A public toilet project in Cape Town provides dignity to homeless people while creating jobs
The Cape Town Central City Improvement District’s project has been lauded for providing homeless people with dignified ablution facilities.
The project has increased cleanliness and safety in the streets of Cape Town, in the city centre to be exact.
The public toilets also offer city frequenters public ablution facilities and hundreds of thousands of people have started using them since their inception.
“While the majority of users are people who visit or work in the CBD, of the 297 063 recorded users, a total of 79 076 were homeless individuals,” said Kally Benito, manager of the CCID’s Urban Management department.
Benito told The Altruist that one of the important aspects of the project is the creation of work for at least 19 people who manage the toilets.
“As the toilets need to be cleaned and sanitised after every use, we have collaborated with our partner NGO, Khulisa Social Solutions, which, via its Streetscapes work-based rehabilitation programme, provides trained workers who earn a stipend to clean and sanitise the units.”
Khulisa Social Solutions strategic partnerships manager Jesse Laitinen said the project’s job opportunities have provided a sense of purpose and structure to participants.
“The work offers a daily routine and a reason to wake up in the morning. This routine can be crucial in breaking cycles of instability and addiction that often accompany long-term homelessness.”
She says the project has not only increased the workers’ sense of self-worth and pride, but it has also helped them regain confidence in their abilities and their place within society – as well as pay rent – thereby contributing to long-term stability.
Editor’s note: One of the important aspects of this project is its ability to create job opportunities for at least 19 people who manage the toilets, for me that is significant because the number of people employed will help decrease the unemployment rate even if it is with a small number.
Description: The Cape Town Central City Improvement District’s project has been lauded for providing homeless people with dignified ablution facilities while creating job opportunities for at least 19 people.
Editor: Thato Mahlangu
Project manager: Do4SA
