ECC Crèche happy to play it safe

Posted: 17 February 2010

Thanks to panic alarm monitoring and armed response services sponsored by ADT Security, the children of the Elsies River Care Centre (ECC) can play safely.

Hanlie Dreyer, Founder and Social worker at ECC, established the centre in 2004 as a safe haven for the community of Leonsdale in Elsies River. “We are a Christian based organisation and started off working mainly with women teaching them basic life skills such as learning to read and write, teaching them basic mathematics, and how to write their identity numbers and overall building their confidence.

“We have grown substantially in the community and since last year we began working with children between the ages of three and five,” said Dreyer

According to Dreyer, the reason for the crèche came about as a result of them playing in the streets. “The crèche serves as a safe place for the children, who are faced with the harsh reality of drugs and crime,” said Dreyer

Until the beginning of this year, the Play School did not have the proper facilities in terms of ablutions, safe buildings and ceilings. “We were presented with a wonderful opportunity to formalise the crèche initiative by utilising the wing of an abandoned school which will create three class rooms accommodating 90 toddlers who are fed twice a day. We also run a project called ‘Sponsor a Child’ where one can sponsor a child for R200 per month. This money goes towards upgrading the facilities and making it a safe and child friendly environment,” said Dreyer.

Rob Dale, Regional Managing Director ADT Security Western Cape said: “Due to the high crime rate in the area, such as vandalism, security is of paramount concern. Community based organisations such as these are vital in repairing and rebuilding the fabric of society. The monitoring of a panic alarm system linked to our armed response services will help to provide a fast response to an emergency or threat from criminals. It is the least ADT Security could do to safeguard the children and the effort that has gone into creating this facility.”

Dreyer said: “We are thankful for the alarm monitoring sponsorship from ADT as well as the other incredible support received from other donors to help make this initiative possible.”

Elsies River Care Centre is a non profit organisation that relies solely on donations from the private sector to operate. For more information please visit www.elsiesrivier.co.za.

Caption: FLTR: Hanlie Dreyer (Founder and Social worker at ECC), Martin ten Brink (Community Security Manager for ADT Security Western Cape), Frank Philander (Handy man at ECC)