• CENTRE USAGE AND ACTIVITIES - BEN MHLONGO

The task of this portfolio is to manage the day to day running of the centre together with some outreach programmes.

The centre is utilized by both full time tenants and casual/adhoc users.

Centre Revenues

Income to the centre comprises of casual and adhoc facility bookings, permanent rentals and administrative functions such as telephone, fax, photocopying and C.V. typing. 

Over this past year casual and adhoc bookings have been both regular and varied and the Centre continues to have a high occupancy of its permanent offices. 

Photocopying, faxing and C.V. typing continued to be popular with a particular increase during January and February due to more people becoming involved in Job Search.

We would like to thank those tenants who have been on time with their rentals.  Part of our income every quarter has been reimbursed to council and the continued and timely support from our tenants enables us to meet these responsibilities.

Casual and Adhoc Facility Bookings

The centre during the course of the year was used by a variety of people and organisations.  It was used for meetings, church services, training, weddings, pension payments, workshops, arts and cultural events, entertainment, night vigils, presentations towards selling of products/services.  All these activities were responsible in assisting Alexsan to be occupied, utilized and vibrant for the purposes of addressing the varied needs encountered by the community of Alexandra.

Issues addressed by these organisations range from Training and Development, Housing, Counselling, Education, Health, Employment, Business, Human Rights, Religious/Spiritual, Political Education, African Rituals, Economic issues, Safety and Security, Entertainment, Culture, Performing Arts and Heritage, Social Well-Being, Dissemination of Information from a variety of NGO’s and different government departments.

The period has been challenging in terms of the day to day managing of the centre space.  We have endeavoured to provide our clients with clean and tidy facilities and at certain times we have gone the extra mile by assisting them not only with what they want but also providing additional resources.

Permanent Tenants

1.1           City Power

 About 100 – 200 people come on a daily basis to buy electricity. They operate from 08:00 until 18:00 weekdays and from 08:00 to 13:00 weekends.  Information on electricity safety is also provided to the community.

1.2           Martin’s Funerals

 They are a funeral and burial service.  About 10 – 15 people a day visit the office.

1.3      Research of Human Rights, Environment and Development (RHREDI)

 36 people are seen on a daily basis and this organisation runs Outreach Projects for education, awareness counselling, advocacy, lobbying, mobilisation, gender equality, referrals, development and support for emerging small organisations.  They also do door to door and street campaigns on HIV/AIDS, TB, STI’s.  They participate in national health events, world AIDS campaigns and job creation for the community.

1.4      Kelly Temp

This is a recruitment, training and facilitating agency.  They also get involved in special projects involving anything from 30 to 400 candidates at a time.  They provide two weeks intensive training in their computer studio for 16 candidates at a time on an ongoing basis.  About 50 people visit their office daily.

1.5       ALX.Fm

The Radio Station has not been operational this year due to problems incurred with their license.  One of their offices has been rented out, but the radio studio and one office has been retained.  They are hoping to be on air again later in the 2006 year.

1.6      Life Line

This office handles:

Ø                  Face to Face counselling

Ø                  Outreach programmes

Ø                  Telephonic counselling

Ø                  Referrals

Ø                  Meetings and networking with NGO’s

A total of 1949 contacts were made during the course of the past year. 

1.7        Dr. Essack Mitha

Up to 30 patients attend in a day.  They render private medical care at a price that is affordable to all.  They treat patients for diabetes, asthma, hypertension, influenza, STD’s etc.  Cholesterol treatment is freely available for the elderly, both male and female between the years 55 and above.

1.8    African National Congress

Up to 80 people can visit the office in a day.  The office is run to service the local membership.  It is also a meeting place for the alliance partners e.g. COSATU, SACP, ANC Youth League and ANC Veterans.  The campaigns run by the ANC include Back to School, skills development, special legacy projects, AIDS/HIV programmes and helping the homeless people.

1.9    Alexsan Tuck-shop

The tuck-shop provides meals, quarter slices, chips and snacks.  They are particularly busy during oldies week, otherwise they service the centre on a day to day basis.  From time to time they also receive some outside work.

1.10   Bosele Tours

Bosele Tours started after the closure of the larger Alexsan Youth Office, where one of its members after extensive involvement in the tourism portfolio decided to set up his own business.

1.11   Rates Office

This is run by council and collects monthly rates and rentals from the community.  It is particularly useful during oldies week as once paid the oldies can immediately make their payments.

1.12   Heritage Office

The Heritage Office has been involved in research on Alex.  They are also building the Mandela Heritage Museum at 7^th Avenue

1.13…Tourism Office

This office has been involved in the training of tour guides and giving out information on Alexandra.

1.14   Imagination Lab

Imagination Lab is now into their third year with the centre.  They use one office for their computer work and the larger training room for their creative work.  They run a one year course for approximately 20 to 25 students covering advertising, marketing and market research.  At the end of last year they held an exhibition in the courtyard exhibiting the works they had achieved during the course of the year.

1.15   Alex Chamber of Commerce

Up to 100 people visit this office and they give business advice, business skills and make referrals.  They are also involved in business-to-business linkages and development.  A social development and greening project is underway in wards 75 and 108 and environmental education has been undertaken in both wards.  Trees have been planted in schools, churches, community centres, three old age homes and youth centres.

1.16   All Pay

All Pay handles the old age pensions, disability grants and child support grants.  They use the facility for the first seven working days of the month and approximately 750 people come through our doors each day.

1.17   Local Business Development

The internal revamping of the facility has recently been completed.  We are still waiting for the new team to begin.  The focus is to provide a one stop service for those wishing to either extend their existing business or to start up their own new business.

1.18   Alexsan Kopano Educational Trust

Apart from adhoc project work, the Educational Trust is particularly involved in computer literacy.  460 students were trained in computer literacy during the past year.  The Work Skills programme includes both Computer Technology and Business Fundamentals.  Day, night and Saturday morning classes are conducted.

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 helping to increase their speed), make photocopies and faxing for customers.  They do exercises which exposes them to handling cash and be accountable, how to handle customers and help solve their problems and how to refer customers to other projects within Alexsan Kopano.  We are proud that our trainees have received temporary or permanent employment as receptionists or call centre agents in and around Sandton and Randburg, while others are furthering their studies.

As an income generating area the reception is involved in photocopying, faxing and typing of documents.

South African Youth Day

Up to thirty young people participated in the meetings, which exposed them to challenges that needed planning, creative thinking, teamwork, programming, implementing and evaluation.

The theme of the event for this year was “South African Youth celebrating and creating opportunities for themselves and benefiting during the 10 years of democracy”, and the aims of this event were:

• Invite youth groups/individuals to showcase their talents, thus celebrating the first 10 years of democracy.
• To arrange for incentives, that will be given to the participating groups/individuals as tokens of appreciation.
• To arrange a platform for youth groups/individuals who own small businesses/ projects/initiatives to display their products/services with the purpose of marketing themselves and/or disseminating information and selling their products

The following venues were used for the different events:

• The amphitheatre was used for Drama, Traditional Dance, Clowns and Poetry.
• The courtyard was used for Youth Business and Projects, Crafts and Art, Information for the youth from NGO’s and CBO’s.
• The main hall was used for Rap Music, different Jives/Dances, Kwaito Music, Dance Groups and Hip Hop music.
• Activity Room 1 upstairs hosted the June 16^th Business Workshop.  About 300 young people and young adults attended the workshop which was run by Local Business Skills.  Catering and certificates of participation were given to those who attended.  The T-shirts, caps and certificates were sponsored by Elements Marketing and Advertising and City Power.

Alexsan Kopano Educational Trust donated funds to the event.  This money was used to buy groceries, vegetables and meat to feed the performing groups and the planning sub-committees and to pay for the public address system.  T-shirts and certificates were given to each 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.

Carols by Candlelight

This annual event is popular.  It is attended by children between the ages of 5 to 16 years of age and word-of-mouth gave about 800 children the opportunity to attend this event.

The music was provided by the Alexandra Adult Choir under Mr. Pat Smith and the Alexandra Youth Orchestra was comprised of students who get tuition every Saturday at the Alexandra College.  Catering was provided for the choir and the 800 children received the customary chocolates/sweets from Father Christmas.

Acknowledgements

I would like to conclude this report by thanking all the staff members, management, tenants, clients, Community Based Organizations, Churches and various government departments for supporting the Centre.

We would like to particularly thank the City of Johannesburg Region 7 for continuing to support the centre and its operations.