Catalyst Foundation launched in Douglasdale

The Gauteng Department of Health and Social Development together with the Ward 115 councillor and the Douglasdale Police launched the Catalyst Foundation. The foundation is set up in line with the Child Care Act for newborns to six-year-old children and aims to provide a temporary haven for children who have been abandoned, temporarily detached, or removed from unsafe households.

“The foundation aims to do its part in making the local community a safer and better place for children. Many people want to make a difference in the world but don’t know where to start. We are a group of people who have come together to give the organisation the spark it needs, thereby making it easy for others to get involved and share the responsibility. We believe in taking action with urgency in order to respond to and raise public awareness about some of the most pressing issues facing children in society,” said Yournesi Soonder, founder of the Catalyst Foundation.

Ward 115 councillor, Mark van der Merwe commended the founders for what the foundation means to the community and the vulnerable children by rehabilitating and preparing for their re-entry into the world while they provide a caring, loving, and nurturing environment.

“I was privileged to be invited to the opening of this incredible private facility that has been opened in Jukskeipark only a block away from the Douglasdale SPAS in Ward 115. This is a much-needed temporary haven for children who have been abandoned, temporarily detached or removed from unsafe households. It is an incredible sanctuary where the children will be rehabilitated and prepared for their re-entry into the world and a safer environment. Along the way, the children will be provided child and youth care in a loving and nurturing environment. I would personally like to thank the founders Yournesi and Anesh Soonder for their foresight and incredible dedication to the community,” said van der Merwe.

According to the foundation, they are ready to start adopting children immediately as their permit from the Department of Health states that only one carer can be responsible for six children. The foundation’s early development learning programme will have social workers and other professionals to help guide them throughout the journey. The foundation hopes to have a full capacity of children streamline their processes, and secure professional medical services and also funding within the next 12 months.

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