iKhaya le themba - Home of Hope

At iKhaya le themba, we are responding to the crisis of HIV and AIDS in South Africa where 1.4 million children have been orphaned by the disease. With the illness or death of one or both parents, children often are forced to move away from their familiar community, friends and school to live with family or friends elsewhere. Some are being raised by older siblings or no one; many siblings are separated. This means the loss of their main sources of love and stability, and considerable disruption to family life. It can very much undermine the sense of well-being of the children.

Through iKhaya le themba, we offer hope to these children. We show them they are loved and have something useful to contribute in what must seem to many of them to be a world where they have no part, a world in which they feel completely lost and alienated, a world where basic survival from day-to-day takes on a whole new meaning.


Who We Help?

At the heart of iKhaya le themba is our desire to see these children grow up well, to be people who have reached their full potential and can walk confidently in God's plans for their lives. To this end, we offer intensive care to 25 children who have been directly affected by HIV and AIDS or who are extremely vulnerable for other reasons.

These 25 children attend our centre at Imizamo Yethu, Cape Town, on five afternoons per week. They have access to specialised care that addresses their individual emotional, physical and educational needs. They have a meal with us cooked from our organic garden. They have a safe place to play - a home away from home.


But that is not all. All up, we have 70 children registered to our programs over three afternoons per week. The programs include:

  • worship, prayer, games and sport
  • life skills, such as craft, cooking and gardening
  • educational skills such as reading (English and isiXhosa), life
  • sciences, economic management and numeracy
  • opportunities for self expression through art and therapeutic
  • conversations
  • access to specialist services such as a psychologist.

Something we do that is especially meaningful to the children is the making of memory boxes in craft to remember people they have loved and who have died.

We have four staff employed part time and several local, regular volunteers. International, short-term visitors are also welcome and can email us at wilsmor@telkomsa.net for more details.


To find out more send us an email...

After School Care Centre

On 6 March 2010, we opened the first phase of our own after school care centre. This allows us to better support the 25 intensive care children - previously, we worked from a converted shipping container. It is the first of three phases of our building program that will eventually see us with 70 full-time places for children. We are preparing drawings for Stages 2 and 3 of our building program that will allow us to register all our children as well as giving us extensive community food gardens, a library, a computer room and an income generating bakery.

Want Further Information or To Help?

We need your help. Please think and pray about:

  • Praying for us, writing to us and cheering us on
  • Developing a church partnership
  • Coming and visiting us - volunteering to help for a season, even just a week or so
  • Taking up a child sponsorship
  • Sponsoring a staff salary or a staff study bursary
  • Becoming an iKhaya champion - telling people about us
  • Fundraising for us.

To find out more about iKhaya le themba's programs or to contribute to one or more of the above programs, please go towww.ikhayalethemba.comor email us at wilsmor@telkomsa.net.



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