our brothers meet their new family!

the boys enjoy a cup of coffee with
their sister (enjoying the bottle) and their new dad

the boys new mom and dad, with their sister.

we have been providing a loving home for two brothers for the last year or so, their family background is very difficult and whilst they still have parents they are not able to care for them due to wider health and social issues. the brothers also have a baby sister that they have never seen, well not until today!

maz has been working very hard with both our local and regional social workers to find a new home not only for the boys but also one where they will be reunited with their sister in a new family.

we have a wonderful relationship with another ngo (non governmental organisation) called home from home, who we have successfully placed our 9 year old girl with and this afternoon the boys met their new mom and dad at their home in khayelitsha (cape town's biggest township)....

...it was a very special meeting and one that we will be working to a fully integrated placement by the end of next week....we need to take things slowly and today the boys were able to see their new bedroom and explore the home with the knowledge that they will be going back for a longer visit this weekend as the new parents take them under their wing to become an whole new family.

please pray with us that this couple will provide that love, care and stability that this little guys have missed from their natural parents....thanks

new home, new family

this morning we had the wonderful privilege to take our 9 year old girl to her new home in khayelitsha, she will join 5 other children at one of the homes run by the amazing charity 'home from home'.

whilst it was a sad morning for our house moms and our 8 other children, she was so excited about moving into her new home and meeting her new foster mom. she is the 16th child that we have placed back into the community with either foster, adoptive or their own families which is amazing in the 20 months we have been open as we had little or no hope of placing any of them back home.

with her leaving we have one space in our 9 bed unit to take in another child who we will work with, stabilise their medication and work with our local social services to place them into a new home and the cycle of new hope which our project offers will continue.

please join us as we pray for this young girl as she settles into her new family and pray also for continued links as we look to work with 'home from home' to set up a house in grabouw with them to support the children in our town.

photos show her with her new mom and sisters and her sticking her last photos into her photo album at the village of hope.

home visit and troubles a foot

on friday afternoon we took our 9 year old girl into khayelitsha to spend a weekend with her new foster mom, she had amazing time and the photo shows her with maz and her new mom, nicky.

things however weren't all that rosy as we entered and exited khayelithsa, as we came off the N2 into 'mew way' we were greeted by a police road block and we diverted around it, as we had only one set of instructions to the home we spent around 1 hour trying to find the place...as we arrived we found some of the other children who live in this home were waiting to go on an end of term camp....however it seems that the bus that they were waiting for was the one that was hijacked and stoned with other children who were attending the camp...see the news story here.

things are getting a little out of hand to say the least, last night an english couple, on holiday, we hijacked and the woman, 28 years old, was killed, see this link.

please continue to pray for our country and our safety as we work in these somewhat dangerous communities....i am off to khayelitsha again tomorrow so would appreciate your prayers.

grass roots soccer (football)

today myself, daz and our dutch sports management student (bart) visited an amazing project in khayelitsha built by fifa but run by grass roots soccer. the project has an astroturf 5 a side pitch and a classroom/support room, toilets and offices, all set against a backdrop of tin shacks right in the middle of one of the largest townships in africa.

whilst we were there the pitch was being used by a class of 5-6 year olds from a local school. it was wonderful to see sport and especially soccer bring hope to a much needy community. the facility seemed to be a real hub and maybe to add on health and welfare care facilities at the same venue would be a real win.

now we would love to see this style of facility rolled out to some of the open spaces in grabouw, ok the investment might be huge but the long term benefits to the community are beyond measure....can we make this happen?....i have faith but only God knows!