The Litsemba Centre
The Litsemba Centre
A Beacon of Hope for the Pienaar Community
The Litsemba Centre serves as a beacon of hope for the entire Pienaar community, acting as the central hub for all Mamkhulu Org’s programs. The centre has become a safe haven for children and youth in crisis, providing essential services such as a feeding scheme, programs for young mothers, and a drop-in centre for homework support. We reach people near and far to access these services, and we are committed to meeting their needs as effectively as possible.
Our two social workers support everyone who visits the center, with a primary focus on assisting the children and youth in our programs.
Activities include after-school programs, a feeding scheme, homework support, skills development, Bible studies, and special events like events such as Christmas parties, awareness raising about abuse and HIV/Aids, and cancer campaigns.
The Litsemba Centre – History of the Property
The Litsemba Centre (The Hope Centre) is a project supported by Mamkhulu.org in partnership with the Ebhuleni Royal Charity, which operates under the tribal authority of Daantjie, Pienaar, in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
The centre serves as a hub where skills and aspirations come together to support orphans, vulnerable children, and youth in the local community. With the assistance of a local organization, Mamkhulu.org has established a reading program and a small library for primary school children, which has significantly helped those in need of improving their reading abilities.
In late 2009, the former “Fundza Centre,” now known as the Litsemba Centre, was donated to Mamkhulu.org. Four organizations collaborated to transform it into a space dedicated to youth development and support. Originally built by Chief Daantjie during the days of the former Kangwane Homelands as a commercial center, it housed several small businesses. However, the centre was abandoned in 2003 and used as a storage space until it was repurposed in 2009.
The participating organizations worked together to renovate and reimagine the centre as a shelter for young men in need, who became the first residents. These young men were integral to the centre’s restoration efforts, using their skills to rebuild the facility and shape the vision for its future. Many of the youth involved had previously been street children from the local community. With the centre’s strategic location within the township, it was soon recognized for its potential as a broader community youth center. Under the guidance of older mentors, the youth took ownership of the renovation process, transforming the Litsemba Centre into a place of refuge and opportunity.
The organizations first came together to renovate and re-create the centre to become a place of refuge for various young men who were in need of shelter. These young men formed the core group of the residents in the centre, and the dreams for the future were built around the skills of all those involved. The group also realized that the centre had huge potential as a community youth centre because of its central location in the township.
With the youth as the builders, with guidance from some older people, the renovations have taken place. Some of these youth who took ownership of the centre and began the renovations had started out as street kids themsleves in the local community.
Townships often lack safe spaces for youth to gather and socialize. The Litsemba Centre serves as such a haven, providing children and young people with access to skills training, guidance, a teenage pregnancy crisis center, and general support.
In today’s world, computer literacy is crucial for young people seeking employment. Unfortunately, rural communities often lack access to computers, leaving many students graduating without the necessary skills. Our goal is to establish a resource center where learners can receive skills training and community members can access the internet for personal use.
Additionally, libraries are scarce, and there is no community library in Daantjie for students to conduct research or borrow books for leisure. Many learners also struggle to find proper career guidance and often don’t know how to align their skills and interests with a fulfilling career path. The media center will provide valuable information on bursaries, further studies, and resources to help them build a brighter future.