‘Tears, trials and triumphs … but serving children and families is a privilege’
Serving children and families has been an absolute privilege, but not without tears, trials and triumphs.
At Give a Child a Family’s (GCF) well attended AGM last Friday, it was stated that 2017 had probably been one of the toughest years of the last 25. But the old adage kicked in, ‘when the going gets tough, the tough make a plan’ and together with the exceptional help of loyal benefactors and friends, they pulled the ‘train out of the mud’ and back onto the track, with invaluable lessons being learned along the way.
The organisation’s chairman, George Mnisi said that GCF programmes continued to be taken beyond the borders of our country. “In our quest to stretch our boundaries further, we acquired the services of a very able consultant, who is guiding us in the new direction that the GCF wants to take,” explained Mr Mnisi.
7118vee
He mentioned that GCF’s development team had launched a pilot programme in Gauteng, which has very good prospects for future growth.
Executive director Monica Woodhouse agreed that 25 years of serving children and families had been an absolute privilege, but not without tears, trials and triumphs. “There’s no time to pat ourselves on the back. If we are brutally honest, we (as a society) have not delivered safety and protection for children. The statistics are worse than ever, as violence against women and children is probably at its highest in our history,” Mrs Woodhouse added.
7115vee
She reiterated that GCF had been very involved with social justice for the last few years. “The ignorance I see among lay people, municipal leaders, community and traditional leaders, organisations and church leaders, when it comes to understanding the well-being of children and their rights and responsibilities, is distressing.”
She emphasised that none of us wanted to raise disrespectful and disobedient children, but we also couldn’t be raising children who would do all at our beck and call without thinking about the consequences.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram
For news straight to your phone, add us on BBM 58F3D7A7 or WhatsApp 082 421 6033
