Looking back on this quarter made me realise that we are blessed to have the most amazing children in our care. They are caring and humble; I believe it is due to the trauma they have experienced.
Our children are very resilient. At age two they arrive at the home, with only the clothes on their back. Most of them cry a lot when they realise we will be their “new home”, but a week later they play with the other children and interact with the staff.
You can imagine getting used to 11 other housemates, doing daily chores and going to school. Most of our children did not go to school regularly. One of our biggest challenges is to get them to attend school on a regular basis. We have 105 children that need transport to 38 different schools. They have to get up at 5h00, eat breakfast and be at the busses at 6h20.
We have three girls that are prefects at their respective schools. What a wonderful achievement for children that have grown up with parents that are not good role models.
We have just received good news from our “Karate Kids”. Three of our girls have been selected for the SA Champs tour. They only started participating in karate in July 2022, and were awarded WP Colors in early June 2023. Really an exceptional achievement an indication of their perseverance.
Our children find great joy in excelling in sports, and love winning!
They will participate from 27 -30 July 2023 in Johannesburg and are very excited, but also scared for their first long bus ride. One of the girls recently told me: “Aunty, you must pray for us all the time.” We will send a Child and Youth Care worker along to make them feel more comfortable.
To perform means everything to our children, so I expect a medal or two!
On Youth Day we had a talent show, and our kids thoroughly enjoyed it. A total of 24 kids participated in items ranging form gospel songs to hip-hop performances. Our star performer was one of our girls who recited a poem.
Every quarter we have an award ceremony. We reward our children for school attendance, sports, leadership and academic performance. They receive small tokens of appreciation like chippies, cool drinks and chocolates, but it means the world to them.
I believe that if we know what our children’s hobbies are, what their favourite subjects are and their interests, they will feel that they belong. This will give them the courage to build a new life for themselves away from the environment where they were abused and neglected.
We appreciate every business, individual and volunteer that helps us to make a difference in our children’s lives. You are our heroes!