Cape Town – The Beitun Nur Society for the Destitute Home in Philippi is expected to reopen after being shut down in December because of “unhealthy conditions and
unsafe structures” – sending the children home to the families “they were removed from”.
Zona Morton, spokesperson for Beitun Nur Crisis Committee, in a message circulated on social media, said the conditions were discovered about three weeks ago.
“We regret as members of the board that we in good faith allowed the Beitun Nur Home for Destitute Children between the ages of 4 and 17 to deteriorate like this.
"We were caught up in our own disputes and did not act seriously and effectively first and foremost in the best interests of the children due to us not having access to Beitun Nur,” said Morton.
Morton said they had leant themselves to the South African Human Rights Commission and the Department of Social Development (DSD) “for external assistance”.
According to Morton, due to a new board being appointed, seemingly without the knowledge of previous board members, they felt “exploited and misused and extorted”.
“With our inactiveness after we resigned, we discovered that we were never removed as board members. The current management, without communication, appointed themselves to manage Beitun Nur,” said Morton.
It was found that the children were placed back into the care of families who “in the first place could not see to their needs”.
“The children were sent to family members by demanding them to fetch the children without clothes. They
were sent (home) with the clothes they had on.
"They have been placed in the care of drug addict fathers and homes that they were removed from,” said Morton.
The provincial Department of Social Development said they were giving urgent and ongoing attention to the situation at the home.
Social Development MEC Sharna Fernandez said: “DSD’s key focus is to ensure that we act in the best interest of the children.
“DSD is working closely with the complainants and all the relevant stakeholders. The team out on the ground and the department’s officials will leave no stone unturned regarding this matter,” said Fernandez.
She said a number of issues around governance, including the financial affairs of the home, needed to be addressed. “A detailed statement will follow once the investigation has been completed,” said Fernandez.