INTRODUCTION:
The origin and development of this Center in the heart of Riverlea is testimony to the level of partnership between the community, religious institutions, the private sector, education and local government in the development of children and young people. On this basis, a model is set which will be beneficial to the development of youth, which in the words of the former president Nelson Mandela is an important step in the reconstruction and development of our former disadvantaged communities.

ORIGIN AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
The Alpha Youth Center (the Center) development started in the late 1960s and early 1970s when the need were identified in the local community for a program that would address the holistic development of children and youth. The deplorable conditions of children and youth at that stage in the dark days of apartheid drew together the abovementioned concerned stakeholders who started to roll up the sleeves and work towards the ideal of a youth development center. This process was driven by local community members, members of the educational fraternity and parents in a community-based effort. The local council were also very supportive in providing the piece of land as well as a donation for this effort. On 18 October 1975 all these efforts culminated in the official opening of the Center. Since this opening, a crèche has started.

STATUS:
In the following years this crèche is still one of the most successful crèches and preschools in the community with a total number of 60 children and 4 teachers teaching. The Center has her own cook, cleaner and caretaker and a management team coming from the community, or being born and bred from the community is doing the administration.

Currently the finances of this very successful and sustainable project are coming from the community of parents, the local Uniting Reformed Church and her partners. In this respect the community that is being served by this institution provides 80 % of the funding. This has been so for the last 27 of her existence. The projects are not subsidized by the local government or any public funds al all and are proud of this achievement in terms of being sustainable. In order to further develop the impact and scope of these kind of services broader partnerships however have to be found and developed within the private and public sector.

The financial administration of being carried out by the highest standards of financial admin and accountability and this process is being monitored and audited annually by an independent auditor. The books are also open for any member of involved for scrutiny within the framework of confidentiality.

CURRENT PROJECTS AND DEVELOPMENTS:
The development and planning processes of the Center is being managed in terms of a planning process that started in Nov 2001 whereby the staff, board as well as various community members and people living in the area as well as surrounding community, who want to share in the developments came together to look at the situation in the community. This process was facilitated by an organizational development expert and culminated early in January 2002 in a planning document, which serves as a road map for developments. All the following projects and developments hence will have to be seen in the light of these long term planning processes.

CRÈCHE
This unit of the Center is the oldest and hence more developed in terms of sustainability and impact on a broader scale. Planning are underway towards the development of a fully fledge early childhood development program drawing on the expertise of academic institutions, other social agencies and education specialists. Already the needs of the staff and children are assessed and attended to by a trained social worker. This social worker is being made available by the Abraham Kriel Children’s Center in Langlaagte and is a trained assessor in the field of child abuse.

This program also already extends to the needs of parents and other members of the community. It seems as if the community feels the need for such a service, but the process will be monitored in terms whether a youth worker would be appointed, based on the financial situation as well as the organizational capacity of this NGO.

Discussions has also started with a property developer and planner to assist with the process of optimally developing the space of the Center for the classrooms as well as a youth club for community youth development training and counseling sessions. Donations from community members are already earmarked to be used in the further development of this infrastructure. These donations are however just a fraction of what is needed to put these plans into action. Partnerships are being explored with all stakeholders to make this dream a reality, hence this proposal.

CARING (Compassionate Assistance and Relief Endeavors)
The Center provides a nutritious warm meal to children in the neediest areas of Riverlea in order to care for the most vulnerable. This program is however still inadequate for the vast number of children, who go bed without any supper, or in some cases no food for days. Volunteers from the local religious community and friends help in providing the food.

The CARE group also provides relief food parcels, blankets and clothes to needy households on a quarterly basis. In this respect, partnership with The Fontainebleau Community Church has been developed and volunteers monitor the impact of this process through regular visits of these households and asses the situation as well as support the family in terms of joint action plans.

HIV/AIDS:
Discussions and consultations are underway for the development of a program dealing with the scourge of HIV/AIDS in our community. A programme focusing on child headed households is being explored and planned and at this stage we are consulting with various stakeholders in order to assess the situation and to mobilize churches, community based organizations and other concerned members. Out of this consultations process it is envisioned that an appropriate program could develop to address this critical area.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The Board has already identified the economic empowerment and development of as one of the key developmental areas that has to be addressed in order to deal with the scourge of unemployment and illegal economic activities like the selling of drugs, liquor and prostitution. In this respect the process is underway to develop partnerships between the private sector and the development sector.

a Group of 8 young people started to experiment with business training and putting in action some of their ideas with the aim of building for themselves sustainable incomes. What is envisioned is a program that trains, supports and mentors micro enterprises focusing on niche areas in the tourism and service sector. The prime target group is young people at risk by being out of school and out of work. Linkages with tertiary institutions like the University of South Africa are in place and being developed in order to put these development initiatives on a solid academic and research foundation.

FUTURE PLANS:
As a matter of urgency, we want to implement the following development, as a proactive step towards also dealing with current challenges facing our Riverlea community. We do it with a sense of urgency in terms of an action plan that needs to be implemented now, conscious of the fact that these challenges can only dealt with by having a thorough and long-term commitment.

We propose that the current RIVERLEA BASED land on which the Alpha Centre is build, as well as the play park next to it, in Kentucky street be purchased and developed towards a fully fledged Multi Purpose YOUTH AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT RESOURCE CENTRE. This bold initiative is being proposed on the basis of a contextual analysis that has been consulted with and researched.

CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS:
The coloured community of Riverlea has been paralysed by the impact of apartheid and economic deprivation. As a result, youth alienation and desperation has been and is growing in terms of young people getting involved in survivalist life threatening behaviour, criminally, sexually as well as spiritually.

As a result of a consultation process at the Riverlea Secondary school, concern was raised on the problem of young people in this community. Residents in Riverlea, themselves indicated youth problems with drugs and safety as the most important need in their community ahead of issues like housing and the physical attraction of areas. With government and business deciding on bigger amounts of money being channelled in the safety and security of residents and tourists, as well as a culture of violence being bred, little resources will be left to develop our children and young people and environment as the key asset of development of the community and province.

The site (the play park) next to the current Centre has been a thorn in the flesh of the community for the past 7 to 8 eight years with drug abuse taking place on it on various occasions. Next to this plot, we find a centre for early childhood development, the Alpha Centre that have need doing excellent work in Riverlea and surrounding communities.

The opportunity, now, to attain and develop this existing site in partnership with the Alpha Centre, holds promise to reverse this gloomy scenario as well will be a giant step towards building up the social, moral en economic fibre of Riverlea and the broader Johannesburg Metropolis, including Gauteng.

The need for such a multipurpose recreation and development centre in this community has been expressed by community, the education sector, the faith communities and the police as well, but has never been explored fully

COMPONENTS OF SUCH A VENTURE:
Being situated in the middle of one the most disadvantaged parts of the South of Johannesburg, the developmental thrust of this venture need to be balanced with the broader Johannesburg resources. We would therefore propose that relevant Riverlea role-players with the various partners be held responsible in respect of co-ordinating and maintaining the programs and who would constitute the various components:
a) Non-formal education to various targeted groups in the form of workshops, service learning seminars and reflection groups would be based in this centre. In this regard UNISA, a leading distance learning institution in Southern Africa in the field of child and youth development, have availed its expertise to set-up and co-ordinate student and youth voluntary service programs in partnership with the various youth development agencies, in this community as well as for the broader Reconstruction and Development of Southern Africa. These programs will entail:
• practical work projects for the rebuilding of the community in partnership with local government and the business community as well as faith communities and faith based youth development agencies;
• the development of Recreation and sport development programs with the local Town council, Sport for Christ Action SA, Athletes in Action and local sporting heroes.
• Peace building and life skills training with the Alpha Youth program, and in partnership with amongst others Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation and again the TSA Institute for Public Management Development.
• The training and development of community support workers in the field of child headed households affected by HIV/AIDS as well as the care for individuals and families affected by the disease in partnership with the SACC and Directorate of Adolescent Sexuality and HIV/AIDS.
• Informal coffee bar and open on weekends with various youth programs with the local youth groups which could provide job creating opportunities for young local entrepreneurs.
• Music skills training, recording and sound production would give youth opportunities for self employment Music and dance development workshops in conjunction with the local bands and orchestras under the direction of music tutors and instructors for e.g. retrenched music teachers and Universities of South Africa, RAU and WITS students.
• Theater and drama development in conjunction with local community volunteers, with the possibility of interactive community role-plays as well as semi- professional productions.
• Social functions like music and drama productions and concerts for the youth and broader parent community.

b) The Administrative center of Center for Youth and Community Development (CY), co-ordinating this process could be located in this building as well as other service providers.
c) Young students and local national and international youth volunteers could rent some space for lodging whilst involved in the above-mentioned and other outreach programs.