Twilight Children Project’s main aim is to reintegrate into mainstream society our children and young adults, by giving them skills; in so doing affirming their confidence, so they can become valuable citizens. The Twilight Shelter children and the outreach homeless (youth, children and adults of all genders); come to learn literacy, skills such as pottery and other forms of art such as recycled art, sewing and beadwork. The local community is also invited to avail themselves of these skills.

Social Workers give counselling and introduce children to the shelter as a better way of life than the streets. They help extensively with reunification of children with their parents in circumstances of poverty.

The following proposals are available for the following projects at The Twilight Children’s Shelter:

1. Shelter Programme: It offers alternatives in terms of poverty alleviation for children, their families and the local community, finally addressing the needs of those living on the streets in a holistic way. School education.

2. Outreach Programme: The project began as a soup kitchen in the early days and then as a temporary shelter to accommodate the boys living on the streets at night. The need for developing literacy and skills became apparent this initiated the projects.

3. Skills Training: We need to work towards becoming sustainable in the future and the skills training is well on the way to doing this. We offer training in pottery, silk screen printing and woodwork and plan to introduce leather work this year.

4. IT Centre / Gymnasium: Information Technology Centre and Gymnasium sponsored by Virgin Active. We have an accredited trainer trained by Virgin Active.

5. The Girls Drop in Centre / Creche: A small drop-in program was started, and today girls and local community members (women) are involved in various income-generating projects. Due to the fact that many trainees have children, it is proposed that a small creche be set up for the working mothers so that they have access to childcare while they are working.

6. Aftercare: The Aftercare Programme caters for those children who are placed back at home after they have completed their individual rehabilitation programme at the shelter.

7. The Halfway House: The Halfway House would accommodate those children / young adults who are involved in Skills Training and preparation for independent living. It will function more like a communal home and prepare them in terms of being reintegrated into society, while receiving budgeting, financial planning and household and life skills before they leave to make it on their own.

8. HIV / AIDS Programme: We found as an institution that deals with street children there is a need to take an active part in the prevention of HIV / AIDS. The intervention have is to mostly concentrate on preventative programmes.

9. Bakery: We bake our own bread and cakes and accredited boys for learning to bake.

10. Vegetable Garden: Which has recently suffered through the Black Frost.

The Twilight Children Shelter currently accommodates children aged 8 years up to 20 years. We could accommodate 106 children if the funds were available for extra staff. Were work in our outreach programme with an extra 240 children.

Please see our website for banking details should you wish to make a donation. We feed approximately 300 homeless children in our outreach programme (in winter many more) and any financial aid would be greatly appreciated.

Twilight Children Projects have proved to be a positive answer in crime prevention.

We have 3 boys at Johannesburg University (one studying Economics and the other two are studying Tourism).

Operates in: Johannesburg, Gauteng
Established in: 1986

Non-Profit Organisation Number: 003-917
Public Benefit Organisation Number: 930007628
Section 21 Company Number:
Trust Number:

Contact person: Cathy MacDonald
Phone: 011 614 1179
Fax: 011 614 1181
Email:

Website: www.twilightchildren.co.za

Physical address: 31 Van der Merwe Street, Hillbrow
Postal address: P O Box 650843, Benmore, 2010