Helping abused, neglected and abandoned children

We are Gem and Sarah - born and raised in two very different corners of the world. Gem is South African and Sarah was raised in Germany. Our friendship began in the most unlikely of places; Switzerland where we both lived and worked together.

 

Today, we are both moms of two little ones each.

While Sarah still lives in Switzerland, Gem decided to return to South Africa after 8 years in Europe. On returning home, she very quickly became disheartened and affected by the poverty and need in her country and the stark contrast of 1st world versus 3rd world. She decided to become involved in her community, and realised a cause that sat close to her heart was baby havens. At first it started with donations, then volunteering and now she finds herself imbedded in a cause to help the most helpless of all: children. This is where her journey with Zanethemba began.

 

Zanethemba translated from Xhosa means “to bring hope” and that’s exactly what this home does; they are a safe haven for children aged 0 to 6 years who have been abandoned, neglected, orphaned and abused. Zanethemba has the capacity to home 12 children, under normal circumstances children should be with the home for a period of 3 months however in most cases this goes long past a year before legal arrangements are made whereby children are adopted, returned to families, placed in foster care or enter a children's home.

 

Today, Zanethemba find themselves close to closure, limited funds allow them to remain open till March 2022. Due to the economic impact Covid has had; a lot of the funding that kept this home afloat has stopped. If Zanethemba is unable to raise funds their doors will close permenantly. Not only does an uncertain future loom over the 8 children who live there today but a tragic outlook befalls so many others who will not get the love and care they so desperately need. There are only 4 havens in Port Elizabeth, all operating at full capacity. If Zanethemba closes their doors, there is no further infrastructure or support system to assist. This home has seen 185 children come through their doors since 2008 , it is unimaginable to not allow them to continue the fundamental work they do.

 

Zanethembas journey with each and every one of these children is never the same. To some degree all these children have come through the doors broken and hurt. Some have had a more horrible start to life than others; cases of starvation, abuse and malnutrition, cases so severe that their lack of care has lead to life long deficiencies and physical damage. It takes an incredible team, strong hearts and lot of faith to heal and salvage a child’s spirit and body back to life, sometimes from near death.

Basic needs like food and shelter can be just the pinnacle of what these children require. Zanethemba does everything in their power to ensure medical needs, rehabilitation, therapy, education and nutrition are in place to rehabilitate these near helpless souls but Most Of All its the Love they receive from Catherine and her team that make all the difference.

 

In her desperation, Gem reached out to her friend Sarah, knowing her heart would also sit firmly in this cause after sharing so many of the tragic stories of children and the dire future of Zanethemba.

 

Living a life with all the privileges that Switzerland has to offer, Sarah feels very strongly about giving back to the most helpless individuals of all, especially those living in countries where there is no support system from the government provided. Supporting Gem with Zanethemba and being able to have a direct impact on these children's life by raising awareness and money among her family, friends and network in Switzerland / Germany and eventually secure the existence of this childrens home has become Sarah's mission too.

 

They say it takes a village to raise a child, well, it also takes a community to protect the most vulnerable. Zanethemba cannot do this alone, they need our support to continue the incredible life changing work that they do in giving these children a fair and loving start in Life.

 

Sarah and Gems vision is to not only see the doors of this home remain open but to see them thrive and have the capacity and resources to help more children.

 

For sure there are many wonderful organizations, this, however, is right now the life of Abby, Mary Ann, Thabo and David you would directly be impacting… every cent of the donations will directly go to the home in aiding them to continue the great work they do at Zanethemba. There is no overhead or administrative cost involved in raising these funds. We personally know where the money goes and how your donation will impact the lives of these children forever. So let's make a real change together..!

 

Thank you for your consideration and support.

 

Gem & Sarah (together with all the wonderful caregivers and children of Zanethemba)

 

 

Should you have any further questions, please feel free to reach out to us, we are happy to answer anything you might want to know.