Gugulethu/Manenberg Youth Safe-Hub

On Tuesday, 17 May 2016, Premier Helen Zille officially launched a state-of-the-art Youth Safe-Hub at Nyanga Junction as part of our exciting new projects in Manenberg and Gugulethu.

The hub – located at Intshukumo Secondary School – is part of the Western Cape Government’s vision for the broader Youth Lifestyle Campus development that will service the community of Gugulethu and Manenberg.

At least 2 500 young people from Gugulethu and Manenberg will benefit from these brand new facilities and youth programmes.

“After Schools programmes are a Game Changer for our government. Our aim is to have 112 000 learners from no fee schools accessing quality after schools programmes, in safe spaces, by 2019,” Premier Zille said.

The facilities at the newly launched Safe-Hub include:

• A FIFA standard ‘astro turf’, for the football programme. The field is floodlit, to allow for activities in the evenings, including the Football Night League – sponsored by the Western Cape Department of Community Safety – which takes place on Friday and Saturday nights,
• A training academy, where the provincial government’s Mass participation; Opportunity & Access; Development & Growth (MOD) centre will be based. The MOD centre will provide afterschool support, including literacy and numeracy tutoring by fulltime mentors,
• A Youth Café, provided by the Western Cape Department of Social Development. Learners will have full access to computers, the internet, various Western Cape Government portals with useful resources, and other career support,
• A Psychosocial Support Centre – though the Department of Social Development – to provide social assistance where necessary. This includes: substance abuse support, counselling, conflict resolution & mediation and family planning support, where necessary;
• A health and nutrition feeding scheme, and
• Space for small businesses, where start-ups and young entrepreneurs can grow their enterprises.

The Department of Community Safety is providing a Safety Kiosk, to be manned by members of the local neighbourhood watch programme.

The new hub has been named after one of the Western Cape Government’s major NGO partners, retired German footballer, Oliver Kahn. The Oliver Kahn Foundation and our NGO partner, Amandla EduFootball, have been key partners in constructing and operating the Safe-Hub.

Our long term vision for the Youth Lifestyle Campus

Following extensive advice received from the local community, Premier Zille last year unveiled the joint vision behind the greater Youth Lifestyle Campus in Manenberg and Gugulethu, which includes the Nyanga Junction Safe-Hub. Some challenges that have been identified by the local communities that will be addressed are:

• lack of police and community safety forum visibility at schools and Nyanga Junction,
• high crime rates and slow response to domestic abuse,
• lack of basic services,
• lack of facilities to address the socio-economic challenges, and
• youth at risk.

The broader Youth Lifestyle Campus will be structured into 6 precincts, each with a unique educational offering that is responsive to the needs of the surrounding community. The precincts will include:

1. an Ecological Precinct,
2. a Technology and Media Precinct,
3. an Innovation, Economic Skills and Development Precinct,
4. a Wellness Precinct,
5. a Social Innovation Precinct, Highroad business Precinct, and
6. a Sport Precinct.

Education facilities, sport facilities and green open spaces will operate as a system. Safe promenades will link these learning hubs together, spanning scores of City blocks.

“We want young people to have safe, after-school spaces for learning and personal development. This is especially important in crime-affected communities where there are many negative influences on the streets. The Youth Lifestyle Campus development is about access to opportunity for thousands of young people in the surrounding communities,” said Premier Zille.

“This is the first of many big developments to come for this community. Young people in Gugulethu and Manenberg are encouraged to make use of these facilities as best as possible,” said Premier Zille.

What’s next?

We’ve got plenty to do and we’re ready to take Manenberg to greater heights. Both the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape Government have planned various crucial steps to achieve these goals. We'll work closely with the City and residents to ensure transparency and inclusion.

The Community Action Plan will be signed soon and public participation will be scaled up. The City has already allocated a budget for Phase 1 of the development, and the work will begin within this financial year.

We can’t do this on our own and encourage all citizens to help us as we plan and build a better Manenberg together.

Read more about our our plans and goals for Manenberg and Gugulethu.