Orphan Fund volunteers paint The Safe Haven, home to children and the elderly

The new home for The Safe Haven for Children and Elders in Ntshawini recently received a beautiful coat of paint, courtesy of The North Coast Courier Orphan Fund.

A band of enthusiastic volunteers from the Courier, joined by our sponsors from Paintec Ballito and Hamilton Brushes, rolled up their sleeves to get the home looking its best for the 13 seniors and 10 children who live there.

The haven, previously based in Lindelani, has been a home for orphans and elders since 2003 and also operates as a soup kitchen.

Since moving, the number of children coming for food at the soup kitchen has tripled.

When the non-profit organisation moved in 2018 the soup kitchen was serving about 50 children and 20 seniors.

They now feed about 200 children once a week.

The home has been supported by The Orphan Fund for the past 15 years, assisting with their food bill.

The non-profit was founded by Rose Zwane, who first started taking orphans into her home in Shakaville when her shack was next to a rubbish dump.

She could not bear to watch children scavenge for food through the rotting filth.

That little shack is now a memory and Zwane’s daughter Nosipho Vilakazi is her right arm as they continue to care for homeless children and elderly.

“We also have runaway children, who come and go,” said Vilakazi.

“Regarding our feeding scheme, we were also working with Food For Life, feeding the children twice a week but due to Covid-19 we now only serve food on Friday,” said Vilakazi.

The land in Ntshawini, which is about 7km from Lindelani, was donated by a Westbrook resident who has also helped build a church on the property.

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