Ons Plek Projects

When Ons Plek's Intake and Stabilisation Centre first opened in 1988, the girls who came through its doors gave it its name. "A place for us!" they said — and so it became Ons Plek: Our Place. That sense of ownership, voice, and dignity has guided the organisation ever since.

Ons Plek occupies a unique and critically important niche in Cape Town's child welfare landscape: it is the only residential Child and Youth Care Centre in the city that specialises in developmental and therapeutic services specifically for girls who have lived, worked, or begged on Cape Town's streets. Girl street children are often invisible in the broader public narrative — which tends to focus on boys — and Ons Plek was founded precisely to see and serve the girls the system had overlooked.

Who Ons Plek Serves

Girls who have been on the streets of Cape Town. This includes girls who have fled home due to abuse, neglect, or family breakdown; girls who have been trafficked or exploited; girls living with poverty so extreme that the streets became the only option; girls with interrupted schooling, disrupted attachments, and complex trauma.

Once inside Ons Plek, they are not "street children." They are children looking for a new place in society — wanting to be seen as ordinary, learning for their future lives, in a place that is truly theirs.

The Three Centres

Ons Plek Intake and Stabilisation Centre — Mowbray 7 Malleson Road, Mowbray, is the first point of entry. Girls come here from the streets, from police referrals, from other agencies. The centre provides immediate safety, stability, and assessment — food, shelter, clothing, warmth, and the beginning of a therapeutic relationship. The aim is not to immediately fix but to stabilise, to build trust, and to begin the slow process of weaning from street life.

Siviwe Long-Term Treatment Centre — Woodstock "Siviwe" means "God has heard us" — also named by the girls themselves. Located at 7 York Road in Woodstock, Siviwe provides an environment undisturbed by direct contact with street life, for girls who have stabilised sufficiently at the Mowbray centre to move into a more structured, longer-term therapeutic setting. Siviwe is a registered residential Child and Youth Care Centre. The services at Siviwe are designed to dovetail with those at the Intake Centre — creating a seamless continuum of care.

Ukondla Early Intervention Centres — Philippi "Ukondla" means "to nourish." Three Ukondla centres in Philippi serve children at risk of dropping out of school or home and roaming the streets — before they get to that point. Ukondla provides school support, life skills, and structured after-school care for children in one of Cape Town's most under-resourced areas.

What Care Looks Like at Ons Plek

• Basic needs met: Food, clothing, shelter, education, and love — provided consistently, without condition
• Family reunification: Where safe and appropriate, Ons Plek works toward reuniting girls with their families — including supporting fathers who are trying to transform alongside their daughters
• Bridging school and back-to-school support: For girls who have missed schooling, Ons Plek provides bridging education to help them re-enter mainstream schooling
• School support: Ongoing academic and social support once girls are back in formal education
• Therapeutic care: Professional trauma-informed therapeutic services from qualified Child and Youth Care Workers
• Enabling girls: Building self-esteem, confidence, and the belief that dreams can come true — evidenced by years of success stories including girls who have gone on to further education and independent, fulfilled lives

Why Ons Plek Belongs on a GBV/Abuse Survivor Site

Many of the girls at Ons Plek have experienced sexual abuse, physical abuse, or have been exposed to domestic violence at home — often the very reason they left. Ons Plek's therapeutic approach explicitly addresses trauma from abuse, and the organisation's model of care — patient, non-coercive, strength-based, and centred on the girl's own voice and pace — is a direct and effective response to the effects of abuse and exploitation.

Ons Plek Projects: 021 685 4052/49 | onsplek@onsplek.org.za | 7 Malleson Road, Mowbray, Cape Town. Director: Mrs Pam S. Jackson. Facebook: OnsPlekProjects. Instagram: @onsplekprojects.