Buckets of Love

Buckets of Love

Imagine going home for the school holidays and not having food to eat!

Many of our children are from underprivileged homes, where good, nourishing food is in short supply. Some of the children are on Antiretroviral treatment and cannot risk missing a meal as medication can’t be taken on an empty stomach.

But being allowed to go home for the holidays is an important part of our family reunification programme – and eagerly anticipated by the kids. Cases are reviewed regularly and we partner with the children’s extended family to ensure the children’s welfare while they are away.

Part of that is arranging food parcels for the children to take home with them. Over the years, our Buckets of Love Campaign” has been generously supported by schools, religious groups, corporates and individuals. And now we need your help again.

Please become our partners in caring; help fill a bucket by donating non perishable food items such as:

  • Baked beans
  • Tinned fish & vegetable curry
  • 5kg rice
  • 2kg maize meal
  • 2kg sugar
  • 2kg samp
  • Morvite instant porridge /Jungle oats
  • Tea, coffee and powdered milk
  • Onion soup
  • 2 litre cooking oil
  • Peanut butter and jam

In most cases the bucket of love we send them home with, becomes their only source of nutrition over the holidays! And we need 35 buckets by 14 March 2024.

Items may be dropped off at the Durban Child & Youth Care Centre in Glenwood. Thank you for your ongoing support and care for our precious little ones.

Ironman 4 the Kidz

Ironman 4 the Kidz

Ironman 4 the kidz

In July this year, the unimaginable happened! Our last remaining school bus was hijacked. Despite all our efforts, we were unable to recover the vehicle.

We were already under immense pressure. Just last year, one of our two vehicles – both of which were critical for transporting our children to and from school, clinics, hospital, psychological assessments and community activities – was hijacked. And then it happened again. With Quantums being one of the most sought after vehicles by hijackers, we needed to look at other suitable options that would prevent us from going through this again.

The only problem was that every suitable vehicle available cost much more than the insurance payout. We were in an impossible situation until a real-life Superhero swooped in and saved the day.

Ironman came to our rescue! No, not the Marvel Comics Superhero, but our local triathlon champions, Ironman 4 the Kidz Charity Trust!

Thanks to their incredible generosity, we were able to make up the shortfall needed to purchase a new vehicle. And their act of kindness didn’t just stop there. When they heard that we were in need of a new Industrial washing machine, they agreed to donate the necessary funds for us to purchase a new one.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks and appreciation to Ironman 4 the Kidz for empowering us to continue the work that we do for our children.

Message from the Director – Mandy Goble

Message from the Director – Mandy Goble

 

Working in an organisation as old as ours has its pros and its cons. One of the pros is the history.  A history captured in faded ink on yellowed paper, plaques capturing the age of old buildings, children’s files – the oldest on record dating back to 1917 – black and white photographs of a bygone era. And … the oldest Annual Financial Report on record, dating back to 1968.

It would seem that the maintenance requirements of our buildings were as much a need then as they are now. “Because our houses are fairly old, the cost of maintaining them is always high and this has been an expensive year”. Fast forward 55 years and in our most recent Annual Financial Report our President reports, “Our buildings, which are in the geriatric stage, are in need of constant high care, a costly expense’’.

The 1968 report records an amount of R 4 207 being spent on repairs, whilst in this past year we spent R402 250 – and this figure doesn’t include project funding that we have had to secure outside of our budgeted allocation.

I shudder to think what would become of this place, which many children continue to refer to as home, were it not for the generosity of our longstanding and new donors. Words will never be sufficient to express our gratitude for your willingness to stand with us as guardians of the vulnerable in our country.

The Big Makeover

The Big Makeover

From the people of Japan

Our Amaqhawe Care Centre and Khayelisha House were recently revamped and renovated internally and externally – all thanks to the incredible generosity and support From the People of Japan.

Together, these buildings, which date back to 1910 and 1914 respectively, accommodate 34 children, ranging in age from two to 18 years. Over the years, the buildings have been a safe haven that many vulnerable children and youth in KwaZulu Natal have called home.

Children remain here while we focus on reunification and reintegration with family and/or the community, with the ultimate goal of returning children to their homes. Throughout the process, the child’s family is involved and viewed as partners. And, where immediate family is not available, the extended family and community are drawn on for support.

Residential Programme

During their time with us, the children are developmentally assessed, and clear care and development plans drawn up. Developmental programmes provide strengthening and capacity building, whilst therapeutic programmes allow for healing, healthy development, and a sense of well-being.

As a non-profit organisation, our priority has to be on operational needs. However the demands of our aged buildings are a constant concern. Maintenance needs are prioritised, with the most critical and urgent projects being attended to first.

Raising enough money to meet our operational shortfall annually is a challenging task in itself in the present economic climate. And having to raise additional funds to attend to all our maintenance needs makes the task even more difficult. Despite how impossible it seemed, we remained committed and kept approaching donors and sending out appeals for help.

After numerous “No’s” and “Declines”, we are just bursting with immense gratitude and joy to share that we finally received a “Yes” From The People of Japan. This BIG makeover has breathed new life into the buildings and allows them to remain a safe haven for many more vulnerable children in need of a safe and caring home environment.

Thank you to the people of Japan for being our Partners in the Care of Vulnerable Children and Youth.

Celebrating our diversity this Heritage Day

Celebrating our diversity this Heritage Day

Heritage Day

“My Culture, Your Culture, One Nation” was our theme for this year’s Heritage Day celebration. We focussed on teaching our children about cultural diversity and how we may speak different languages, but we all belong to one Nation.

Our children enjoyed a full cultural experience – from dressing up in traditional wear to tasting a variety of cultural dishes and participating in a colourful and diverse programme of song and dance.

We were honoured to have a guest speaker, Dawyn Fouriee, from UKZN Drama and Performance Studies. He and his colleague performed a wonderful play for our children.

The event was a huge success! Special thanks to Pinnacle HR for their generous sponsorship towards meals for the day.

” A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

” A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

Countless little feet have walked up these, once carpeted, stairs over the years. Their journey of hope and new beginnings started right here!
This staircase is a sneak peek of our current renovation project, generously funded by the People of Japan. It has been strengthened and revamped to hold many more little feet for years to come. Read more about the renovation project at https://mqp.mwd.mybluehost.me/.website_242cc69a/the-big-makeover/