January 25, 2006
By Lucille Davie
THERE's a bunch of cheerful girls out in Midrand, and it's no wonder they have world-acclaimed singer Miriam Makeba as their benefactor.
Sixteen girls live at the Makeba Rehabilitation Centre for Girls in Midrand, on a plot of several acres. The centre, which opened in 2003, has a swimming pool and a productive vegetable garden to keep them busy on weekends and after school.
The Makeba Centre girls in their vegetable garden
The girls live in a house on the property and modifications have been made to accommodate them: the former lounge and two bedrooms are lined with beds, the walls covered with posters of popular singers.
When asked about Makeba it's clear the girls love her dearly. They shout out: ''She is so sweet and kind''; ''The most special person in the world''; ''A mother, sister, everything in the world''; ''She can talk to people''; ''We learn to lot from her''; even that ''shes overprotective''.
There is also a large poster of the singer on the wall to remind them of their mentor.
According to Elaine Masekela-Britton, the centre's project manager and administrator, Makeba visits the girls regularly, bringing them gifts of clothes. She also donates beds and linen.
Having Makeba as a role model has encouraged them to think big: career choices range from pilot, lawyer and teacher to IT specialist and environmental scientist.
The girls range in age from 11 to 17 years. Some are orphans and some come from dysfunctional families, but all appear to have found a happy home in Midrand. They come from across Gauteng, and as far afield as KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and even Lesotho.
The girls, usually from troubled homes, have been brought to the centre from the department of social welfare, from family and child welfare and from the South African Police Service.
The girls go to local schools and besides homework, spend their afternoons doing washing and cleaning, and watching TV. On Sundays they go to church.
The department of social development provides a grant for each child. The centre is registered as a non-profit organisation, and although it has several sponsors, they are in need of more sponsorship.
Two housemothers take turns to live in the house with the girls. Betty Mthimuny, 52, a mother of five and grandmother of three, is clearly the right choice of caregiver.
''I take them like my children there is no difference between my children and these kids,'' she says.
Both Mthimuny and Masekela-Britton admit though that they need a social worker to counsel the girls.
Although the girls have been assessed by a psychologist, with the country's shortage of social workers who move from job to job often a social worker will start work with the girls then be gone the following month rehabilitation is a slow process.
The aim of the centre is to reunite the girls with their families, at the same time realising that rehabilitating the girls is not enough - the families also need rehabilitation. ''It is a two-way street,''says Masekela-Britton
She is planning an open day at the centre, with the aim of interesting sponsors.
In the meantime, there's a lot to do getting donated computers connected to the Internet tops the list.
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