460 Eastern Cape Children Receive Essential Care and Meals in Week-Long Holiday Camp

A week-long holiday programme delivered in the Langbos informal settlement at Addo, Eastern Cape, has provided structured care, daily meals, and supervised activities to 460 children during the December school break, a period often associated with heightened risk for children in under-resourced communities.

The annual Langbos Summer Camp, implemented by Place of Mercy and Hope in partnership with Lwazi Educare, served children between the ages of 4 and 13. The programme was staffed by local community members and volunteers from South Africa and Germany, with senior learners from Marist schools participating as part of a national leadership initiative.

According to organisers, the camp was designed to address gaps in supervision, nutrition, and routine during school holidays. “For many families in Langbos, the holiday period places additional strain on already limited resources,” said Jason Grieve, one of the directors overseeing the programme. “The objective is to provide a predictable environment where children are safe, fed, and supported.”

Langbos is characterised by high unemployment and limited access to formal services. Organisers noted that for a significant number of participants, the meals provided during the programme represented their most reliable source of daily nutrition for the week.

The holiday camp forms part of a broader, long-term community development model. Place of Mercy and Hope and Lwazi Educare operate Early Childhood Development centres serving more than 300 children and employ over 25 staff members from the surrounding area. In addition, their nutrition outreach reaches more than 400 households weekly, complemented by year-round primary healthcare and maternal support programmes.

Programme leadership included founders Sister Martha O’Connor and Sister Breda Ryan, together with Mandisa Msongelwa, Lyle Robson, Maxine Noel, and Jason Grieve. The organisations have been active in the Sundays River Valley for 19 years, with the camp functioning as one component of a sustained intervention strategy rather than a standalone event.

Volunteers reported that the programme required high levels of organisation and adaptability due to the age range and scale of participation. Student leaders described the experience as an opportunity to engage directly with community-based service delivery and to better understand structural inequality in informal settlements.

The programme concluded with the distribution of more than 1,000 essential care parcels to children in the settlement. Each parcel contained basic hygiene items and fortified porridge intended to support households beyond the duration of the camp.

As the organisations approach their twentieth year of operation, leadership emphasised the importance of continuity and locally embedded models of support. “Short-term interventions only have value when they sit within systems that remain after the programme ends,” Grieve said.

More information: www.placeofmercyandhope.com