History

The Children’s Resource Centre was started in 1983 to help children to organise themselves into a Children’s Movement. Today the CRC have more than 50 Children’s Groups throughout South Africa with a membership of more than 5000 children between the age of 7–14 years.

The aim is to build an organisation through which children can help build a better world for children. Through our programmes the organisation tries to get members actively involved in the work of the Children’s Movement. To make it possible for our members to do all these things, we run regular Education and Training Programmes.

Children between the ages of 7-14 who wish to join our organisation can do so by becoming a member of the children’s group in the area where they stay. If there is no children’s group there, we can help you start one and keep it alive.

Contact us....

The CRC believes that children are potential agents for change. Our mission therefore is:

• to assist children to organise themselves into a Children’s Movement;

• to create the conditions for the growth of a united national children’s organisation and social movement for children of primary school-going age in South Africa;

• and to support such a movement with training, equipment and in organising itself.

Injongo zobukho bethu

iChildren’s Resource Centre ikholelwa ekubeni abantwana zizixhobo zotshintsho.Injongo zobukho bethu zezi:

• Kukuncedisa abantwana ukuba baziqokelele babeyiNtshukumo Yabantwana.

• Ukwenza amathuba okukhulisa umbutho wabantwana welizwe odibeneyo neNtshukumo Yabantwana abafunda kwizikolo zamabanga aphantsi eMzantsi Afrika;

• Nokuxhasa lo ntshukumo ngezixhobo zoqeqesho nasekuzakheni

Ons Missie

Die CRC glo dat kinders kan agente van verandering wees. En daarom is ons missie:

• Om kinders tussen die onderdem van 7 en 12 jaar te organiseer in a beweging vankinders;

• Om so `n beweging van kinders van primere skool ouderdom n nasionale organisasie te help maak;

• en om die organisasie te help met opleiding van die lede en  met materiaal en ander benodighede wat die organise sal benodig.

Values

The CRC has three sets of values:

• Respect for one self

• Respect for others

• Respect for the environment.

The aim is to try to live these values!!

Philosophy

We believe that:

children have the potential to be agents for change to assist in the process of creating and sustaining a qualitatively better world for themselves and for others; and in the process become better people;

now that the Rights of the Child are enshrined in the constitution and the Government of South Africa has signed the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the next most important task of society is to develop and implement ways and means of concretising them so that children can enjoy these rights. In this process we believe children, as a the affected group, can  and should   play a meaningful and vital role. For this task they, as any other section of the community, have to prepare and equip themselves, mentally and physically, intellectually and emotionally;

children  constitute an important segment of society and an vital human resource. They constitute almost 45% of the 40 million people in South Africa, that is approximately 18 million people, half of whom area girl children.. Also, children with women are the most vulnerable sections of the community when it comes crime, community and domestic violence, etc. Therefore the need for a social movement of children;

there  is a siamese-twins relationship between rights and responsibilities. They are two sides of the same coin so to say. The one can only become manifest through the other. Children themselves must begin the process of concretising their rights for themselves. For example the right to health: they should learn to live healthily and do so every day of their lives; help to set up and sustain health facilities for themselves, other children and other members of the community; and ensure that the government of the day creates the environment for them to do all this; and for it to make available the resources for all children to enjoy this and other rights;

children need to be children now – they can only be the future if they are children now – if not, they will negate the future as is already beginning to happen (neglected children commit crimes, etc.); and

children should become actively involved in the processes that will determine the quality of democracy and life in general (therefore the importance of a social movement so that all matters affecting the lives of children can be done with for and by them).