The emphasis is on seeing each child as an individual, drawing up specific care plans and holding regular meetings with schools, social workers and psychologists if necessary.
The emphasis is on seeing each child as an individual, drawing up specific care plans and holding regular meetings with schools, social workers and psychologists if necessary.
The aim is to equip each child with everything they need for a happy, confident and productive life – despite their difficult start. There is, of course, always a desperate need for funds.
Angela Hibbert, herself a child care worker, acts as a mentor to the foster mothers.
“We work alongside the mothers to support them – but they are the mothers in the home," Hibbert says. "We try to keep that as natural and normal as possible.
"What Ikhaya Losizo also has going for it is that it's overseen and suppported by Grahamstown Child Welfare. With their support, we address the children's needs while they're there.
"This is an environment that helps nurture happy and healthy individuals, whose needs are met holistically".
Hibbert explained the "cottage system".
"We have moved away from a hostel-type environment to a cottage system, where there's a mom and a few children. Ikhaya Losizo offers a normal family environment instead of an institutional one.
"It's so important for a child to be part of a family."
If you’d like to help Ikhaya Losizo continue its important work and give even more children the start they deserve, then donate to the Grocott’s Christmas Cheer Fund.
You can drop off money at Grocotts offices at 100 High Street,
Deposit into the following account at FNB:
Christmas Cheer GBS Mutual Bank (at FNB Grahamstown)
Acc No: 5232 200 3436
Pro Carmine Choir will be presenting a special Christmas concert on Friday 4 December at Christ Church in Speke Street, where there will be a collection for the fund. Look out for more details in Grocott’s nearer the time.
Plus, this year, we're dedicating our fund-raising effort to the memory of our much-loved colleague, Ronel Bowles, who sadly passed away a few months ago. Ronel was extremely passionate about our annual drive to give back to the community, so we want this year's fund to do extra specially well as a tribute to her and all the hard work she put in to the fund over the years.
Our target is R20 000. Can we do it? Yes, we can. We're up to R5000 but we need more.
During a time when we're surrounded by some very negative stories, let's make the Christmas Cheer Fund 2015 a positive end to the year and give some children some real hope for the future.
