”

Youth, Children, Rights.

"Family development and involvement is a priority at Lapeng, and is being actively encouraged at other ECD centres in the inner city. This is further linked to a broader community mapping process where needs and resources are identified, services are linked to people in need and information is made accessible. This has led to the establishment of the Neighbourhood Network, a group of intersectoral services providers, including Wits University, Health and HIV/AIDS non-governmental organisations, youth, local government and housing initiatives. Lapeng seeks to facilitate the identification of community needs in relation to self-development and economic well being by creating links for community members to such relevant service providers."