By: Lungisa Somtombo
A number of children in South Africa are being introduced to drugs and alcohol at a very young age, to try and root out the rate of using drugs, alcohol and child abduction in the Buffalo City area. Zwelitsha-born Ntuthuzelo Mbeseza of Baby Swag made a safe playground to take children off the streets King Williams Town and surrounding areas.
Baby Swag Playground caters for birthday parties, fun fairs and children’s events at its playground in Zwelitsha Zone 4 behind the court. It provides toy cars, quad bikes and jumping castles for children to have fun. Mbeseza said that he also hires out his toy cars to customers who want to have private functions.
The playground also has a car wash and a braai area where parents can go and enjoy themselves while the children are having the time of their lives with the cars. Mbeseza said he wants children to be included in fun events as child abduction happens when parents are away.
“If there’s an event we try and persuade the organizers to start early so that they include children and we bring our toys so that they can have fun too,” he said.
Mbeseza said at Baby Swag they believe that playing is a need for every child’s growth. He added that children will want to go out and play whether it is safe or not, luckily Zwelitsha children have a secure place to play where it will be difficult for them to be abducted.
Baby Swag Playground founder Mbeseza when to Johannesburg for a holiday, when his wife wanted to buy a gift for her friends child, they went to a toy shop and saw a car, he liked it and bought it for his son.
On his way home at the airport he was told he could not fly the car because it had a big battery, while thinking of a plan, he drove his son around and everyone was mesmerized and taking pictures, he thought if people at the airport were amazed how much more in townships and villages and he saw a business opportunity.
“I went to a mall in King Williams Town and drove my son around with the toy car, I got the reaction I expected from people. I decided to make these cars available and that is when Baby Swag Playground was born,” said Mbeseza.
In 2017, with the help of his local councilor he wrote a letter to the municipality asking to utilize the vacant land in Zone 4 behind the court and they gave him permission to use the playground.
Baby Swag also caters for schools, Zama Primary School’s Grade R from Mxaxo Location in King Williams Town is one of the schools that visited the playground yesterday, one of the teachers Phelisa Tshotyana said it was their first visit and as soon as the children saw the cars they were excited and ready to play.
“As teachers we are very happy because we did not know the cars were this advanced and we are definitely coming back again” said Tshotyana.
Mbeseza said the challenges he faces are space and transport as he does not have space to store his toy cars and his own transport to deliver his toy cars when customers want to rent, currently he hires a bakkie and a trailer to deliver to his customers.
“My biggest achievement was starting this business because I introduced something that did not exist, now children have a place where they can have fun,” he said.