CENTRE USAGE AND ACTIVITIES - BEN MHLONGO
1. FACILITY BOOKINGS
I would like to start by thanking all our regular members and non members, adhoc and new customers for choosing and using the facilities of Alexsan Kopano. These organizations and individuals were responsible in making Alexsan Kopano occupied, vibrant and utilised in order to address a variety of community needs and events.
Their support has assisted us to generate the much-needed income to run this centre for the community. Their bookings take place during weekdays, weekends, and holidays and during the evening. We have tried to provide our customers with clean and tidy facilities for group and individual usage. On special occasions we have worked with them to provide special layouts and assistance with other resources.
The usage taking place ranges from Church and Choir meetings, Training and Development, Housing, Counseling, Education, Health, Employment, Business, Human Rights, Political Education, African Rituals, Safety and Security, Entertainment, Culture, Performing Arts and Heritage, Social Well-Being, Dissemination of Information from Institutions like the Alexandra Renewal Project, Alex Development Forum, different departments of Region-5 and 7, Provincial Government and other general issues.
The previous financial year has been challenging in terms of the day-to-day management of the Resource Centre. We would like to mention all those organizations that have supported us through:
Repeat bookings for our halls and activity rooms
?Alex Gospel Music Association (12 Choirs are affiliated to this association)
?Eleven churches use our facilities every Sunday - January to December of each year. They are: Family Harvest, Christ Centre, ZOE Ministries, Victory Church, Church of Christ, International Church, Baptist, Emmanuel, RCK, Lord Jesus and Apostolic Faith Mission.
?Other organisations include: Youth Empowerment Network, Alexandra Development Forum, Flex Professional, Medi Trust, Region-7, Alexandra Renewal Program, Alex Eagles, IFA, Sunday Afternoon Jazz Stokvels, Ward Councilor's meetings, Department of Home Affairs, African Christian Democratic Party, United Democratic Movement, African National Congress, Film Festival, All Nations Burial Society, Bambanani Burial Society, Aganang Burial Society, ABCDE, South African Ballet Theatre, Grow Early, Youth Office - recreation and school holiday films, Christian Apostolic Church in South Africa, Alex Health Clinic, Ikhwelo Poverty Alleviation, Alexsan Business Fundamentals, AllPay, JHB City Council, International Youth Exchange, Region-7 Social Services and Rasehlo Driving School, . Internal Gospel Fire, Mana Igreja Christo, Emmanuel Assembly etc.
Infrequent or Once-off bookings
The challenge for Alexsan Kopano is to entice these customers to change their casual booking culture into repeat or block bookings thereby taking advantage of our special and regular membership rates.
The following fall under casual bookings
Men For Change, Sinethemba, Holy Angels, Dark and Lovely Products, Amakhono We Sintu, Eastbank Youth Choir, Alex Schools Sports, Uphiko Lwabadala, Weddings, Funerals, Main Kitchen Matome/IFP Church launch, Alex Brass Band, Political meetings, Community Police Forum, Alex Youth Forum, Action Group, ANC Youth League, Thembelihle, Madzulathugo, Alex Referees, Nkosinathi Mpofu, Schools Policing Forum, Nonceba, NCF, Alexandra Football Association, House of God, Parliamentary Office, New Christian Church, B Guns, Naomi Dress Making, Gun Owners Association, PCO, Arephuthaneng, Motosoane, Gez'ubuso Caterers, True Nazareth, Sehorane Catering, Semac Housing, African Theatre etc.
In this category a recent audit was done on our bookings. It uncovered:
a. That the centre was mainly used by casual users after 2pm. That in order to pick up on centre usage, morning activities during the week would need to be encouraged.
b. Saturdays could be more optimally booked for repeat bookings.
c. Some of our clients, despite the notices that we put in the halls and activity rooms, are not helping us to keep the facilities clean and tidy. Some of these we can remedy by deducting from their cleaning/security deposit, others we have spoken to personally and now hope for an improvement and others we still need to identify!
Free bookings
Alexsan Kopano has been generous in allowing a certain number of youth groups to use our facilities for rehearsals. Interviews are conducted, house rules are spelt out and each group is obliged to sign a 'Conditions of usage document'. Their rehearsal schedule runs from Monday until Thursday. These are some of the requirements they must adhere to:
?Clients who pay for bookings get first preference.
?Youth groups to arrange a cleaning schedule, which must be implemented.
?The venue they use must be kept clean and tidy.
?Youth groups must respect the facilities, etc.
During the past year the following have used our facilities:
?Bafepiwa Gospel Choir (20 members)
?Aerobics (15 members)
?Family Harvest Youth. (15 members)
?Basketball (25 members)
?Alex Theatre Organization (12 members). This group got involved in an International Youth Exchange program with young people from Brussels. An educational theatre workshop was conducted at Alexsan Kopano, starting from 26th to the 31st of October 2003. Sleeping arrangements were done at a bed and breakfast at 7th Avenue.
Several youth groupings have made verbal application to use Alexsan for rehearsals, but because we cannot house more groups, we had to turn down their request.
Membership
A R50.00 membership is charged to all those organizations that are interested in joining the Centre, with a view of benefiting from reduced booking tariffs. Presently the members we have managed to attract are mainly the churches and burial societies, which use our facilities regularly on Sundays only and they are:
?Christ Centre, Apostolic Faith, Family Harvest, Lord Jesus, International Church, ZOE Ministries, Victory Church, Emmanuel, Bambanani Burial Society, Baptist Church, Church of Christ, RCK, All Nations Burial Society and the Alex Gospel Music Association.
Fulltime Tenants
I would like to thank all those tenants who have managed to pay their rentals on time every month. We would especially like to thank and acknowledge tenants like Allpay, Martin's Funerals, African National Congress, Kelly Girl, in regularly paying their rent on time or in advance.
We would like to share an updated list of tenant's services and statistics:
a. Martins Funerals
Burial information and registration to be a member
About 20 people per month visit the office
b. Tuckshop
Refreshment and food is sold
Catering facilities are offered and rendered to the community, organizations etc
Up to 100 customers per day
approximately 400 customers during the 7 day pension pay out period
c. Life Line
Counseling services
Problem solving and dealing with traumatized individuals/families
Up to 10 clients per day visit the office
d. Kelly Girl
Special employment project attracts up to 100 work seekers
Under normal working days up to 20 people visit the office, to access information on employment, the number varies depending on the projects and employment opportunities available.
Screening tests for applicants
Training on Word, Excel, Data entry and typing, hands-on training takes two intensive weeks.
12 students are trained in the Computer Studio for two weeks
e. City Power
Weekdays and weekends about 120 people buy electricity
During month end (Summer, Spring, Autumn) about 400 people purchase
Winter period about 500 people buy electricity
f. ALX.FM
Weekdays, daily about 25 to 30 people visit the administration offices for the following reasons:
Funeral announcements
Lost items
Job seekers
Interviews
Advertisements
About the same number visit the Radio Station to listen to the programs and relax
g. City of Johannesburg Rates Office
This office has been non-operational for the better part of the previous financial year. Services were disrupted and people (especially Senior Citizens) were forced to go to the People's Centre to pay for their rent/rates. Statistics are not available to show that this office was servicing the people.
h. Alex Tourism Association
Training related to the tourism business is conducted.
Crafts
Arrangement of tours into the township
On a daily basis about 20 people use the office to access information
Other permanent tenants include the Heritage Agency, Alexbeat, Flex Professionals, Bosele Tours, Alex Chamber of Commerce and the Imagination Lab that have up to 20 students daily. And naturally the Alexsan Projects such as the library, computer studios and youth projects that we will be reporting on more fully later.
Since the beginning of the year our foyer has been earmarked as future office space for Open For Business. We will report on this development in the next period.
2. YOUTH TRAINING
a. Alexandra Creative Writers Home
During the past year I have helped to establish the above-mentioned organization. Registration applications have been written and approved by the Department of Social Welfare. A series of workshops in creative writing have been arranged and implemented. Individuals have been invited to recite their poems in different locally arranged events.
Weekly creative writing appreciation sessions have been held at both Alexsan Kopano and Thusong, with the aim of improving the standard of writing and creating an audience.
b. Eastbank Youth Choir
Several workshops and meetings have been held to help this group of about 30 young people, on how to run meetings, team building and planning events. This training is ongoing.
c. Reception area
Our hands-on training at the reception, takes a period of three months, for two trainees at a time. These trainees learn how to answer the telephone, type documents, thus increasing their speed, make photocopies and faxing for customers, an exercise which exposes them in dealing with customers and solving problems.
Up to so far about five of these trainees have secured permanent employment with Woolworth's, Rosebank Hotel, Alex Police Station, Game Stores and Nedcor.
3. South African Youth Day
Up to thirty young people participated in meetings, which exposed them to challenges that needed planning, creative thinking, teamwork, programming, implementing and evaluation. Material sponsorship in terms of T-Shirts, caps and certificates of attendance were received from Elements Advertising, Market Theatre Lab and City Power.
Ros Gordon Marketing and Alexsan Kopano, each donated R500 and R1000, this money was used to buy groceries, vegetables and meat, to feed the performing groups and the planning sub-committees and pay for the public address system. The T-Shirts and certificates were given to each individual and group that performed.
Thank you letters were written to those who donated. 49 youth groups presented items that ranged from Kwaito, Rap, Dance, Poetry, Music and Drama. In the morning we marched to the graveyard and laid some wreaths on the graves of those who were killed on the 16th of June 1976, we also held a prayer services.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the City of Johannesburg for their input on the day to day running of the centre. ALMFM for helping us with announcements, community-based organizations for their support and referring people to use our venue, the Alex Renewal Project and the Alex Development Forum for utilizing our facilities for their public meetings and the different cultural youth groups for supporting our events.
Thanks to all those who have joined Alexsan Kopano as members and booked our facilities throughout the year, this includes the many church groupings and choirs. Our thanks also goes to the Youth Office for their block bookings on Little Champs in the hall and the computer studio for their block booking for theory classes in Room 3 downstairs.
I would also like to thank the staff in my cost centre for assisting me in the running of Alexsan and for sharing their ideas on how to manage and improve the way we do things.
Overview
National Facilitator And Centre Director - Holly Luton-Nel
Centre Usage And Activities - Ben Mhlongo
Alexsan Community Library - Sonny Mothopeng
Computer Training - Olgah Phenya
Alexsan Youth Desk - Prince Mafora
Alexsan/Life Line Counselling Centre - Iris Maliboho
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