KOSOVO KIDS

SAMORA MACHEL AND KOSOVO UNREGISTERED CRECHES
Currently there are approximately 16 unregistered informal crèches housed in shacks in the Kosovo community and 21 in the neighbouring Samora Machel, Philippi. According to a recent research project on Philippi done by SAEP, children ages 0-5 constitute 13.29% of the Philippi population. This percentage translates into a total of 7000 children (total pop. 53 000) between ages 0-5 in Samora Machel and Kosovo communities of Philippi. In this area there are currently 2100 0-5 year olds in both registered and unregistered creches, indicating a great percentage of these toddlers are not attending crèche and many seen playing in the streets. See Children's Support Centre info

KOSOVO SHACK COMMUNITY
Kosovo has been deemed a ‘crisis’ area by the City’s Disaster Management team. It is one of the most densely populated shack communities in the Cape with an unofficial population of around 18 000.

A newspaper article described 'Kosovo' this way: "But for the people of Kosovo, it's a country of three nations; the rich, the poor and the forgotten. While many poor people in this country decry the high rate of unemployment, lack of decent houses and poor-quality education, for the people of the Kosovo informal settlement in Philippi, it's a totally different ball game. A simple flushing toilet, for example, would make a huge difference. Poor sanitation system is contributing to health risks in the area, especially towards the spread of TB infections." Unemployment is at 59% and the majority of the working population has a low working wage with HIV infection rate between 25- 39%.

WORKING WITH THE CRECHES
Due to the above, this means that the crèches in Kosovo may not currently pass the Health Departments regulations to become registered. The dilemma faced by Social Development is that there is such a great and urgent need to assist the children at these crèches. We have decided to step in a help and we believe that this should not detract from the rights of the children growing up in this impoverished community to learn, grow and have fun during the day while their caregivers are away looking for employment. We also continue to look at ways to help those children who are not in creches.