Albertville’s safe space for children
Chairperson of Gifted Child Shelter talks on his passion for protecting those most vulnerable in our communities.
Stepping in to positively impact the lives of children in need is Albertville-based organisation, Gifted Child Shelter.
Though the shelter was officially registered in 2020, it was only this year that it officially started, and it now serves as home to about 20 children ranging in age from two to 18 years old.
Executive chairperson Larnell Mann said this organisation was started off the back of another, called Rainbow Children’s Village. It saw at least 100 children pass through its doors and from it the shelter absorbed eight children.
From what the children have shared with Mann, the shelter has afforded them the opportunity to feel the sort of safety every child deserves and needs to feel. Now they learn the importance of family, love, and protection, the pleasure of being cared for and how it feels to be a normal 12-year-old child without the pressure of having to look after a household. “So now they are learning to be children, and this is something some never had the chance to experience.”
It was important to Mann to be part of the organisation as it is a passion of his. Growing up, he watched his mom run a shelter and got to witness all the children the home helped and over the years his love for helping children grew along with him.
The children that find refuge at the shelter have either been abandoned, parents have relapsed to drugs or alcohol abuse, have witnessed domestic violence, or in some cases have been abused themselves. The organisation’s ideal outcome is to have the children adopted by good, loving parents. “Also, we would love for the children to stay with us until they’re about 18 years old. We then have an exit plan for them; in this time we find and pay for their accommodation for a year, and they can focus on their studies or on finding a job.”
Funding to sustain the shelter comes from various donors and volunteers – from all-female groups of pensioners who buy and donate groceries, to a few church organisations who help with rental payments of the house and, in some cases, they come out once a month to spend time with the children.
Mann thanked all the volunteers and organisations who continue to step up in aid of these children.
Related article:
It remains illegal to abandon a baby as there are no safe haven laws in South Africa
Hotel Hope opens fifth home for abandoned or orphaned babies and children
