Despite criticisms of Institutional care – it's expensive and can never mirror a normal family environment – we also know from experience that there are families and homes so dysfunctional and unsafe that children cannot remain in them. Not all youngsters do well in foster care either or adjust well in the community. In cases like these, residential care becomes the best option.

Contrary to many impressions, Girls and Boys Town Centres are 'open' environments – we do not lock up our family. Children must want to be with us in preference to other facilities.

In return, we offer them some of the most comprehensive and effective developmental programmes available in South Africa. Girls and Boys Town is the only organisation that offers girls and boys alternative programmes depending on their needs.

The name Girls & Boys Town is synonymous with self-government – a place where youngsters make their own decisions and rule themselves under the guidance of adults. This is especially true of our larger Centres (with up to 70 residents) where some youth are more challenging and need a structured programme.

Our children attend local schools and take part in all the schools' activities just like other girls and boys. But, unlike other youngsters, they get extra help when they get home: professionals whose lives centre around helping them get over their hurt and past trauma and teaching them values and social skills that help them in the classroom, in dealing with adults, choosing and making new friends and managing the challenges that face them daily.

Other children in our care can manage and thrive better in a family-style home in the community, in a smaller group (up to 10 girls or boys). They are cared for by Family Teachers who offer a stable environment and teach them the social skills to deal with life's situations.

Again, girls and boys attend local schools, go to church, perform chores and strive to earn more freedom to do the things all teenagers do: go to movies and rugby matches, have weekend jobs and 'hang-out' with friends. Like their counterparts at the larger Centres, they, too, get help from adults specially trained to deal with their hurtful past and teach them to face the future with confidence and maturity.

In all our Centres, girls and boys stay with us until either their families are ready to take them back or they are able to live independently as young adults.

Reading about these programmes won't give you the sense of pride, confidence and maturity which our girls and boys develop in these programmes. That's why we invite you to visit one of our Centres and meet them in person.

Why not set aside a Sunday to visit us? You can even bring a friend. It's an eye-opening and pleasing experience!

For more information, please phone (011) 482-2655.