Staff members and children with disabilities were locked out of the Thlabologo Day Care Centre in Galeshewe on Wednesday.
STAFF members and children with disabilities were locked out of Thlabologo Day Care Centre, which is situated on the grounds of the Helen Joseph Women’s Development Centre in Galeshewe, on Wednesday.
The principal of the centre, Maureen Tsiu, said they take care of 25 children with disabilities.
“We also offer school classes at the centre and have a therapist to assist the children, said Tsiu.
“The children’s parents are working and were not able to collect their children. The door was locked with a padlock and we were not able to provide them with breakfast.”
Tsiu said that the caretaker had issued them with an eviction notice, to vacate the premises by January 31, as the building was needed for office space.
“We were allocated land by Sol Plaatje Municipality to build a new centre as the current premises has become too small. However, it will take some time to build the new centre and we have nowhere else to go.”
A letter addressed to the day-care centre stated that there was another crèche operating on the same premises and that it would “create problems” if Thlabologo Day Care Centre continued to share the grounds.
“The centre assists children from the community with intellectual and physical disabilities and they are unable to take care of themselves,” Tsiu said.
She indicated that they had broken the padlock in order to enter the premises on Wednesday.
“We are a non-governmental organisation, where we do not receive any state funding. Parents assist with fees for meals and transport.”
The secretary of the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL) in the Northern Cape, Gail Parker, said the league was the custodian of the Helen Joseph Development Centre.
“Any tenant needs permission from the ANCWL to operate from the centre and the caretaker does not have the authority to evict any tenant,” said Parker.
She added that the caretaker had denied instructing Thlabologo Day Care Centre to vacate the premises.
“The caretaker, who is also a tenant at the Helen Joseph Development Centre, claimed that someone is trying to smear her name.
“We informed Thlabologo that they should remain at the facility until they are able to move into their new premises as they are caring for children with disabilities.
“The facility is also used for victims of gender-based violence and to hold women development and training courses.”
