Colin House mothers driven by their love of children

“The natural state of motherhood is unselfishness.” – Jessica Lange.

House mothers Margaret Mthimkulu and Londiwe Ndlovu, who care for 17 children at Colin House on the premises of the Greater Benoni Child Welfare in Northmead, are a good fit for this inspirational quote.

They explained the role of a house mother is to take care of the children by cooking, cleaning, bathing, helping with homework, taking them to school, taking them to the doctor when they are sick and spending quality time with each child.

Love for children, patience, kindness and tolerance are a few of the characteristics they think are important to succeed in this job “as it is not easy to handle all these children with different personalities and backgrounds.”

Margaret, who has been working at Colin House for two years, said the most fulfilling part of her job is watching the children grow and progress in school.

“I chose this career because I love children – as much as they can give us headaches, there are many days they make us feel very special.”

The mother of three said her own children love the children at the home and treat them like family.

“The older children in the home send letters to my children and they do the same.”

Londiwe, who lives in Northmead and who has been working with the children for five years, said her fondest memory was on her birthday when all the boys at the home woke up early to write happy birthday on all the boards around the house.

She said as a mother of four, her little ones would get jealous when the children at the home call her mommy. However, the older children don’t really mind sharing her.

The house mothers added they are trying as best they can to give the children a normal upbringing.

They teach them to be independent by allocating chores to the older children, teaching them how to cook and giving them as much love as they possibly can.

Raising a child comes with challenges, and raising 17 isn’t any different, they said.

The challenges they face include children not listening to their instructions, discipline and dividing their attention equally among the children.

“We know children will misbehave from time to time and this is normal, but we have to work as a team to show the children we stand together and they cannot turn us against each other,” they said.

Margaret added their biggest challenge was keeping the children busy during lockdown and ensuring they sanitise their hands.

“What helped us was encouraging the children to study. We kept the little ones busy with different activities,” she said.

Passion is what keeps these women going, and they don’t intend on stopping anytime soon.

Help needed

A few of the children at Colin House have been forced to stay at home because the crèche they had been attending closed due to the impact of the pandemic.

Any crèche in the Benoni area which is able to take at least one of the children from Colin House can contact the Greater Benoni Child Welfare on 011 849 5241.

ALSO READ: 

Greater Benoni Child Welfare celebrates their heritage

ALSO READ: 

Support the Greater Benoni Child Welfare’s charity shop