By Nangamso Mabindla
22 August 2006

THE Phand'ulwazi care centre in King William's Town has received a facelift from a visiting Dutch youth organisation.

The Leiden Youth Work Brigade came to the city with the aim of refurbishing one of the units of the centre and by early afternoon on Sunday, 20 August, the unit had been transformed into a beautiful home.

When they arrived at the centre, the 16 youngsters from Buffalo City's twin city, Leiden, joined forces with youngsters from Phand'ulwazi to revamp the centre.

Some painted the interior walls while others renovated the kitchen. Others tackled the centre's 30-year-old carpet.

By Sunday afternoon the centre had a new carpet, colourful walls, new beds and a renovated kitchen. A tired but satisfied centre director, Lisa van Tonder, described the last two weeks as hectic.

"These youngsters worked very hard and pulled together with our children to finish what had increasingly looked like an impossible task. We now have a new carpet and new walls and our children are just loving their unit," said Van Tonder.

The team sometimes worked late into the night.

"Our children had to go to bed later than their usual bedtime, but they never complained because they were excited and knew that the work would be over in two weeks," added Van Tonder.

She thanked the youth brigade for the work they had done and said she hoped they would be back in 2007 to renovate another one of the five units at the centre.

"We also hope that some of our local people would also be moved by this kind gesture by the youth from Leiden."

Organiser of the brigade, Muriel Bosman, also expressed her happiness that they had finished their work within the two weeks.

"We are now very tired but satisfied that we were able to come here and make a difference. We achieved all our goals and I have to thank the centre's youth for their patience and for working alongside our youth to help improve their home," she said.

According to Bosman, the group enjoyed their time in South Africa. "It was not easy, but we thought we would also take them to places like the Addo Elephant Park and other places in East London just to keep them motivated."

The brigade returned home on Monday, 21 August, but promised to return. "We would love to come back here with another youth brigade," said Bosman. "If the centre's people want us to come back, we will definitely come back."