Meet the children

* In order to protect identity, real names have not been used

Anna

Anna was placed at our Home in 2012 at age two, after being removed from the care of her parents, who were living on the street. Since she hadn’t been raised in a proper environment, Anna lacked social skills and had to be re-socialised.

When she came to us, she had no boundaries, as she had never experienced adult supervision. But through the programmes provided by our child care team, and psychosocial support from our social workers, Anna has learned to communicate better with other children and staff.

This little girl also had cognitive challenges which affected her academically. She was sent for an educational assessment, and placed in a school which caters for her educational needs.

Anna’s father passed away and the mother’s circumstances have not improved in 12 years. She is still living and begging on the street. The team was able to trace relatives and Anna has been visiting them to get to know them. She will be reunified with her family at the end of this year.

Suzi and Kevin

Suzi and Kevin were placed at our Centre at the beginning of 2023, after they were neglected by their mother who was abusing drugs.

The mother’s addiction affected the family drastically. She would sell everything in the house to ge drugs and their electricity was switched off so they couldn’t have cooked meals. The children were living on polony and bread.

After the children were placed at our Centre, the family had to work on themselves. The mother went to a drug rehabilitation centre while the father worked hard to pay off all the debts she had incurred.

Once the mother got off drugs, the family’s circumstances improved. The father replaced their furniture, and the mother got a job at a local store.

The coupe maintained regular contact with their children, and ultimately the family was reunified at the end of 2023.

“To me, love is when the staff treat you as their own, and show compassion and understanding to each and everyone.” ​

 

Phindi

Andi & Sipho

These siblings were victims of child trafficking and were placed at our Centre in 2019 after being found to be in need of care and protection.

Their plight was brought to the attention of the authorities after the perpetrator’s partner tipped off social workers.

Unfortunately, we were not able to trace the children’s families because the perpetrator was arrested. However, after several failed attempts to locate the families, there was a lead. A grandmother was located in one of the townships and we made contact with her.

The children started visiting their granny and building a relationship with her. After almost two years, they were placed in the grandmother’s care in December 2023.

Theo

After his mother died, 6 year old Theo was placed in the care of his grandmother, who unfairly blamed him for her daughter’s death. His granny rejected and neglected him, so the little boy began spending most of his days and nights wandering the streets in search of food and affection.

By the time he came to us, he was ill and severely undernourished and seriously ill. He had a tiny frame and his mental and motor skills lagged behind the normal milestones of Early Childhood Development.

Under our care, his improvement has been remarkable! He has benefited enormously – not only from plenty of good, healthy food – but also from nutritional supplements recommended by our dietician. His health is closely monitored by our Child Care Worker, who accompanies him to his scheduled clinic and hospital visits.

We have managed to place Theo in school, which he loves. He particularly enjoys Maths.

“For the first time in my life, I am excited for what the future has in store for me.” ​

 

Fatima