Tom Hewitt awarded MBE for work with street children

Tom Hewitt

Tom Hewitt, co-founder of Umthombo Street Children, Amos Trust's partner in Durban, South Africa has been awarded an MBE in the New Year's Honours List. Tom’s award is for services to child welfare in South Africa.

Tom and his wife Bulelwa 'Mandi' Ngantweni-Hewitt co-founded Umthombo Street Children in 2004. Umthombo is a pioneering project, staffed by both social work professionals and trained former street children who have a unique understanding of the realities of the street child experience and are able to build incredible relationships of trust and respect with the children.

2010 was a tremendous year for Umthombo Street Children - they were the hosts of the first ever Street Child World Cup in March, and in June for the very first time they were able to open their drop-in centre Safe Space for 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week. Most significant of all, Umthombo were pleased to report that following their campaign calling for an end to the brutal practice of rounding up street children, during the FIFA World Cup there were no reported instances of the 'round ups' by the police in Durban.

Speaking from Durban, Tom said: "This award is a real privilege. Umthombo was founded on the principle of recognising every child has worth and I hope that this honour will enable more people to hear the voices of street children and to campaign for the change the children themselves want to see."
 
To find out more about the work of Umthombo Street Children, visit the Amos Trust website: www.amostrust.org