What does the volunteer do with the children at iThemba House? Basically, it is all about giving the children love and attention, playing games and reading to the older ones, and cuddling and helping with feeding/nappy changes/bathing for the babies. We have many toys, books, etc. at the house for the children. Ruth and the day mother are there at all times to help the volunteers, so no one is ever left alone with all the children. Volunteers are also never expected to run errands for us, or take the children out. In fact, the children are never allowed to leave the property at all unless one of the iThemba House Trustees accompanies them.

As you can imagine, small scratches and bruises are inevitable in an environment where many children are running around. Hopefully there will never be a more dramatic injury or emergency, however, we do require all our volunteers to be in possession of a valid First Aid Certificate. The Medical Education Centre, who has its offices in Wynberg, Cape Town, holds First Aid Trainings for Child Emergencies all over South Africa on a regular basis, and is offering a free training for all our volunteers.

It is important for the children to have a daily and a weekly routine, so that they know what to expect, and more importantly - what to look forward to. We appreciate that, as a volunteer, you have offered to give of your free time to give some love and attention to these special children. However, we need to stress, and are sure you will understand, that we require a certain amount of commitment from you if you do decide to sign up as a volunteer. These children tend to form strong attachments very quickly to people who show them affection and interest, and it is for this reason that we will need a commitment of at least 3 months from each volunteer to maintain consistency in their lives.

All volunteers at iThemba House are required to sign a confidentiality clause. It is very important that the personal details, names, case histories, etc. of our children at iThemba House remain confidential. These children have the right to privacy, and we will not allow anyone to take photos or publish their stories/photos in any newspaper/ magazine/etc without the prior permission of one of the trustees of iThemba House.

Working with children, who have been abused or neglected, can be very emotionally rewarding, yet also draining for a volunteer. Case histories of the children at iThemba House can be very traumatic and disturbing for a volunteer, and may leave the volunteer feeling helpless and resentful. As a volunteer, you may find yourself becoming especially attached to a particular child, and may find it very difficult to deal with the loss when the child leaves to return to its parents, or when adopted by new parents. These feelings are very natural. If you do feel you are having any emotional difficulties with such issues, please do not hesitate to contact Yvonne Gartner. As a registered Trauma Counsellor she will be in charge of the counselling for the children, as well as being there for the volunteers with any issues that you may have. We are not machines, our feelings are all valid and important, and we hope that you will share any sadness, anger or frustrations with us, which you may feel as a consequence to your work at iThemba House.

Any amount of time that an individual chooses to volunteer for iThemba House would be very welcome. Whether it is once a week, once every two weeks, one/two hours a week, etc. If you would like to volunteer at iThemba House, or would like more information about it, please contact Yvonne Gartner.