To scale the Safe Hub model worldwide, Knorr-Bremse Global Care e.V. has partnered with AMANDLA Social Enterprises to set up Safe-Hub Global gGmbH. The first project kicked off in South Africa in 2007.
Kids are playing soccer on the sports field, doing homework in the Youth Café, or discovering the world as they surf the web in the computer room – not to mention the training academy, movement room, psychosocial support center and space for social enterprises. A Safe Hub like the one in Khayelitsha on the outskirts of Cape Town acts as a safe haven for young people, their families and communities in the surrounding townships. To provide the Safe Hubs with sustainable financial backing, the partnership is also developing economic models that should help them to remain financially independent. This support for local business processes is creating jobs, strengthening the regional economy and providing a long-term structure for the Safe Hubs that will help to keep them economically independent over the long term.
First launched in 2007, there are now 11 Safe Hub projects in South Africa and 13 projects worldwide. Each project touches between 1,500 and 5,000 young people directly, and between 7,500 and 25,000 people in the surrounding communities. To date, the organization has concluded around 180 collaboration partnerships, created more than 1,300 jobs and registered almost 400,000 “activity check-ins” (weekly training courses during which the young people also touch base with Safe Hub staff).
Breaking the vicious circle of structural marginalization
“The Safe Hub concept certainly won us over,” says Julia Thiele-Schürhoff, Chair of Knorr-Bremse Global Care e.V. “Children and young people from marginalized families with few opportunities for education or personal development are often trapped in a vicious circle – it’s very difficult to break out and make something of yourself. Our strategic partnership is enabling us to tackle social problems at the root and give these young people long-term prospects.”
The institution behind the strategic partnership is Safe-Hub Global gGmbH. Global Care is backing the strategic partnership because of its high impact, efficient use of resources, and sustainable model.
From PlayMaker to Centre Manager
Just what that impact looks like is reflected in Anelani Bungane’s life story. As a teenager, he joined the Safe Hub in Khayelitsha back in 2013. He was one of the first people to graduate from the PlayMaker training program. The program is a 12-month training course for local coaches, preparing participants for an apprenticeship or job. For Bungane, the Safe Hub concept has become a career path – in 2022, he was appointed Senior Programme Manager in Khayelitsha. The following year, he moved to the Safe Hub in Cape Town’s Gugulethu-Manenberg district, where he is now Centre Manager.
But other career paths are also open to Safe Hub graduates: Knorr-Bremse South Africa systematically recruits young talent from Safe Hub programs, for example to serve in-house apprenticeships.
From South Africa to the northern hemisphere: Berlin and Philadelphia
Much can be learned about global scaling from the Safe Hubs that have already been established – the concept behind them has been recognized by the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace as a global best-practice model for youth development. The latest Safe Hub projects have found a home in Germany, Côte d’Ivoire, India and the USA. As in South Africa, Knorr-Bremse companies are close neighbors (with the exception of Côte d’Ivoire), giving Knorr-Bremse employees a chance to get involved. First, to foster their awareness of social engagement, and second, to bring their entrepreneurial mindset to bear on social projects and so boost the Safe Hub program’s effectiveness and impact.
