Baphumelele Children's Home was founded in 2001 as a refuge and place of safety for orphaned and other vulnerable children from the Cape Flats. The home is one of the first in the township of Khayelitsha, one of the largest in South Africa.
The founder of Baphumelele, Rosie Mashale, is a trained primary school teacher. She has been selected as a Mama Afrika by Clover. She has also been selected as a finalist in the Cape Times V&A Waterfront Woman of Worth Awards.
Video Baphumelele Children's Home
History
Set in the crime ridden township of Khayelitsha, inhabited by around one million people and located 30 km southeast of downtown Cape Town, Baphumelele grew out of one of the most destitute shack settlements in South Africa.
In 1989 Rosalie Mashale moved from the Eastern Cape to Khayelitsha. She was extremely disturbed to see young children going through garbage dumps and looking for food without any supervision while their parents were away at work. One day, when an abandoned baby was left on her doorstep, Rosie took him in and tried to find him a new home. Soon, her reputation in the community grew as someone who had too much heart to turn a needy child away. As more and more children were dropped at her doorstep, she took this as a sign from God that forming a Children's Home was to be her work on Earth. Through hard work, determination and the help of the community, Baphumelele has rapidly grown into a Children's Home, a daycare centre for over 230 children, a Respite Centre of adults with HIV/AIDS and TB, a children's Respite Centre, outreach projects helping child headed homes and people needing home-based care, as well as a new residential project called the Fountain of Hope for youth transitioning from children's homes.
The Baphumelele community has become a unique safe-haven for children of all ages. Centered on the Children's Home that takes care of about 100 children, the Baphumelele community provides food, healthcare, education, a refuge from the surrounding violence, and a loving family to orphaned and vulnerable children from all over Cape Town. There has been incredible progress at Baphumelele: It now employs more than 150 permanent staff, has part-time medical team including doctor and two nurses, provides services to over 250 preschool aged children, and assists hundreds of other people throughout the community.
Maps Baphumelele Children's Home
Fountain of Hope
Baphumelele Fountain of Hope provides a holistic continuum of care to young people aged 18-21, who have been raised in residential care or who have recently been orphaned or who are vulnerable. The place is a safe and nurturing environment to put the youth towards adulthood; the program provides a platform for youth to learn the necessary skills to contribute to society economically and socially and to allow those youth still in high school to finish their education.
Located on around a hectare of farmland on Schaapkraal Road in the Philippi Horticultural area, on the Cape Flats, the farm can accommodate up to 18 youth, both males and females, in our new purpose built residential facility. In addition, the small-scale operational farm acts as a training ground for our youth, as well as providing employment to the local community and providing a small return through the sale of the produce we sell. Whilst residents at Baphumelele Fountain of Hope, the youth embark upon our tailor-made Independent Living Program that aims to address the specific needs of the youth of this age group. The team at Fountain of Hope work tirelessly, in partnership with key external stakeholders, to teach the youth new skills enabling them to build a positive future for themselves as self-sufficient adults.
The new born "China House", will provide an entire new and modern building for up to 50 youth. These houses includes a complete new lunchroom, a modern kitchen and nicely equipped living rooms.
The Youth that enter the program are usually refereed FoH by different means. They can come from Child homes, they can come refereed by someone in the near communities or they can be referred by the legal authorities or social workers. The youth can come any time during the year. Special attention is put to youth with harsh backgrounds and with very complicated challenges and with poor opportunities. The program last for 12 months.
Residents at Baphumelele Fountain of Hope embark upon our tailor-made Independent Living Program that aims to address the specific needs of the youth of this age group. The team at Fountain of Hope work tirelessly, in partnership with key external stakeholders, to teach the youth new skills enabling them to build a positive future for themselves as self-sufficient adults.The Independent Living Program includes issues such us, Work readiness, Finance management, Personal development, Agricultural Skills, Health and well-being, Housekeeping, recreation and talent or career development.
References
External links
- Baphumelele Children's Home
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Source of the article : Wikipedia
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