ONE of the oldest children’s homes on The Bluff turned 130 years since it opened its doors to the community.

The St. Monica’s Children’s Home was opened in 1895 when it started operating from a shack in Umgeni Road in Durban central. The centre celebrated this historic milestone on November 7.

According to the centre’s website, a missionary from the Anglican Church, only known as Miss Snell, undertook the task of providing a secure environment to a growing number of young girls. These children had been abandoned by their family members and were found living on the streets.

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It was named St. Cyprian’s Mission at the time, however over the years, the name was changed several times until St. Monica’s Children’s Home (CYCC) was decided upon.

Canon Johnson, the Vicar of St Cyprian’s between 1889 to 1902, supported and encouraged Miss Snell, a parishioner at the same church, in her missionary work.

An appeal was circulated to all churches to support this worthy cause and as time passed, support in cash and kind flowed into the shelter.

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When the shelter at Umgeni Road could no longer accommodate the growing numbers of girls, the facility relocated to another area and continued to move until the present site was purchased in 1973.

The centre is a non-profit, non-government residential facility offering care to vulnerable children who are admitted from the entire KZN region.

These children are either orphaned, abandoned or at risk in their home environments.

The children receive counselling from the social work sector, that determines each child’s developmental requirements.

The social workers then facilitate an action plan with regular input from the respective childcare worker of the child’s cottage.

The centre also provides an additional range of non-residential services for the children and their families.

The aim is to improve their quality of life in order to reunite them with their immediate and extended families as well as their communities where possible.

Objectives of the centre:

• To cater for the physical needs of the children.
• To render social work interventions to the children, including therapeutic programmes to facilitate the emotional and psychological healing process of the children.
• Rendering educational programmes to enable the children to develop academically.
• To provide appropriate healthcare for the children.
• To develop self-esteem in children through life-skills programmes.
• To provide social and recreational programmes for the children.
• To provide therapeutic programmes to facilitate reunification, which includes services to families, host families and significant others to enable reintegration into the community.
• To offer after-care services to the youth.

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