Meet our People: Ronita Fisher

Ronita Fisher

 Thirty six year-old Ronita Fisher has been with Carryou Ministry for almost seventeen years, from the time the organisation was founded.
 She is the supervisor of the Child and Youth Care Programme established in August 2012.
 "I started with Carryou as a Care Worker in Toekomsrus when we were involved in home-based care," she says.
 "When I completed school I wanted to become a nurse but my matric results were not good enough to allow me entry.
 "I always wanted to care for and help people, so when I met Sister Pam Jamison, Carryou Ministry's founder, and she brought me on board, I was delighted. It was an opportunity to do something meaningful," says Ronita.
 Over time it was recognised by Government and NGOs that South Africa's children and youth are of the most vulnerable sectors of our population. This resulted in the setting up of the Child and Youth Care Worker's Programme (CYCW).

Applied

 "I applied to be part of it, and in the end five of us completed an eighteen month-long training course with the National Association of Child Care Workers," she says.
 "My job as the supervisor of 23 people is to oversee the reports, ensure the programmes are in place and monitor workers in the field. It is intensely rewarding.
 "If I am able to go home at night and know I have helped just one child, whether that is with his or her homework, helping get a birth certificate or being an advocate, I am happy."
 The single mom of three experienced the benefits of her training when her son died of cancer.
 "It helped me cope," she says.
When not working, Ronita enjoys reading, socialising and spending time with her two boys.

A formidable team!

Child & Youth Care workers (l -r) : Chane Williams, Louis Otto, Lucas Motshotsho,  Ronita Fisher, Urshula Pienaar

South Africa's children and youth are of the most vulnerable sectors of our population. It is a fact recognised by Government and one of the reasons the authorities have partnered with NGOs to establish programmes specially designed to assist this group.
 Carryou Ministry's Child and Youth Care programme, established in August last year, is part of this initiative.
 In Toekomsrus, Randfontein, there are currently five Child and Youth Care Workers operating in the immediate area.
 "Their role is to go out into the field and provide support to young people in five areas -- physical, spiritual, cognitive, emotional and social," says Carryou Ministry General Manager, Rev. Lawrence Mabaso.
 "It is a hands-on approach."
 Each Child and Youth Care Worker (CYCW) is expected to work with around 36 families per annum, in addition to emergency cases that may arise.
 "It's hard work but enormously rewarding," says CYCW, Louise Otto.

Safe Park

 Kids who need assistance are often identified at Carryou's 'Safe Park', a facility established to give youngsters a safe place to visit.
 "We sometimes identify children in need, by watching the way they engage or do not engage with others," says CYCW, Ronita Fisher. "Or we may see there is a problem from the way they use colour in their drawings or how they play with the dolls."
 Sometimes schools refer children to them.
 "Once we have identified a problem, the first step is to engage with the parents of the child. Our goal is to work with and preserve families," says CYCW, Chane Williams, "and, where necessary, we work closely with the schools, social workers, churches and sometimes the police."
 Whilst the programme deals with a number of social issues, including abuse, the most common case the Child and Youth Care Workers deal with, is kids who have learning difficulties and problems at school.
 "When we encounter a youngster with those issues we immediately sit down with the family and together devise a plan," says CYCW, Lucas Motshotsho. "A support programme is drawn up and we will spend time teaching and tutoring the child every day. Where needed, an outside tutor will be brought in."
 Urshula Pienaar is the programme's disability facilitator.
 "Quite often you will find a disabled child within a family who is isolated and my role is to assist in helping the family engage and integrate the youngster into a more normal situation," she says.
 "I also help find practical solutions to everyday, physical-care problems they may face."