Afrika Tikkun (HB Orange Farm

The Cradle-to-Career 360° Model

Afrika Tikkun's core model is not a set of separate programmes but a connected developmental pathway: children who enter at the Bambanani stage can, in theory, progress through every stage to employment, with consistent support from the same organisation at the same community centre throughout their childhood and youth.

Bambanani Programme (Ages 1–6): High-quality, equitable early childhood development. Children receive age-appropriate developmental stimulation, nutrition, and care — the foundation that determines whether they will be ready for primary school and able to meet developmental milestones.

Lefa La Rona / Child and Youth Development Programme (Ages 7–18): Academic and socio-emotional support for school-going children. Safe spaces, life skills development, tutoring and educational support, sport, and the social scaffolding that helps children navigate the pressures of adolescence in township environments where GBV, gangsterism, and substance abuse are ever-present risks.

Ntataise / Youth Skills Development and Placement Programme (Ages 18–24): Formal skills development, career guidance, learnerships, internships, and employment placement for young adults. Afrika Tikkun has helped thousands of youth secure employment, breaking the cycle of educational poverty and youth unemployment that drives vulnerability in communities.

360° Family and Social Support Services: Recognising that children cannot be supported in isolation from their families, Afrika Tikkun provides psychosocial support, health and nutrition services, and social work interventions to family members of its beneficiaries. This is the entry point for GBV-related services.

GBV and Child Abuse Outreach Programme

Afrika Tikkun explicitly includes Gender-Based Violence and Child Abuse in its portfolio of outreach and support services — offered to community members beyond the structured age-based programmes. This is delivered through the community centres in partnership with social workers and psychosocial support staff, and forms part of the Family Support programme that reaches across the organisation's entire service population.

In South Africa's townships, where the intersections of poverty, overcrowding, substance abuse, and patriarchal norms create conditions of extreme GBV risk, having a trusted, long-established community hub that explicitly names GBV as a service area is significant. Families who already know Afrika Tikkun through their children's ECD or school programme have an established relationship of trust that lowers the barrier to accessing GBV-related support.

Community Centres

Afrika Tikkun's five Community Centres of Excellence are purpose-built, safe, multi-function hubs in some of South Africa's most densely populated and under-resourced townships:

• Arekopaneng Centre — Alexandra, Johannesburg (one of South Africa's most densely populated informal settlements)
• Phuthaditjhaba Centre — Braamfontein, Johannesburg (inner-city node with Creative Arts Programme)
• Diepsloot Centre — Diepsloot (rapidly growing informal settlement north of Johannesburg)
• Elijah Barayi Centre — Orange Farm (large informal settlement south of Johannesburg)
• Mfuleni Centre — Community Centre, Ext. 4, Trevor Tokwana Drive, Mfuleni, Cape Town (Western Cape)

Empowerment Programme for Children and Families Living with Disabilities

Afrika Tikkun also runs an Empowerment Programme specifically for children and families living with disabilities — an important inclusion given that children and adults with disabilities face significantly elevated risk of abuse, exploitation, and GBV.

Scale and Impact

Africa Tikkun impacts approximately 20,000 young people and their families annually across all programmes. Over two million young people have benefited from its structured interventions over three decades. The organisation is funded by a broad coalition including ABSA, Total SA, KFC, Belron, Synthesis Technologies, Qualcomm, Aidsfonds, and international foundations.

Relevance to GBV Survivors

Afrika Tikkun is not a shelter or 24-hour crisis line. But as a trusted, deeply embedded community organisation in Alexandra, Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Braamfontein, and Mfuleni — communities where GBV rates are extremely high and where formal services are often perceived as alien or threatening — Afrika Tikkun's Community Centres serve as accessible, low-threshold access points for families affected by violence. For social workers and referral networks serving these specific communities, Afrika Tikkun should be a known and active partner. For survivors in these areas, the community centre represents a safe, familiar space where GBV-related services can be accessed within an organisation already trusted for its work with children.

Afrika Tikkun: Ground Floor, Eastwood Building, 57 6th Road, Hyde Park, Johannesburg. Phone: +27 11 325 5914. Email: info@afrikatikkun.org. Website: afrikatikkun.org. Facebook: facebook.com/AfrikaTikkunNPC. Founded 1994. Community centres: Alexandra, Braamfontein, Diepsloot, Orange Farm (Gauteng); Mfuleni (Western Cape).