Reports

MANAGERS REPORT February 2024 Imagine with me if you would, a piece of paper, stamped, signed and issued by the children’s court. This piece of paper confirms your placement at Durbanville Children’s Home. A piece of paper that will forever change your life. Imagine you are 15 years old.  Your younger brother is 5 years old. Your mother’s life has derailed in such a way that you are homeless.  You are living in a car next to the beach, with your mother, her boyfriend and your brother. Each morning you get dressed in the car to go to school and in the afternoons, you have to look after your 5-year-old brother. You walk up and down the beach, to keep yourself busy. One day he slips away from you, you panic as you have no idea where he went. He is found by a stranger in a bar, who calls the police. Social workers are called in and the necessary intervention happens. You are both removed and placed in safety.  A few days later you arrive with “that piece of paper” placing you both at Durbanville Children’s Home. On arrival at the home, your biggest priority is that they must please wash your clothes, because you are better than what you had to endure. Sadly, for these two children and many others in our care they don’t need to imagine this; this is their reality. According to Children’s Act, 2005 – Child and Youth Care centres, like Durbanville Children’s Home, are required to offer recreational, developmental and therapeutic programmes. These programmes are meant to enhance the well-being of vulnerable children. When the child is reunited with his or her family, he/she would have been empowered to be independent, resilient and ambitious, irrespective of his/her current or past living circumstances. Over the past two years the demographics of the children placed in our care has changed dramatically. Children who have experienced immense trauma and neglect and therefore have huge challenges emotionally, mentally and scholastically. I believe that the following factors contribute to this: It is estimated that South Africa has 150,000 children orphaned due to Covid-19. This number jumps to over 200,000 when we include children who have lost either their primary or secondary caregiver. The South African Welfare system does not have sufficient care facilities and therefore, children are exposed to traumatic experiences over a longer period of time. This trauma negatively impacts their lives. They develop coping mechanisms, in order to survive. The profile of a child being referred to a Level 2 facility like ours, is becoming increasingly more challenging.  This is largely due to limited resources and lack of space in secure care Level 3 facilities. The movement of a child from a level 2 facility to a level 3 facility is difficult for the same reasons. This has resulted in children with more challenging behaviour remaining in a Level 2 Child and Youth Care centre. This impacts on the services being rendered, and staff having to deal with behaviour that is often very difficult to manage. Schools are not prepared to accommodate some of our children due to their negative behaviour in the classroom. They have neither the resources nor the knowledge to manage it. Some children on admission to our care have never been to school or are too old to go back to the last grade passed. In line with the above-mentioned challenges, the Home has to shift from being a residential home to a residential therapeutic centre. We have to move away from the traditional care model where children were placed in a home with the view of a long-term placement, with the emphasis on rendering general childcare and therapy, to treating children within an intensive, holistic, therapeutic environment. In this way, we will create a more conducive environment for children to be reintegrated into society. My vision for 2024, is to focus on our children’s therapeutic needs.  Objective 1: 144 Vulnerable children have access to Developmental, Therapeutic, and Occupational support. We currently have 3 Social Workers who each have a case load of 50 children. They form the core of the multi- disciplinary team that look after our children’s mental health. In addition, we want to appoint a Clinical Social Worker to render therapeutic services to our children, and continue our Occupational therapy program for early intervention (2 years – 10 years of age). The role of the Occupational Therapist, in this context, will be to assess, provide intervention, re-assess and implement sustainable programs. The Therapist will address the childhood trauma that stems from abandonment, neglect and abuse be it physical, emotional or sexual. Objective 2: Expand the Animal Assisted Therapy Program We have a Social Worker that drives this program. The natural interest that children have in animals often helps them to open up quickly and assist them to form healthy attachments. We have chickens, guinea pigs, and rabbits in our programs. We have recently added a therapy dog. Objective 3: Create more Food gardens.  We have a small vegetable garden on site that produces fresh vegetables which is used in our children’s food. We want to expand the program to cater for all our vegetable needs. The vegetable garden, in addition, also provides us the opportunity to teach our children to follow instructions, develop skills for the future and see the vegetables grow.  This gives them a sense of achievement. We would like to create an additional garden area.  Objective 4: Improve the living condition of our children. The 12 House Units at Durbanville Children’s Home were last upgraded in 1988, and the houses are looking run–down. Research clearly demonstrates that creating a more therapeutic living environment such as appropriate lighting, furnishing textures and patterns, and room organisation can help reduce signs of anxiety and depression. We have completed our bathroom areas and want to roll-out the revamp to include our children’s rooms, living rooms, kitchens and floor spaces. I believe that If we can through therapeutic interventions reduced

Looking forward to a year of blessings I want to thank our sponsors and volunteers who support Durbanville Children’s Home. Your assistance has helped me to grow the Durbanville Children’s Home program in 2023 and has given me the confidence to visualise the changes I want to bring about in 2024. Looking after 144 children’s individual needs within a large care facility is both challenging and rewarding.  I draw strength from the fact that we are celebrating 141 years of rendering care to vulnerable children. One of our biggest challenges is that our children attend 38 different schools, some as far as Ysterplaat and Atlantis. As you can imagine, the logistics around getting children to and from school every day is a daunting task. In addition we had 11 children attending our informal on-site school in 2023, whilst waiting for a school placement. Last year was the first year we have had a school leavers’ house, which accommodates children who are 17 years and older, and are either finishing school or are in their last year of care. The benefits of such a program are clear. Our children are equipped with skills that facilitate them in being more independent and ready to face the world.  Children placed in our care have emotional and psychological challenges due to the trauma that they have endured. We recognize that the need for therapy in our environment is non-negotiable. We want to expand our intervention into our children’s lives, by appointing a part-time therapist. In order to make this much-needed resource a reality we would need additional funding.  Accommodating children in satellite houses in the community is a preferred way of caring for vulnerable children. We registered a request at the Department of Housing as far back as 2010 and this project is now in its planning stages. We hope to add two more satellite houses in 2025, should the proposal be approved. In our student program, we are blessed to have three children who completed their studies in 2023, and a further four children are enrolling in tertiary institutions in 2024. Another part of this program is assisting our children in finding employment and growing into self-reliant adults. Currently these students and young adults are housed in rooms behind Durbanville Children’s Home. This area is not optimal, and we would like to improve its functioning to better suit the needs of the children and the program’s overall implementation.  We have completed the renovation of the bathroom areas in our 12 housing units and are now focusing on the revamping of the kitchens and bedrooms.  We are proud to say that 11 Child -and Youth care workers have been busy with their qualifications in Child -and Youth care this year. Six CYCWs have completed their NQF 4 certificates and five are still busy with their NQF 5 certificates.  Four of our children were awarded WP colours in sport and three of our girls received SA colours in karate. We had a blessed year in 2023, and I am looking forward to advance our program again in 2024 through partnerships with donors and volunteers. To see our program firsthand you can arrange a site visit by contacting Louise Coetzee at dch@dchome.org.za I hope that 2024 will be a special year for you! Johanna Strauss Manager: Durbanville Children’s Home

I feel extremely blessed to be the Manager of Durbanville Children’s Home. I share my workspace with 57 dedicated staff members who come to work every day believing that we have the sweetest and most beautiful children in the world.  Taking caring of 144 kids, who have experienced so much trauma and sadness in their lives, but still greet you with a smile every day, is a privilege.  It is a blessing to work in an environment where you know that you can really make a positive difference. In this holiday season we are grateful for compassionate individuals and corporates, like you, who have made our year memorable and special. Thank you for your continued support of each child at Durbanville Children’s Home! My wish for 2024 is that our children will experience a sense of belonging at Durbanville Children’s Home. A vulnerable child is weak and without protection, with the result that they are easily hurt, physically or emotionally. May we be a place of peace and happiness for them! We joyfully share the glory, the magic and the miracle of this holy season with you all. Have a blessed Christmas and an inspiring New Year. ** Wat ‘n seën is dit nie om die Bestuurder van Durbanville Kinderhuis te wees nie! Ek deel my werksruimte met 57 toegewyde personeellede wat werk toe kom en glo dat ons die soetste en mooiste kinders in die wêreld het. Om te beleef dat 144 kinders, wat soveel trauma en hartseer in hul jong lewens ervaar het, maar jou steeds elke dag met ‘n glimlag groet, is inderdaad ‘n voorreg. Dit is verrykend om te werk in ‘n omgewing waar jy weet dat jy ‘n verskil kan maak. Hierdie vakansieseisoen is ons dankbaar vir omgee individue en besighede wat deur hulle aanmoediging en bydraes 2023 ‘n spesiale  jaar gemaak het. Dankie vir u volgehoue ​​ondersteuning van elke kind by Durbanville Kinderhuis. My wens vir 2024 is dat ons kinders ‘n gevoel van behoort by Durbanville Kinderhuis sal ervaar. ’n Kwesbare kind is swak en sonder beskerming, met die gevolg dat hulle maklik fisies of emosioneel seergemaak word. Mag ons vir hulle ‘n plek van vreugde en vrede wees. ‘n Geseënde Kersfees en ‘n inspirerende Nuwejaar vir u en u familie.

Manager’s Report November 2023 I want to thank the board members, sponsors and volunteers who support Durbanville Children’s Home. Your assistance has helped me to grow the Durbanville Children’s Home program in 2023 and has given me the confidence to visualise the changes I want to bring about in 2024. Working in a child and youth care centre like Durbanville Children’s Home is a privilege. Looking after 144 children’s individual needs within a large care facility is both challenging and rewarding. Our program has to be reviewed and adapted continuously in order to meet the needs of our children optimally. We can draw strength from the fact that we are celebrating 140 years or rendering care to vulnerable children. One of our biggest challenges is that our children attend 38 different schools, some as far as Ysterplaat and Atlantis. As you can imagine, the logistics around getting children to and from school every day is a daunting task. Some of the buses only arrive back at Durbanville Children’s Home after 17h00 in the afternoon.  Often when children are admitted into our care, they are behind in their schooling for various reasons. This makes placing them in a school very difficult as they are frequently too old for the grade and schools are not willing to accommodate children who are more than two years behind. For this reason, in 2023 alone we had 11 children attending our informal school on-site, whilst waiting for a school placement. We are extremely grateful to Klipheuwel Primary School which has agreed to accommodate all our learners who have not yet received a school placement, including those who are behind on their grades, as well as new children who will be admitted going forward. This is a huge blessing! This is the first year we have had a school leavers’ house, which accommodates children who are 17 years and older and are either finishing school or are in their last year of care. The benefits of such a program are clear. Our children are equipped with skills that facilitate them in being more independent and ready to face the world. We conducted a strategic session on 15 November 2023, where the program was reviewed, and we looked at even more innovative ideas to further equip our school leavers with the ability to live independently and to take responsibility for their futures. Children placed in our care have emotional and psychological challenges due to the trauma that they have endured. These challenges have to be addressed through therapeutic interventions. We recognize that the need for therapy in our environment is non-negotiable. Therefore, we want to expand our intervention into our children’s lives. We would like to appoint a part-time therapist to assist our children next year, and we would need additional funding in order to make this much-needed resource a reality.  Accommodating children in satellite houses in the community is a preferred way of caring for vulnerable children. We registered a request at the Department of Housing as far back as 2010 and this project is now in its planning stages. We hope to add two more satellite houses in 2025, should the proposal be approved. In our student program, we are blessed to have three children who completed their studies this year, and a further four children are enrolling in tertiary institutions in 2024. Another part of this program is assisting our children in finding employment and growing into self-reliant adults. Currently these students and young adults are housed in rooms behind Durbanville Children’s Home. This area is not optimal, and we would like to improve its functioning to better suit the needs of the children and the program’s overall implementation.  We have completed the renovation of the bathroom areas in our 12 housing units and are now focusing on the revamping of the kitchens and bedrooms.  We are proud to say that 11 child and youth care workers have been busy with their qualifications in child and youth care this year. Six CYCWs have completed their NQF 4 certificates and five are still busy with their NQF 5 certificates.  Four of our children were awarded WP colours in sport and three of our girls received SA colours in karate. I would like to thank all the members of the board for contributing so much to Durbanville Children’s Home – we appreciate your time, and your wisdom, and your concern. Yes, we fulfill an important role within society, and we cannot do it without your help! Johanna Strauss Manager: Durbanville Children’s Home

Managers’ Report Reflecting on the past year has again served to remind me that we work in an ever-changing environment, highlighting the importance of continually aligning our programs to the needs of our beneficiaries. We strategically evaluated our Bridging Program during 2022 and it became clear that we needed to add components to the program in order to make it more effective and holistic.  Leaving a Children’s Home is extremely stressful for a young adult.  In the words of Helen Williams, a social worker at Durbanville Children’s Home: “Imagine knowing you are about to be discharged from the place you have called home for most of your childhood. Imagine you are about to turn 18 and are finishing school. Imagine the questions going through your mind: how will I cope, where will I live, will I be able to get a job or study? Imagine being aware that the chances of succeeding are statistically stacked against you. Imagine the fear you are feeling. You are after all a child who grew up in a children’s home.”  We want to utilise this critical window of opportunity to equip and prepare our young people; setting them up to be independent, functioning young adults who are able to contribute positively to the society into which they are transitioning. We have implemented a bridging program with the following five objectives. 1. Teach young adults (aged 15- 17years) relevant life skills on site  Lack of role models, low self-esteem, developmental delays and traumatic experiences, have deprived our children of life skills that are on par with their peers.  2. Accommodate young adults in their final year at Durbanville Children’s Home in a house in the community, teaching them to live independently.  Currently facilitated at Huis Andrag in Kraaifontein, the focus of the daily programme is on independent living.  3. Teach work readiness skills and practical work skills within a structured program.  Some of our children drop out of school due to gaps in their schooling prior to admission, motivation, or feeling that they cannot keep up with the academic requirements. We have implemented a skills programme as part of our daily programme. This focusses on work performance and readiness, equipping our young people with the skills to find employment in the community. 4. Accommodate and support students financially to study further at tertiary institutions.  5. Accommodate and support school leavers whilst finding employment.  We know all too well that if children are not assisted to make a successful transition, the probability of them ending up on the streets, where they are exposed to drug abuse, gang violence, poverty, crime, etc, will increase; continuing the cycle of learned behaviours into their adult lives, such as abuse and neglect, towards their own children. We aim to facilitate them into becoming contributing, confident, functioning young adults breaking the cycle for generations to come. Since we are celebrating and commemorating 140 years of care in 2023 I find peace in the knowledge that our programmes have been, and will continue to be, adapted and molded through years of experience to best suit the needs of our children.  I am blessed with a knowledgeable Board, excellent Managers and Staff coupled with dedicated volunteers and generous donors. This makes us a formidable team. I am looking forward to the year ahead. With the vision of creating nurturing living conditions for 144 vulnerable children at Durbanville Children’s Home.  To ensure they are protected and supported so they can have the best chance in life. Johanna Strauss Manager: Durbanville Children’s Home

Sy sit langbeen saam met my onder die bome, regoor die braaivleisplek waar daar wors vir middagete gebraai word.  Sy is sowat ‘n week gelede saam met haar kleinboet, wat op haar skoot sit, by die Kinderhuis opgeneem. Hy word in Januarie twee, en praat glad nie. Hy hardloop ook nie rond soos die ander kinders van sy ouderdom nie. Hy wil net by sy sussie wees. Sy is 10 jaar oud en baie spraaksaam. Haar blonde kuifie het ‘n effense wip en haar bruin ogies is vol lewe. Ek vra of sy al maatjies gemaak het. “Ja, Tannie, ek en Nikita is maats, maar ek hou eintlik baie van Purdy”. Purdy is die Kinderhuis se terapie-hond.  “Ek speel baie lekker saam met haar. Tannie Helen (Maatskaplike Werker) laat toe dat ek saam met hom hardloop en hom drukkies gee.”  Sy is duidelik mal oor diere.  Dog die volgende versoek vang my onkant:   “Tannie, kan ek, wanneer my 90 dae verby is, van die honde wat nie huise het nie, Kinderhuis toe bring?” (Wanneer ‘n kind in ‘n kinderhuis geplaas word, gee ons aan hulle ‘n grasie-periode van 90 dae om in die kinderhuis aan te pas.  Dit sluit in dat hulle nie die gemeenskap waaruit hulle verwyder is, gedurende hierdie tyd mag besoek nie.) Ek verduidelik waarom dit beter is om nie sommer met enige hond vriende te maak nie, want sommige honde is mos nie aan kinders gewoond nie, en voeg toe by dat ons ongelukkig nie ook nog honde op die perseel sal kan akkommodeer nie. Die hartseer trek op haar gesiggie sal my ‘n ewigheid bybly.  Dit was pynlik om te besef dat sy intens jammer voel vir hawelose diere sonder huise, terwyl sy self nou eintlik nie ‘n ouerhuis het nie en die Kinderhuis as haar eie huis sal móét aanvaar. Een eienskap wat soos ‘n goue draad deur ons kinders se persoonlikhede loop, is hulle omgee vir mense en diere wat swaarkry. Die terapeutiese gebruik van diere om sorg te verbeter, is ‘n integrale deel van ons terapieprogram by Durbanville Kinderhuis. Laat my asseblief weet by jstrauss@dchome.org.za indien u dalk meer inligting oor die program wil hê, of as borg meer betrokke wil raak. Dankie dat u ons kinders ondersteun. She sits with me under the trees across the fire pit, where sausages are being grilled for lunch. She arrived about a week ago with her little brother, who sits on her lap. He turns two in January and doesn’t speak at all. He also doesn’t run around like other kids his age; he just wants to be with his sister. She is 10 years old and very talkative, her blonde fringe has a slight bounce and her brown eyes are full of life. I ask her if she has already made friends: “Yes Aunty, Nikita and I are friends, but I really like Purdy.” Purdy is the new therapy dog at the Children’s Home. “I enjoy playing with her. Aunty Helen (social worker) allows me to run and play with her and give her hugs”. She clearly loves animals. Her next sentence catches me off guard; “Aunty, when my 90 days are over, can I bring some of the dogs that don’t have homes to the Children’s Home? A dog shelter is like a children’s home but just for dogs. If I bring them here, then we are all together.” (When a child is placed in an orphanage, we give them a grace period of 90 days to adjust to the children’s home. This includes not visiting the community from which they were removed during that time.) I explain why it is better not to make friends with just any dog, because some dogs are not used to children. And we also do not have space for more dogs.   It was so sad for me to realise that she feels sorry for animals without homes and she doesn’t have a home either. She now has to accept the Durbanville Children’s Home as her own home. One quality that runs like a golden thread through our children’s personalities is their care for people and animals that are suffering. The therapeutic use of animals to improve care, is an integral part of our therapy program at Durbanville Children’s Home. Please let me know at jstrauss@dchome.org.za, if you would like more information about the program or would like to become more involved as a sponsor. Thank you for supporting our children.

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!