Projects-South Africa

Children of the Dawn

At present, Children of the Dawn cares for some 298 children aged 4 to
19 in six rural communities: Mathabatha located in the Limpopo
Province, Bushbuckridge, Mangweni and Ermelo situated in
Mpumalanga, Phuthaditjhaba/Qwaqwa in the Free State Province, and
Mpumaze in Kwazulu-Natal. The sponsorship programme is run on the
ground by six dedicated local community-based organisations. About
70% of the sponsored children are orphans or living with a HIV- positive
parent.

Children of the Dawn strives to take a holistic approach in supporting
orphans and vulnerable children within their own communities. In effect,
Children of the Dawn looks at fulfilling the whole spectrum of children's
needs: education, nutrition, health, safety, moral and psychological
issues, life skills, maintaining of family units, community integration,
integration in the wider community… and having fun. Children of the
Dawn encourages communities to take initiative and responsibility for
answering children's needs.

At the heart of Children of the Dawn's model lie the aftercare centres or
drop-in centres. Through its partners in the five communities, Children of
the Dawn presently operates eleven of these semi-formal day centres,
which welcome the sponsored children several times a week. When at
the centre, children are fed, helped in their homework, educated in life
skills, hygiene and health issues, and given moral and emotional
support. Aside from the aftercare centres, network support teams have
been created around each child. These informal support entities
comprise of extended families, neighbours, teachers, social workers,
small businesses and are meant to integrate and keep the orphans or
vulnerable children within their community.

AYA assists Children of the Dawn through child sponsorships and
support for their feeding program.

Lambano Sanctuary

Lambano Sanctuary is a home for 24 HIV-positive children in
Johannesburg, South Africa. Most of the children have been orphaned or
abandoned. Lambano originally cared for a few babies. As children
responded well to the anti-retroviral drugs, it became obvious they needed
more space to care for older children. Lambano now has three homes and
cares for newborns, toddlers and more as the children continue growing
and staying healthy. They strive to provide a home-like environment for
the children full of love and fun activities. For children with such a serious
illness, Lambano is a very lively place filled laughter and active children.
They also provide a loving hospice to care for children who are dying.

In addition to the homes Lambano also provides many outreach services
for the impoverished Katlehong community. Weekly food parcels are
delivered to sick families and a pediatrician and physical therapist visit
HIV-positive children in their homes. Lambano also assists with providing
basic housing needs and foster-care medical training for those caring for
HIV-positive children.

AYA assists Lambano through child sponsorships and funding towards
medical services in the homes and Katlehong community.