Lerato Child and Youth Care Centre (Lerato CYCC)

Meyerton is the administrative centre of the Midvaal Local Municipality in Gauteng's Sedibeng District — a small town south of Johannesburg, part of the greater Vaal Triangle area. It is a community with significant poverty and a high demand for child welfare services. In May 2000, Pine and Lenie Pienaar founded the Lerato Child and Youth Care Centre in response to a need they could not ignore: the abandoned and destitute babies and children of their community had nowhere to go.

The name they chose — Lerato, the Sesotho word for "love" — was not incidental. The Pienarrs' founding conviction was that what these children needed was not just shelter, not just food, not just registration in the system, but love: the experience of being known, valued, and part of a family. More than two decades later, Lerato CYCC holds that conviction as its core identity.

Who Lerato Serves

Lerato provides residential care for 20 children aged 0 to 18 — a notably wide range, from newborns to young adults approaching independence. The Centre has facilities for babies, toddlers, and teenagers, reflecting the reality that children may enter care at any age and require sustained, long-term support. Children arrive at Lerato having been rescued from unsafe and neglectful circumstances: abandonment, abuse, neglect, family breakdown. They arrive without the foundations of a stable life. Lerato works to give those foundations.

The Family Environment Model

Lerato's stated approach is built on family — not institutionalisation. The primary care-giver treats every child as a family member, introducing each child into a community "where they are loved, educated, and protected." This distinction matters enormously: children who grow up in institutions without the experience of close, consistent human relationships face documented long-term developmental and psychological consequences. Lerato deliberately works against this pattern.

Values: DELIGHT

Lerato's organisational values are described using the acronym DELIGHT: - Development — equipping children with skills for a brighter future - Empathy — understanding each child's unique experiences and needs - Love — providing a caring, supportive environment where every child feels valued - Integrity — acting with honesty and transparency - Growth — fostering personal growth for children and donors - Hope — offering hope and encouragement - Transparency — openness and accountability with donors, partners, and community

Funding and Mission 2025

Lerato CYCC receives partial funding from the Department of Social Development and is a Level 4 B-BBEE EME contributor. The Centre's full operational costs are approximately R1.6 million per year above its government subsidy — a gap it is addressing through a "Mission 2025" fundraising campaign centred on the 338 Club: a goal of 400 donors each contributing R338 per month. The organisation is transparent about this gap and explicitly states that donors have the right to request bank statements and query any expenditure directly with the board.

Relevance to GBV Survivors

Lerato CYCC is not a GBV shelter for adults. It is a Child and Youth Care Centre for children aged 0–18 who have been removed from dangerous situations. However, it is directly relevant to this directory for GBV survivors in the Meyerton/Midvaal/Sedibeng area who need residential care for children who cannot be with them in a crisis shelter, or whose children have been removed from an abusive home. The Centre's range of ages — from newborns through teenagers — makes it a rare resource in a region where most facilities serve narrower age ranges.

Lerato Child and Youth Care Centre: Meyerton, Gauteng (Midvaal Local Municipality, Sedibeng District). Website: leratocycc.org.za. Facebook: @leratocycc. Founded May 2000 by Pine and Lenie Pienaar. DSD registered 2007. Capacity: 20 children, ages 0–18.