Due to the airport expansion in Cape Town, the semi-permanent settlement Blikkiesdorp next to Delft and with it, the HOPE Cape Town Container Village would have to find a new home. The people of Blikkiesdorp will be resettled, together with other semi-permanent locations like Malawi Camp and Freedom Farm.
HOPE Cape Town, anticipating this change, and to guarantee a smooth transition of all services in the area decided to build a new space called “The Nex – Indawo Yethu” (referred to The Nex in the rest of the article)
It was a major decision for the organisation. Further, it was decided that to keep all services at Tygerberg Children’s Hospital, as well as all the services and programmes in all the townships where a HOPE Community Health Worker is placed. In addition, the programmes HOPE2HOME and HOPE4Babies will continue.
In consultation with the community, it was decided to add the services already provided, incorporating dual vocational training and entrepreneurial skills development into the vision of the new facility.
An MOU with the Southern African – German Chamber of Commerce and Industry was signed in November 2019 in Johannesburg in this regard. The finances for Phase 1 of the construction of the campus were secured and on the 16.10.2020 building began on site . The Free State of Bavaria is financing the so-called Bavaria House and the Resource Centre, which will facilitate of programs related to vocational dual training. A European Trust secured the funding to build the health-related facility, including social services.
To realise this project, Hope entered collaborated with the Western Cape Provincial Administration and Government, the City of Cape Town, the Hanns-Seidel Foundation, VPUU, various other NGO’s and tertiary teaching institutions.
As Rev. Fr Stefan Hippler, Chairman of HOPE Cape Town Trust stated,
“The work of HOPE Cape Town in the last 20 years and its move into a holistic development approach covering health, early childhood development, youth, education, and vocational training was only possible with the help of trusted partners: the Free State of Bavaria, the Government of the Western Province and the City of Cape Town.”
Hope Nex is the facility that will serve as HOPE’s headquarters and holistic campus. Hope Nex is conceived of as a community multi purpose centre.
Established in 2001, HOPE Cape Town is a non-profit organization with a community outreach base in Delft that aims to raise the quality of life of people and communities. Hope focuses on children, adolescents, and their families in situations of poverty, and people living with HIV/AIDS and related illnesses.
HOPE Cape Town has operated a community outreach centre in Blikkiesdorp, Delft for more than ten years and has the reputation of being community-centric in the delivery of services and programmes.
VPUU were appointed as the implementing agents to champion and oversee the design, construction, and management of the new home for HOPE Cape Town, the Hope Nex- Indawo Yethu.
The Campus comprises several buildings that will house a variety of programmes run by HOPE Cape Town in Delft. Among them, the Bavarian House will host state-of-the-art classrooms for TVET Courses; an ECD support centre built out of earth blocks; a Wellness Centre to host HIV and other health related support in the area and a building that will host Youth programs.
The work from VPUU has been to facilitate the design and construction of the HOPE NEX by linking HOPE Cape Town to a team of consultants, contractors, and the community.
The Project has been running since 2020 and is currently completing the construction of the phase 2. Phase 2 includes the construction of an Early Childhood Centre. This is mainly been built from earth blocks. Local contractors received specialised training, and this new skill can be transferred to future projects.
VPUU was involved from the very beginning, from design, through the construction process to delivery of the completed buildings. This was achieved in just over a year, despite the challenges of COVID-19 and is testament to the drive, and passion of all involved.
La Maison de Christoph, a Holistic Health Centre that will provide a relevant model of holistic, preventative care services to the greater Delft area was officially opened on Thursday 30th September 2021
La Maison de Christoph focuses on providing services for the elderly, men, women, and children and will especially focus on prevention, lifestyle, and mental health, whilst continuing on the firm foundation of work already done with HIV infected and affected families in the form of screening, adolescent clubs, and other support groups.
In addition, caregiver child clinics will promote responsive caregiving and provide caregiver support and care.The facility will also aim to provide support services for vulnerable groups, like adolescent mothers and children with disabilities Support groups will aim to create a safe space for growth and wellness a place for wholeness to flourish.
Dr Izane Reyneke, CEO of HOPE Cape Town said that The NEX represents, in physical form, HOPE Cape Town’s vision and mission to incrementally improve the quality of life of children, adolescents, families, youth, and women, especially the vulnerable and those infected and affected by HIV/AIDs, through a range of inter linked activities in partnership with local citizens, CBOs, NGOS, a range of strategic public and private partnerships, and support of local and global donors:
It symbolises the vision and mission of HOPE Cape Town and represents a focal point, a nexus (coming together) of lessons and experience gained from the organisation’s 20 years of hands on practice, experience, and innovation, offering an opportunity to consolidate, strengthen, and innovate a range of inter linked activities and core competencies, as well as explore new areas of intervention.
Dr Izane Reyneke, CEO of HOPE Cape Town
Within the first two months of opening, 16 programmes, workshops or courses were held at The Nex, ranging from Early Childhood Development programmes for educators, entrepreneurial skills training to Community Safety and Security planning workshops. The pages below, taken from HOPE 2021 Q3 newsletter, give a snapshot of campus life at HOPE NEX.
From-HOPE-NEX-website-9-1The Premier of the Western Cape Alan Winde officially opened the Bavarian House at HOPE NEX-Indawo Yethu in Delft on Saturday 4th December 2021.
Purposely built for dual vocational training and education, a programme that will be facilitated by the Southern African– German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bavarian House is located at The HOPE NEX campus.
Premier Winde opened the Bavarian House with these words:
“I welcome the official opening of the Bavarian House, which is the brainchild of both the Western Cape Government and the Free State of Bavaria, and will serve as a centre of learning, entrepreneurial skills development and vocational training for our young people,” said Premier Winde.
He went on to say:
“This is a testament to the strong relationship that we have with the Bavarian State. The recent quarterly labour force survey shows us that our unemployment figures are at an all-time low, and we especially see this among our young people, who are becoming increasingly discouraged from pursuing work or training opportunities. Bavarian House aims to challenge this and will focus especially on young people from our most disadvantaged communities.”
“Among the key facets of this centre, and of which I am so proud of, is that it is ensuring that our young people are equipped with skills in major industries in the province. In the ICT sector in particular, they are ensuring that young women hone the necessary skills and do not miss out on opportunities in which they are typically under-represented. Bavarian House is matching the demand of our major industries, with the skill set of our young people– ensuring that they have access to fulfilling and prosperous employment opportunities,” Premier Winde added.
Matthias Boddenberg , CEO of the Southern African German Chamber of Commerce, and official Representative of the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Economic Development and Energy in South Africa jointly officiated with the Premier at the opening.
He noted:
“Bavarian House with its classrooms, resource centre and library will house prospective learners enrolled for the SAGCCI’s dual vocational training programme in Logistics and Freight Forwarding. We are looking forward to the expansion of our training initiatives in the Western Cape.”
This quality model of education will make it easier for young people to access the labour market. It also enables workers to improve their productivity, to learn faster on the job and to raise their incomes and living standards. Poor quality education locks people out of the labour market or traps them in low paying, low productivity work. The Dual Vocational Training and Education programme is a far-reaching and ambitious plan to restore and re-empower youth to achieve a high level of learning and experience.
In addition to the Dual Vocational Training, HOPE Cape Town HOPE offers a three three-month Entrepreneurial Skills Development programme.
VPUU’s ongoing role in this remarkable project has highlighted the power of vision, the role of partnerships at an international, national, provincial and local level, and how multi-sectoral teams can come together in difficult times to make real change. It also validated the importance of involving communities at all levels, from information sessions, to procurement, to training. The Hope Nex is a wonderful facility that will provide essential services to the community of Delft for another 20 years to come.
“HOPE Cape Town’s Team has brought an immense energy to the project, paired with an unconditional passion for the work they do. The consultants and contractors have also worked against all odds to make this milestone in Delft’s history. We are looking forward to a new community-focused service delivery building in Delft through the incredible activations of the HOPE team. Watch this space!”
Project Manager Tiago Damasceno had this to say about working on the project.
