Psychosocial Support Services

Meeting the psychosocial needs of a child involves caring for their emotional and social well-being. To ensure children in Alexandra Township receive the psychosocial support they need and deserve, Rays of Hope provides counselling, conducts home visits, and ensures that a supportive and nurturing environment exists for the child to thrive. Rays of Hope supports not only the child, but embraces a holistic approach to child development by offering support to their families too, building a network of support that can help children flourish.

Our psychosocial support department consists of qualified, experienced and dedicated social workers as well as social auxiliary workers, equipped to help support and guide through a range of services.

The psychosocial support services we offer include:

Counselling

Rays of Hope provides youth, adults, children and families with counselling for trauma, grief, and bereavement, as well as gender based violence care and support.

Academic Guidance

Rays of Hope’s Education Support programme offers a range of valuable services to assist and empower the youth of Alexandra Township in their academic careers. These include assistance with school placements, school readiness, facilitating psychometric assessments (Grade 1-7), concessions assessments, and subject choice assessments (Grade 9). These services are conducted in consultation with qualified educational psychologists and occupational therapists.

Teen Moms Support Group

This initiative established was to provide teen mothers counselling services, assist with material needs such as baby cloths, nappies, and baby food, and provide anti-natal and post- natal education. The goal of the programme is to ensure these young mothers still have a chance at a bright future, and we do this by encouraging teenage mothers to continue with school to ensure they don’t lose out on important opportunities in the future.

Family care and home visits

The core services are offered as part of our family care initiative include assistance with SASSA child support grant applications, gathering documentation, health checks, groceries and toiletries.

Teenage Support Groups (Teens Club)

Rays of Hope teaches children life skills, values, and character development to prepare them for a successful future as responsible and caring individuals of the community. This is covered in age-appropriate support group sessions during the week at our centre, offering teens a safe space to share and confide in our trained facilitators.

Parenting Workshops

This service focuses on capacity building for parents and guardians in the community, and aims to equip them with the tools necessary to promote positive parenting, raise children through the use of positive and empowering interventions, and nurture relationships within the family structure.

NUTRITION PROGRAMME

Poverty, food insecurity, and poor nutrition are all inextricably linked factors when it comes to the health and development of a child. The inability to afford and access good, safe, nutritious food leads to malnourishment, which in turn results in stunting (low height for age) and wasting (low weight for height).

Based on health checks conducted on 390 children in Alexandra Township by Rays of Hope, a non-profit organisation that works to support the development and well-being of people living in the township community, 186 children were referred for being underweight, stunted, or experiencing other medically concerning health problems.

The nutritional programme facilitated by Rays of Hope aims to improve the health and well-being of children, by addressing malnutrition and food insecurity. It forms part of a holistic approach to ensuring the well-being of the ‘whole child’, starting at ECD level and extending to other age groups through our various programmes.

A food team equipped with culinary training is responsible for preparing and serving highly nutritious meals to the children.

This includes:

  • Vegetables from our garden
  • Healthy snack packs and sandwiches
  • A nutritious menu for the ECD learners, support group programmes and Rose Act Saturday school
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