Tumelo Home embraces vulnerable children

Having a new member in the family in the form of a new born baby is every couple’s dream.

But giving birth to a child with a mental disability is a daunting thought for many prospective parents.

Parents who suddenly realise that their child suffers mental disability tend to abandon the child to avoid facing the reality.

A Tembisa family doctor realised the challenge faced by these parents and decided to intervene by establishing an institution for mentally disabled children.

That was the birth of Tumelo Home for the Mentally Handicapped, which opened its doors in April 1996.

The Tumelo Home’s managing director, Rev Solly Khuthama, said Doctor Moses Thindisa established the home after realising that a lot of children with mental disability were not taken care of.

“That is where the vision was born to have a day care centre. We had a number of practices, so the project was started in one of our practices,” said Rev Khuthama.

This would enable some of the parents to go to work and it also allowed Dr Thindisa to have a close relationship with his patients as a doctor.

He said some of the parents would bring the children and never fetch them again.

“We went around looking for addressees that were given to us. Ivory Park was more of a squatter camp then. It was just shacks with numbers. You would find that they don’t know the child you were talking about.

“The failure to trace the parents made them realise that the children were abandoned intentionally.”

Rev Khuthama said since then the home has been operating 24/7, 365 days a year.

“We try to house them and make a home for them, that is our first priority.”

He said many of these children are brought to the home by social workers and police who find them abandoned.

“Some of these children were locked in a room. For a lot of these children this is the only home they know.”

Rev Khuthama said they have programmes for the people living in the centre and said the projects are limited by funds because Tumelo Home is a non-profit organisation dependent on donations.

He said lack of funds puts strain on the centre’s ability to service and take in more people who are currently on their waiting list.

“Government is also challenged as they don’t have facilities. I’ve had meetings with people from the government to say that when they have space they must admit abandoned people who are stuck in hospitals because we are challenged with space. We are here as a community project to service the community that surrounds us, but we have to take some of those people,” Mr Khuthama.

“We appeal to the community to inform us when they know family members of abandoned children. Communities can come through and help with different activities.”

He said Tumelo Home thanks people who have been their supporters and partners and local leadership and councillors for their help.

People interested in helping can call 011 261 1868 or 082 710 2228.

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