Girls and Boys Town Integrated Biennial Report April 2018 – March 2020

4 Girls & Boys Town South Africa Integrated Biennial Report 2018/2020 We have a beautiful tradition of opening and closing our meetings with prayer. At one of our meetings, we prayed that we be constantly reminded that all we do and all that we accomplish is for the pursuit of truth, for the greater glory of God and for the service of humanity. The words of Father Edward J Flanagan, the founder of Boys Town, capture concisely the reason for our existence within this context: “I have faith in boys and girls. I say there is no such thing as a bad boy: the same applies to girls. A boy or girl, given proper guidance and direction, will prove my statement.” Against this positive backdrop, it is a privilege to report on the work of Girls and Boys Town South Africa (GBTSA) over the reporting period. The economy has remained weak for extended periods and this impacts on everyone’s livelihoods. Our country’s social structure is tested as we face the challenges of a lack of opportunity for jobs and education, and the fallout that goes with this. One manifestation of these factors is that children live in homes without adequate care, increasing the risk that they will fall into the traps of ill-discipline, drugs and alcoholism. At the core of GBTSA’s purpose is continuing to serve society for the welfare of vulnerable children – and striving to help them S.H.I.N.E. ® As the reporting period drew to a close, South Africa began to recognise the enormity of the COVID-19 pandemic which had just begun to spread within our borders. Management and staff responded swiftly and responsibly to this extraordinary challenge, putting in place arrangements that would best protect the health of children and young people at each specific GBTSA campus. However, this pandemic’s socio-economic impacts are as far-reaching as its public health implications. The financial circumstances of GBTSA will undoubtedly be affected and our resilience will be tested over a prolonged period. This report is an honest reflection of GBTSA prior to the advent of COVID-19. It may, however, have limited value in predicting the state of the organisation and its priorities in the immediate aftermath. It is nevertheless important to assert that our essential values, commitments and invaluable experience will remain intact and serve as our strength in continuing to provide opportunities for youth to thrive. Services and programmes Our residential youth and their families receive intensive focus and work from the GBTSA national team and a key strategic shift has been prioritisation of best practices in all of our service offerings. The GBTSA Research Division continues our 10-year longitudinal study of care leavers (in partnership with the University of Johannesburg [UJ]) and the findings have impacted directly on our programme development and improvement. They have also influenced staff development initiatives to ensure best practice outcomes for all beneficiaries. David Daniels Chairperson MESSAGE FROM the Chairperson