Cape Town - Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has once again been hailed as a body of heroes after giving a children’s home that was facing closure a much-needed make-over.
Steinthal Child and Youth Care Centre in Tulbagh has received much-needed love and care from generous sponsors and donors, including major support from the Gift of the Givers, after it was notified that it was facing closure at the beginning of the year for being too unsafe to house children.
Steinthal Children’s Home CEO Carin Van Der Merwe said: “At Steinthal Children’s Home, we take care of vulnerable children in need. The children are sent to us by the Children’s Court, currently, we have about 150 children from 2-year-olds to 18-year-old teenagers.
“We are a centre and family for these children, so at the beginning of the year, when we were told by the Department of Social Development that we might be shut down because the home had become unsafe, we were scared and worried about what might become of the children we look after.
“They said our buildings were too old and our sanitation facilities no longer in good condition, and that we could only remain open if we could find donors and sponsors to renovate the building. Gift of the Givers renovated a great part of the home, completely fixing up the bathrooms and our clinic.”
“They painted the entire outside of the home and fixed up the dormitories. The children are so excited, very much enjoying the new look of the home and all the new fixtures that they didn’t have before.
“We’re very grateful to GOTG – they did so much work, and even went the extra mile gifting the children with fixtures they didn’t have before. We also would like to thank all the sponsors and donors who jumped on board and helped us repair the home so it was not closed down,” said Van der Merwe.
GOTG spokesperson Ali Sablay said: “When were approached by the staff and management of the Steinthal Children’s Home five weeks ago, GOTG founder Dr Imtiaaz Sooliman immediately instructed our building team to go ahead and do the necessary renovations.
“The home needed urgent repair work, as they didn’t have the budget to do necessary repairs. When we got there, about 75 children shared a bathroom. When our teams went to do assessments, we were touched to see the situation and the conditions, they actually also noticed that the clinic could do with some work too and worked on it as well.
“On Friday, when we unveiled the new bathrooms, the clinic and the rest of the work we had done, the children and staff were so excited to see the changes. We are glad and thankful to the building team that worked so hard and so fast to assist the home and children in need,” said Sablay.
nomalanga.tshuma@inl.co.za