Johannesburg Children’s Home gives kids a safe place to grow
The home provides a safe, caring space where children can heal, learn, and prepare for a brighter future.
In the quiet suburb of Observatory, the Johannesburg Children’s Home has been changing lives for 133 years. Founded in 1892, it’s the city’s oldest child welfare institution, offering care, safety, and support to children who need it most.
The home is currently caring for 64 children between the ages of three and 21. The goal is not to keep them there long-term, but to help reunite them with their families, whenever possible. “We’re not here to institutionalise,” says Sihle Ntombela, marketing associate at the home. “Our aim is to empower, to uplift, and eventually, to reunify.”
Every part of the home plays a role in the children’s care, from laundry and meals to therapy and schooling. Staff work in shifts to make sure the children are supported around the clock, and older children are encouraged to learn life skills like cooking, budgeting, and doing their own laundry.
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Donations are a big part of keeping the home running. Clothes, food, and other items are sorted carefully, with anything extra or unsuitable is sold at a thrift store in Norwood to help raise funds. The home also has a vegetable garden and even rents out its event hall to support itself.
Art and music therapy are available for the children, helping them process their emotions in creative ways. Some of their artwork was sold on Mandela Day, through partnerships with local hotels, with proceeds going directly to the young artists.
Though life at the home isn’t always easy, it’s full of warmth, care, and a strong sense of purpose. Here, children are given the tools they need to heal, grow, and move forward.
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