The name iThemba House means "Hope" in the Xhosa and Zulu languages, both of which are national South African languages. It is the mission of iThemba House to provide exactly this for the children who enter through its doors - hope for a brighter tomorrow, hope for healing and hope for the possibility of being a member of a loving and supportive family.

iThemba House has been set up as a Trust and is run as a non-profit organization. This means that iThemba House relies solely on donations from companies and individuals, as well as money raised through fundraising.

A House Mother lives at the Safe House with the children, and is assisted by a day mother, a registered trauma counselor, as well as many volunteers who come to help every day with feeding, bathing, creative activities as well as cuddling and reading to the children.

The children who come to iThemba House, aged between birth and 6, are placed by Child Welfare, who fully support iThemba House and continually monitor the children while they are living at the Safe House. Social Workers of Child Welfare work closely together with the staff at iThemba House, and together they make sure that the children receive all necessary medical attention and treatment, government legal attention and dietary requirements. All court visits are attended by the Social Workers assigned to each individual child on a regular basis. The children continue their stay at iThemba House until they can safely be reunited with their families, or if this is not possible due to recurrent abuse or neglect by the biological family, foster homes and adoptive families are found for the children.

iThemba House is situated in a lovely area in Hout Bay, close to the beach and all shops, clinics, parks and the Hout Bay Police station. The house has been renovated into a loving home environment, with three bedrooms, two full bathrooms, kitchen, a family room, dining room, storage and maintenance room, as well as a big, grassy garden with lots of space for running around and playing.

The bedrooms have been lovingly arranged and furnished to accommodate 4 children per room, with specially designed and built bunk beds for young children. Colourful pictures and posters decorate the walls, and there is never a lack of toys, dolls or children's motorbikes/cars to keep the kids busy and happy.

The babies and newborns sleep in the nursery with the House Mother, Ruth. iThemba House has employed a full time maintenance man, Johnson, who assists Ruth with the children once the day mother, Winnie, and volunteers have left for the day, as well as looking after the general needs of the House, garden and security issues. The neighbourhood watch in Hout Bay is available 24 hours a day. All our staff and volunteers are trained in First Aid and Child Emergency Procedures.