The one aspect

The one aspect of my job at Durbanville Children’s Home that has always fascinated me, is the depth of a child’s love for their biological parents, even though they are disappointed in their actions and incapacity to act responsibly.

I am the mother of 2 boys and now and again they are rebellious. I then feel that they should be more grateful for everything that I have sacrificed. In the case of the children at the Children’s Home it seems as if their parents can do no wrong in their eyes.

Children that are placed in Child and Youth Care Centers like Durbanville Children’s Home, were exposed to the worst forms of abuse in their parent’s home for long periods of time. Yet before each holiday they ask their Social Workers, excitedly, whether they can go home.

A Social worker commented: “The need for love is greater than fear.” Children never lose hope that their parents will turn their lives around. Children miss the feeling of belonging and having a family. The despair of nobody caring is the worst. It reminds me of the words of Mother Teresa “Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”

Thank you for being involved in the Durbanville Children’s Home. For helping us be a second home to these children who have experienced a great deal of sadness, yet have still not lost hope.