Abantwana bethu
(Isizulu meaning, “Our Babies”)
Goal:
To provide round-the-clock emotional, physical and health care for approximately 75 babies per annum, who have either been abandoned or consented for adoption.
As our focus is on transferring infants out of the system and into families where they will live in a stable environment within a family unit, we do not focus on babies who have been removed from their families due to abuse, although we do have the occasional instance. HIV positive babies can be cared for and anti-retrovirals are administered where necessary.
Nurses and care workers provide physical and emotional care to our babies, but we rely on volunteers to focus on bonding with these children as we place great emphasis on their ability to form attachments. Bonding in infancy is essential in order to form these attachments when older. Our volunteers commit to performing certain therapies and interaction with specific babies, such as touch therapy, connection therapy, speech therapy, kangarooing, etc. This is what differentiates us from many of the other homes for babies. The babies in our care are content and we ascribe this to the high quality care they receive from staff and volunteers.
All of our placements and adoptions are handled by Johannesburg Child Welfare Society and its social workers.
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