In celebration of MANDELA DAY this year, we decided to use our creative talents for good. Nelson Mandela loved children, so we spent some time making hand puppets for a children's daycare in Manenberg on the Cape Flats. 

"The true character of society is revealed in how it treats its children." - Nelson Mandela, 27 September 1997

Manenberg, one of the townships in the Cape Flats, is a hotspot of gang violence, drug and alcohol abuse, rape, unemployment and poverty. Half of the young generation have not finished school, and therefore have no chance to get a decent job. In June 2010, Fr. Wim Lindeque, then parish priest of the Catholic Church in Manenberg, together with dedicated parishioners and friends, established the Holy Family Child and Youth Development Centre, now known as Manenberg Aftercare Centre, during the FIFA World Cup to support children and young people in the community. The facilitators are all formerly unemployed members of the Manenberg community who now earn a small income through their work at the Centre, thus making a difference in their families and the broader Manenberg community. Currently, about 150 children are enrolled in the programme. The project is made possible by financial assistance from private sponsors, without any governmental support or any single major funder.