Funding for children’s haven withdrawn
The haven is home to 20 children, boys and girls, who have been placed through the judicial system, due to having been orphaned, abandoned or removed from their homes because of some form of abuse or neglect.
For a period of time, the East Rand Children’s Haven received generous funding through the judicial system, by means of a Diversion Programme, which was initiated by a group of kind-hearted prosecutors on the East Rand.
This funding enabled the haven to provide a better standard of living for the children in its care.
The haven is home to 20 children, boys and girls, who have been placed through the judicial system, due to having been orphaned, abandoned or removed from their homes because of some form of abuse or neglect.
The funding allowed the haven to:
• Buy the children clothing, shoes, underwear and pyjamas as and when needed, rather than having to wait for a donation of second-hand clothes in the right size.
• Purchase food according to pre-set menus that follows a healthy balanced diet, rather than having to make do with a donation of whatever comes in and in the hope that it’s not expired.
• Allow the children to have their hair cut by a qualified hairdresser, rather than having a childcare worker shave the boys’ hair into uniform brush cuts and trim the girls’ ends.
• Pay money for extra-mural activities and enable the children to attend tours and fund-raising activities at school, so they can participate fully and not feel inferior to their peers or embarrassed about their situations.
• Hire tutors or send the children to necessary extra classes to assist them in problematic subjects, rather than let them struggle through by themselves and hope they can do enough to pass.
• Take them to a regular doctor or dentist and fill a prescription at a pharmacy or take them to a regular psychologist or psychiatrist for the therapy and medication that so many of them require, rather than wait days on end to get an appointment at a clinic and hope that they have stock of the medication they might require.
• Purchase decent toiletry items, so that the children feel good about how they look, smell and feel.
• Give them birthday money annually and pocket money monthly, so that they can feel special and learn the rewards of doing chores.
• Spoil the children to a take-away meal once or twice a month.
This funding was paramount in assisting the children to feel normal and accepted amongst their peers.
It prevented embarrassment and these few luxuries assisted the children in so many ways, namely:
• Their scholastic reports were a lot better due to the subject tutoring and additional help.
• Their overall health was better due to a balanced diet, participation in sporting activities and regular check-ups at relevant doctors.
• They had a better self-image and more confidence due to the fact that they had a choice in the clothing they wore and the deodorant they used.
• Their self-esteem was good because they could wear decent clothes and participate in Civvies Day fund-raisers at school and not feel inferior to their friends.
• Their birthdays were special and not just like any other day of the year.
Government took the decision to stop the programme, resulting in a loss of funding to a number of local charities.
Whilst the haven still lives in hope that government might see fit to reinstate the initiative, it now greatly relies upon the public for financial assistance in order to maintain these standards.
The East Rand Children’s Haven is situated at 5 Muriel Brand Street, in Brenthurst, and can be contacted on 011 813 2750.
• Soup kitchen
For some time now, children at the East Rand Children’s Haven have shown a willingness to become involved in helping others who are less fortunate than they are.
This has prompted the haven to assist the children in starting a soup kitchen.
The plan is to get sponsors to donate some vegetables, packets of soup, some soup meat if possible, and also some bread on a weekly basis.
These donations will be used exclusively for the soup kitchen.
The haven will then source volunteers to assist with the making of the soup and supervise the children in running the soup kitchen.
The soup kitchen will be run every Thursday afternoon from the East Rand Children’s Haven hall.
If you are able to assist with the donation of ingredients or the making of soup, contact the haven on 011 813 2750 between 8.30am and 4.30pm, on weekdays.
