GOD's Providence are a group of volunteers who got together and decided we were going to make a difference in our communities. So we began to work in Cape Town where it started off with a home for abandoned children. At one stage we housed 15 abandoned babies some for as long as 3 years. Our work also involved working with Sanddrift and Ruyterwacht which are both Social development communities. Counselling, upliftment and support were some of the services rendered.
Moving to Johannesburg has proved to be a much bigger challenge. HIV/AIDS has left a path of devastation and broken families. The laws have been updated and changed. Government support is minimal and the hospitals and clinics are in trouble. The squatter camps are a nightmare and an environmental health risk. The "apartheid mentality" is still very much alive and a major cause of "this is my space that is yours." Add to this problem the stigma of being HIV+ and you have a perfect recipe of people not caring whether the next person lives or dies. The children unfortunately are the ones who suffer the most and are left to fend for themselves or they end up in children's homes or living with extended family they don't know. Many of them are placed in these children's homes as their families are untraceable.
Where to begin was our biggest challenge.
Our group is committed to these people. Those who have been thrown away by society whether it be as a result of HIV/AIDS or whatever else. It is our mission to educate, uplift, empower, counsel and support wherever we can to help these people and mainly children to realise their dreams and to help them become productive members of society. Sadly there are many families who come into our lives late and by then they are too ill to work or do much for themselves. That is where our Home Based Care teams go in and assists. We cook and clean for them and make sure the children are taken care of. We work together with their Health Team to ensure the best care is available and maintained and we walk the road to recovery with them and when the time comes for them to cross the bridge we stay with them to the end.
Our Community Champions lead their teams in the various areas of need and are put through a course educating them to be PILLARS of SOCIETY helping and uplifting al those who they come in contact with. They are also trained to stand in as Places of Safety and have made their own homes available to accommodate vulnerable children. They are known as the right hands of Social Services and Community Development. They have worked on a number of community projects empowering and educating the community and the families they tend. In just one of our communities our Champions are currently housing abandoned children and taking care of 26 families where the parents are to sick to work.
Over and above the homes of safety for children in need, we support and work with local crèches and schools wherever possible. It is our vision to begin our own crèches as the needs are overwhelming. (See the photo's in the Album "Makause's playground" in our gallery) These crèches will be developed into being places of safety and added to this vision is to establish a number of cluster foster care homes within the communities in which we are operational, who will accomodate our children if and where the extended families are untraceable. It is important to us to keep our children as close as possible to their communities and environments where they have always lived. It is enough that most of them lose one or both their parents as a result of their circumstances, being taken away from that which they are used to, is an additional trauma.
We are all volunteers and do this because we believe it is our calling. We are committed to and realise that without GOD we could never achieve that which He has called us to do. We depend completely upon GOD for provision and grace enabling us to fulfil our tasks to His glory!
Being a community based group of women we rely on public donations and fund raising. We are always open to suggestions and should you have any ideas please feel free to contribute or discuss these with us.
For more information please contact Stephanie on 072 483 4595
(We believe the article below, those on our blog page within our site and the link below, are a much better description of who we are and what we do. Please feel free to add your comments.) http://www.ojsa.blog.com/
Moving to Johannesburg has proved to be a much bigger challenge. HIV/AIDS has left a path of devastation and broken families. The laws have been updated and changed. Government support is minimal and the hospitals and clinics are in trouble. The squatter camps are a nightmare and an environmental health risk. The "apartheid mentality" is still very much alive and a major cause of "this is my space that is yours." Add to this problem the stigma of being HIV+ and you have a perfect recipe of people not caring whether the next person lives or dies. The children unfortunately are the ones who suffer the most and are left to fend for themselves or they end up in children's homes or living with extended family they don't know. Many of them are placed in these children's homes as their families are untraceable.
Where to begin was our biggest challenge.
Our group is committed to these people. Those who have been thrown away by society whether it be as a result of HIV/AIDS or whatever else. It is our mission to educate, uplift, empower, counsel and support wherever we can to help these people and mainly children to realise their dreams and to help them become productive members of society. Sadly there are many families who come into our lives late and by then they are too ill to work or do much for themselves. That is where our Home Based Care teams go in and assists. We cook and clean for them and make sure the children are taken care of. We work together with their Health Team to ensure the best care is available and maintained and we walk the road to recovery with them and when the time comes for them to cross the bridge we stay with them to the end.
Our Community Champions lead their teams in the various areas of need and are put through a course educating them to be PILLARS of SOCIETY helping and uplifting al those who they come in contact with. They are also trained to stand in as Places of Safety and have made their own homes available to accommodate vulnerable children. They are known as the right hands of Social Services and Community Development. They have worked on a number of community projects empowering and educating the community and the families they tend. In just one of our communities our Champions are currently housing abandoned children and taking care of 26 families where the parents are to sick to work.
Over and above the homes of safety for children in need, we support and work with local crèches and schools wherever possible. It is our vision to begin our own crèches as the needs are overwhelming. (See the photo's in the Album "Makause's playground" in our gallery) These crèches will be developed into being places of safety and added to this vision is to establish a number of cluster foster care homes within the communities in which we are operational, who will accomodate our children if and where the extended families are untraceable. It is important to us to keep our children as close as possible to their communities and environments where they have always lived. It is enough that most of them lose one or both their parents as a result of their circumstances, being taken away from that which they are used to, is an additional trauma.
We are all volunteers and do this because we believe it is our calling. We are committed to and realise that without GOD we could never achieve that which He has called us to do. We depend completely upon GOD for provision and grace enabling us to fulfil our tasks to His glory!
Being a community based group of women we rely on public donations and fund raising. We are always open to suggestions and should you have any ideas please feel free to contribute or discuss these with us.
For more information please contact Stephanie on 072 483 4595
(We believe the article below, those on our blog page within our site and the link below, are a much better description of who we are and what we do. Please feel free to add your comments.) http://www.ojsa.blog.com/
___Everyone came together as a team with Sergeant William Seopa
and Constable Noel Makuna (SAPS Primrose), who brought us into the camp. Their
vehicle being the only on equipped to handle the conditions of the roads made
for quite a bumpy ride especially for Daddy D and Constable Noel who had to
endure being locked up in the back of the “pick up.” Thobeka’s good spirit, as contagious as ever, soon
had everyone joining the fun. The day turned out to be a day filled with fun
and blessing for all who were involved. Special thanks to SAPS Primrose and Lt
Colonel Shuburi who supported our project.