Kids Haven hears success stories
Thousands of children have walked through Kids Haven's doors - some unable to turn their life around, others determined to make a positive change in theirs.
Phindile Mahae (30), who entered Kids Haven’s care when she was eight years old, is a testament to how one can overcome abject circumstances.
Mahae attended a Kids Haven reunion on Saturday (September 27), to share her life experiences with those in care at the facility.
She arrived at the children’s home after her parents separated and her father, from Wattville, was given custody of her.
She said she endured physical abuse at the hands of her father.
A neighbour intervened and a social worker got involved in Mahae’s situation.
She was placed in the Witwatersrand Place of Safety, but was released back into her father’s care when the centre closed down.
The abuse continued, which drove the eight-year-old onto the streets.
She was picked up and taken to Kids Haven – a move which Mahae said saved her life.
“I’d be dead (had I not found Kids Haven), for sure,” she said.
“I wouldn’t be alive had I not walked through their gates.”
However, it was not smooth sailing all the way.
When she started at Willowmoore High School, she landed herself in trouble when she stole seven pairs of jeans that were being used in a school play.
She ran away from school and Kids Haven, and returned to her abusive father.
Shortly after her return, Mahae stole her father’s gun and she and a friend sold it in Johannesburg.
She was arrested for this crime and spent seven months in the Heidelberg Prison, where she was released at age 15.
Her matric was completed in 2004.
The 30-year-old now lives in Wattville, has two children and works as a quality assurance manager, in Bapsfontein.
Mahae attributes her success story to Kids Haven and its dedicated staff, including founder Moira Simpson, who she describes as an “angel”.
“Kids Haven gave me a home when I didn’t have one and Moira was a mother and father to me,” said Mahae.
“There are no words to express my appreciation for Moira and Kids Haven.”
She urged children at Kids Haven to make use of the opportunity given to them.
“Use every opportunity they give to you to the fullest, because those opportunities don’t come twice in a life,”she said.
“Use it as your last.”
Christopher Mosikare, who now works as a fleet administrator in Sandton, arrived at Kids Haven in 2007.
He stayed there for five years and matriculated from Dalpark Learning Academy, in 2012.
Mosikare told the audience at Kids Haven to grab opportunities with both hands and to make the most of them.
He said Kids Haven played an important role in shaping his life and developing his morals.
Mosikare is determined to study accounting through Unisa.
On August 11, the City Times reported on Commonwealth Games women’s 53kg freestyle wrestling bronze medal winner Mpho Madi (26).
The former Kids Haven resident returned to the children’s home on August 6, to talk to the children and show them her medal.
She became the first female South African wrestler in history to win a medal in the sport at the Games.
“I made history for us,” she told the children of Kids Haven on her visit.
For more information on Kids Haven visit www.kidshaven.org.za.
