A Christian organisation with a Passion For Orphaned and Vulnerable Children and the vision of Children in Secure Families
The Importance of Family
A family is and should be the first line of protection and safety for a child. It is within a family that a child is nurtured, learns about all facets of life and grows and develops to achieve their life aspirations – even if the family consists of just one responsible adult. Regrettably most children have been placed in institutions in reaction to the crisis of more than 3 million orphaned children in South Africa and the estimated 46 million children in Sub – Sahara Africa.
It is now globally accepted and backed by numerous studies and research that children who grow up in institutions are often deprived of adequate opportunities for emotional, physical and social development and that children in institutions do not develop to their full potential. Children furthermore display serious attachment disorders and are at grave risk of pervasive social dysfunction in adult life.
Give a Child a Family
Has as its main aim the placement of orphaned and abandoned children with secure families as an alternative to institutional care.
HIV/AIDS In Our Region
2008 Statistics published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) have once again confirmed that South Africa has one of the highest incidence of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. A study conducted by the Medical Research Council KwaZulu Natal (2006) showed that 70% of women on the South Coast, participating in the study, was HIV/AIDS infected. The health of a mother has a direct impact on her unborn child and many children will be born with the virus obtained by mother- to- child transmission. Statistics further show that the highest incidence of death is amongst individuals of child bearing age. The latest estimates are that we will have to face the challenge of 4,2 million orphans and vulnerable children in South Africa by 2013.
The children that reach our Shelter
Many babies are abandoned at birth - some left in hospitals whilst others are merely dumped into toilet pits to die. Older children that reach the interim shelter are always emotionally traumatized, usually severely malnourished and in some instances with obvious evidence of physical abuse and neglect. Children who have been without Parental or Adult care are also in poor health and have often not attended school. Many children reach the shelter without birth certificates, health records and other background information.
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