| Isibindi - Creating Circles of Care |
 Isibindi is a model of community based child and youth care directed towards orphans and vulnerable children including those children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS. Isibindi, meaning courage, deploys Child and Youth Care Workers into the communities of Hangberg and Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay to work with families including child headed households offering both therapeutic and developmental care for children and young people. Isibindi developed by the NACCW (National Association for Child Care Workers) has been acknowledged a potential best practice model for orphans and vulnerable children in Africa.Every family that is supported by Isibindi begins with a family conference which is a way in which to orientate the family about the programme and to find out the circumstances surrounding the family. A developmental plan is drawn up for each family based on the values of independence, mastery, belonging and generosity. The plan is reviewed and re-written whenever changes in the family occur. Each family is assisted to access social grants from the government where applicable. The family is taught how to budget,  funeral policies are secured and children are encouraged to continue schooling. Memory boxes are created for members of the family whose parents or siblings have passed away. All these activities are facilitated by the most important thing of all – the relationship between the Child Care Worker and the family. Once all these things are firmly in place and the family is able to live independently then the family moves into an after-care phase where relevant support is offered and the family well-being monitored.In June 2006 the concept of a Safe Park was introduced to the programme. This is a place of safety for children where they can engage in developmentally appropriate activities. The Safe Park offers educational games, completion of homework, counselling, and creating an understanding of children’s rights and responsibilities. Food is also supplied and this is one of the main reasons for the high attendance. There have been 1138 visits by children to the Safe Park in the last reporting year as recorded by the daily register. Isibindi offers hope to those children who often have to fend for themselves having lost parents and siblings to HIV/AIDS. Isibindi is a beacon of light to the many children and families it serves and its successes and challenges contain significant lessons for policy makers both in South Africa and abroad. 
The following activities are run in this programme for 350 children and 170 families per year:
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