Sir Elton with Musa who presented him with a gift

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Sir Elton handing out gifts to orphaned children

Elton John opens care centre SIR Elton John is in town to formally open a child-care centre in Eldorado Park supported by his foundation. January 14, 2005 By Tabisa Mntengwana UK singer/songwriter Elton John has officially opened a care centre in Eldorado Park that runs lifeskills projects for orphaned, abused and neglected children. The Elton John Masibambisane Centre provides aftercare facilities as well as running various programmes during school holidays and on weekends. Since opening its doors in September 2003 the centre, run by Johannesburg Child Welfare, has had to move from one venue to another as the numbers of children attending courses or using the aftercare facilities burgeoned. Initially some 70 children made use of the centre. It now caters for 165 children. Since its establishment the centre has worked closely with the community, schools and clinics. Community groups liase with the centre when a child is in need and the social workers then follow up the request, talking to the family and the child. Centre workers Part of the work of the Elton John Masibambisane Centre is to visit families in the neighbourhood, particularly where parents are critically ill. "We counsel ill parents and make an agreement with them to keep and take good care of the children when they die," says project coordinator Eunice Mahlanga. The children do not live at the centre. They come to the centre after school, where, with the help of community caregivers and extended family members, they are given a meal and helped with homework and preparation for the following day's school. The children are also able to take a bath or shower at the centre, and can also use the facilities to wash their uniforms. "We don't want to take the children away from the people they are used to, especially their siblings," says fundraising manager Jill Edgar. By running the centre in this way "we want the children grow up knowing that there is someone out there who loves and cares for them," Edgar adds. The centre also offers counselling to the children. "Our plan is for the children to start making memory boxes to remember their deceased parents," says Mahlanga. The US superstar got involved after the centre and Johannesburg Child Welfare approached the Elton John Foundation for help. They received funding in December 2003 and work began on developing a new venue in 2004. Elton John formally opened the centre on Wednesday, 12 January. In a press release, Elton John said: "The success of the Elton John Masibambisane Centre is an incredible template for what can be done to assist children to get into the mainstream of life." Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za