Joining Hands To Assist Vulnerable Children

In May 2022, Dutchman Marcel van den Berg became a member of Rotary Club Wateringen in the Netherlands. As van den Berg and his Capetonian wife live in Cape Town for about five months each year, it was suggested he connect with the Rotary Club Cape of Good Hope – based in the Fish Hoek valley – and find a mutually beneficial project. 

After visiting and assessing the Rotary Club’s projects, a decision was made to support the Valley Development Projects’ Open Door projects, in particular, to help finish the outdoor facilities at the Open Door Building in Ocean View – a facility where children can play safely after receiving their daily meal. 

A fundraising plan involving selling bottles of Cape wine in the Netherlands is underway. Wine from the Carmen Stevens Winery in Stellenbosch, which focuses on cultural transformation, will be sold at a high margin.

About the organisation and the cause

Valley Development Projects (VDP) is a nonprofit organisation operating in the previously disadvantaged area of Ocean View in the Cape Province’s southern Cape peninsula. It is a designated child protection organisation subsidised by the Department of Social Development and consists of two projects – the Early Learning Project (preschools) and the Social Worker Project, which focuses on the “Best Interests of the Child” as stated in Section 7 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005, and includes the statutory processes at Children’s Court. 

Developing the “best interest” of the child starts with prevention and early intervention where possible, however, it can lead to investigations and the removal of children where necessary, followed by appropriate alternative care placement. Currently, there are 450 children in foster care or alternative care in the community, all of whom were found to be vulnerable and in need of care as per Section 150 of the Children’s Act 38 of 2005.

The Open Door

Prominently situated at the entrance to Ocean View is the hub of the VDP Social Worker Project. The large white building, aptly called The Open Door, houses the social workers acting as the designated Child Protection Agency that investigates all child abuse and neglect referrals.  Adolescents, children and babies are referred to the social workers by the police, hospitals, schools, other organisations and community members. Female victims of domestic violence and abuse are referred to Community Cohesion, an organisation in the building adjacent to The Open Door. 

The Community Development project, which forms part of the social work portfolio, is responsible for the daily care, extramural support and feeding of 200 children, who fall within the “designated child protection” criteria. They 

receive a meal after school (for many, this is the only meal they are assured of getting each day) and spend time playing within the grounds of The Open Door – the one place where they feel cared for, nurtured, loved and, above all, safe.

The provision of a warm and happy play area around The Open Door building will go a long way towards improving the lives of these young children who have had to experience the harsh realities of life far too soon.

Carmen Stevens Wines

When developing the fundraising plan, it was agreed that the winery supplying the wine for the project should be a winery in transformation. 

Van den Berg and his wife, Shadiya, with the help of Wesgro, visited The Wine Arc – the overarching organisation caring for the interests of transformation wineries and vineyards in the Cape Region.

After assessing several wineries, the van den Bergs chose to collaborate with the Carmen Stevens Winery, established in 2011.

Carmen Stevens has been in the South African wine industry since qualifying in 1995. She became the first black South African to study the art of winemaking in South Africa. In January 2019, Stevens registered the first 100 per cent black-owned winery in South Africa in picturesque Stellenbosch.

The Carmen Stevens’ nonprofit organisation provides school meals to about 25 531 learners from 125 schools.

The provision of a warm and happy play area around The Open Door building will go a long way towards improving the lives of these young children who have had to experience the harsh realities of life far too soon.