A new home in Gowie Street for abandoned and orphaned children has officially opened its doors.
A new home in Gowie Street for abandoned and orphaned children has officially opened its doors.
The home, to be known simply as Ikhaya Lethu (Our Home) was blessed by Canon James Hoyle, Chaplain to the Anglican Community of the Resurrection of Our Lord, in the presence of local clergy and a crowd of friends of the CR.
In years past the Community of the Resurrection Sisters were involved with the care of children in need, and some of those present at Saturday's ceremony had themselves grown up in Bethlehem Home, then situated in New Street.
Speaking after the blessing of Ikhaya Lethu, Community of the Resurrection Superior, Mother Zelma, described how she and the Community had pursued their vision of once again opening a children's home. It wasn't easy she said. A major donation from friends of the CR in the UK, Paul and Mary Khan, enabled the vision to become reality, and many others near and far contributed in different ways.
Among these were the local Rotarians, who provided a jungle gym and educational toys. The brother of the late Sister Judith, David Mashonga, gave his labour to paint and renovate the old house previously known as Stonehenge, and his sister, Maria Bos, made curtains and duvet covers with cheerful nursery designs.
The Home is able to accommodate six to eight children, and the aim is that these should be babies or toddlers when they arrive. But Mother Zelma is adamant that these children are expected to stay until they go to college, that is, they should make this place their real home.
Asked what would happen if an infant was dumped on the doorstep, Mother Zelma pointed out that there are certain legal processes which must be gone through before a child can be officially assigned to a children's home, which involve the police, the local hospital, and paperwork.
That said, she stressed that children would be given temporary shelter at Ikhaya Lethu in cases of need, until the official process had taken place.
