Page 109 - SCAT Rural Voice II - 35 Stories for 35 Years

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ADVICE OFFICE AND DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
Pampierstad (or Thuso a Sotho or Tswana word meaning Help) is a small rural town located 31km north-west of Jan Kempdorp and 112km from Kimberley in the Northern Cape.1 The town was established in the former homeland of Bophuthatswana in the late 1960s, named after Lekwalo Pampiri who was also known as Pampier. He was the son of a local Chief Motlaadile.2 The town now falls under the jurisdiction of the Frances Baard District Municipality in the Northern Cape. The main economic activities in the Francis Baard municipal district are community services (28%), finance (22%), trade (15%), transport (12%) and mining (10%).3 The population of Pampierstad according to the 2011 Census4 is 21,707 of whom 99% identify as Black African. Setswana is the predominant language spoken by 83.35% of the population. The town has a high unemployment rate and is torn by social problems such as substance abuse, child pregnancy, youth unemployment and crime.
Thuso is a small Advice Office located in Pampierstad and tries to tackle these social ills by offering paralegal services to a community who have lost faith in the justice system. It has also set up a YouthBank programme aimed at addressing the youth unemployment crisis by funding projects conceived of and run by young people. This LDA also participates in programmes that are aimed at improving the community of Pampierstad like the recent election and voter education process, anti-substance abuse talks and mediating on various community related issues and cases.
1. Where is Pampierstad, South Africa located? Distance, Country & Map. (n.d.). Retrieved October 12, 2019, from https://www. entfernungsrechner.net/en/city/966380
2. SAHO. (2013). Pampierstad | South African History Online. Retrieved October 12, 2019, from South African History Online website: https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/pampierstad
3. Frances Baard District Municipality - Overview. (2019). Retrieved October 12, 2019, from Municipalities of South Africa website: https://municipalities.co.za/overview/134/frances-baard-district-municipality
4. Frith, A. (2019). Census 2011: Main Place: Pampierstad. Retrieved October 12, 2019, from census2011.adrianfrith.com website: https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/386004
FAST faCts
NaMe: Thuso Advice and Development Centre
LeD By: Michael Lasky Besent
MaiN CHaLLeNGes faCeD By tHe CoMMUNity: Unemployment, crime, teen pregnancy, poverty, need for constructive activities like arts and music for youth MaiN aCtiVities: Paralegal support; labour disputes; farm eviction, YouthBank aDDress: Pampierstad Shopping Complex,Shop No. 12, Lucas Mangope Street, P.O. Box 25, Hartswater, 8570.
CoNtaCt: Phone: 053 996 2653
YOUTH
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