The arrival of the first containers which will house the youth centre in Blode Street, Lavender Hill, has sparked hope to revive lost dreams of youth who often stare violence in the face.
Situated on the “battlefield” aptly named after many bloody gang battles fought through the years, Rise Above Development (RAD) sought to change the narrative of the youth and children of Lavender Hill.
Malany Meyer, youth centre and programme manager at Rise Above Development (RAD), said it was exciting times.
“I will be coordinating and running most of the programmes and building the programmes here with the youth in the community.”
With 10 years of experience working with the community and all too familiar with the area, Meyer said they hope to see some positivity come from the new centre which is being built in a space where many youth have fallen.
“I just recently came on board with RAD. In my previous job I was a youth programme coordinator and I’ve seen positivity come from the youth activities I’ve worked with in after-school programmes. I am super excited to be a part of this.”
She added that the facility would have a computer lab, classrooms, library and music studio.
“We will have the library, the computer lab and we will have a dance studio and it is going to be for the children and youth in Lavender Hill but also the surrounding areas where there is a need.
“I am from Lavender Hill and live in Lavender Hill with my own three children. I know of the violence in the community and this battlefield represented a lot of blood and death.
“With RAD now on this field, there’s just going to be so much more positivity and so much more beauty.
“We want the children to come into our centre, make the best of everything . . . revive the skills and to revive their dreams because most of these children have forgotten what they want to be.”
She added that often the youth don’t receive the support they need to fulfil their dreams and goals.
“There’s sometimes parents not motivating them so we are going to revive their dreams, goals and ambitions in life and equip them with the proper skills that they can use within society, at home, personally for themselves or even at school.”
Lindsay Cessford, CEO at RAD, said their goal is to uplift, educate and inspire the youth.
“The objective of RAD is to provide a venue, equipment, training and opportunity for all youth in Lavender Hill to express themselves creatively. This will help to develop the young generation and inspire them to create a better, integrated future by providing them with the facilities and infrastructure.”
She added that the building plans for the project, which had been 10 years in the making, were recently signed off.
“With broader support and basic needs in place the aim is to dilute the recruitment pool for gangsterism, creating lasting change in this beautiful community.
“The project has been five years in the making, with a 10 year facilities management agreement which was signed with the City of Cape Town in September 2021 and the building plans recently signed off in September.
“The centre, which will be constructed from repurposed shipping containers, will house a state-of- the-art music studio, a computer room, a multi-purpose classroom, library and ablutions in phase one.”
The project is carried out in partnership with the United Kingdom (UK) based global charity In Place of War (IPoW) and locally based non-profit organisation Breadline Africa.
“The whole team is elated that they can finally start to build the new youth centre, sports facilities and community garden that will be a huge turning point for Lavender Hill, giving the youth a safe space to come and learn and play.
“Through sports, structured education programmes and creative expression we hope to alleviate the trauma and create a better and brighter future for the youth.”
