Providing a happy outcome for disadvantaged girls

The organisation, which has operated for almost 75 years, seeks to nurture and guide girls from disadvantaged backgrounds, and currently cares for 20 abused, neglected, orphaned and pregnant teenage girls referred to the home by the courts.

As a registered child and youth care centre, the home receive funding from the Department of Social Development, but this support is only partial, and the home now finds itself at a critical juncture, dependent on finding additional sources of income to meet its current expenses, and to allow it to continue its valuable role in reshaping the lives of vulnerable girls in years to come.

Uitkoms is calling on community members who share its mission to help young women reclaim their dignity and build a brighter future as responsible citizens. The home is appealing for financial assistance to supplement the shortfall of the department’s funding and allow Uitkoms to be fully sustainable as it provides not only accommodation, but also therapeutic, educational, and development programmes to shape its young charges’ lives.

Further contributions in the form of in-kind donations of food, clothing, school uniforms, personal toiletries, building repairs and maintenance, and security facilities are also warmly welcomed, as is any offer of personal or company expertise. All donors will receive a token of gratitude in the form of a performance-enhancing MP3 soundtrack, In the Zone.

Uitkoms is a Public Benefit Organisation and a Level Four Contributor to Black Economic Empowerment, allowing donors to claim a tax return on donations, as well as BEE points for companies. Although the home is not legally permitted to display photographs of its residents to the public, donors are welcome to arrange a visit to the home and the young women in its care.

Details: Lauren Da Rocha, 011 648 0400; uitkoms.admin@absamail.co.za; 124 St Georges Road, Observatory.