Loyisa* seems to be enjoying the warmth of our Indigo Bed and sleeps peacefully during the night, surrounded by
her “siblings” and the loving staff members and volunteers at our Safe House. We look forward to watching Loyisa*
grow and develop into a happy and healthy little girl. Loyisa* will remain at iThemba House until a suitable
adoptive family can be found for her.
2. Although we normally only accept children up to the age of 6 to stay at iThemba House,
we opened our doors and our hearts to this beautiful 10 year old girl immediately. Thandi's* past is one of abuse and
neglect, yet her mature way of dealing with it all has left us all full of awe and respect.
After a few counselling sessions, Thandi* opened up and spoke about her life, and soon she too was able to smile and giggle.
At first, due to malnutrition, her physical development was not as it should be for a girl of her age, but with
the help of our Occupational Therapist and extra nutritional boosters, Thandi* has thrived and developed and
gained weight well. Johnson, our safety man, took Thandi* to and from school every day, and her report card at
the end of the first term indicated a good development in her educational skills.
Thandi* loved to cuddle and
mother all the other children at iThemba House, but for the first time in her life, she too was able to be a
child, to play and to feel safe. She has moved on to a foster family, but hopefully we will stay in touch and
hear how this strong and brave pre-teen goes from strength to strength.
3. Zola*, a lively 3 year old girl is now sleeping in our Indigo bed.
Zola's* mother is very young and is unable to care for her children, as she
has no place to stay and is currently unemployed. This amazing little girl
is fluent in Xhosa and can speak some English too, and she loves to play and
be tickled.
When Zola* arrived at iThemba House her tiny body was covered in
infected insect bites and scabies. She also suffers from malnutrition and
requires lots of nutritional boosters, which she is happily taking. Her
wounds are slowly healing now, and she is eagerly engaging in our
Occupational Therapy activities. Zola* seeems to be very used to little
babies, as she is very nurturing and wants to cuddle the other babies at
iThemba House all the time. Zola* will remain at iThemba House until a
suitable foster family is found for her.
