Durban - While most parents have begun forking out thousands of rands on uniforms and stationery, many children face the grim prospect of going without as they head back to school.
This was the concern of some of the children’s homes, as the new school year kicks off next Wednesday.
Thima Hlophe, resource developer at Glenwood-based Durban Child and Youth Care Centre, said the home relied on donations and government grants to run their facilities.
“We care for 74 orphaned and vulnerable children from the age of two years to 18 years old, so getting school uniforms in the right sizes is always a problem. Every year around this time, we get new children as well,” she said.
She said that the donations, often made towards the end of the previous year, helped them provide the necessary equipment and saved them from depleting their annual budget.
St Thomas’ Home for the children in Sydenham had also been facing challenges with the 57 children, between the ages of two and 12 years old, they kept in their care.
“We often have companies helping us with donations. We sometimes ask for specific items, depending on what we need; things like lunch boxes, school bags and socks,” said Marie-Therese Naidoo.
She said a big problem had been school bags, particularly those that bore school logos. “We simply cannot afford those bags, but the problem we’ve had is the children get targeted, and are labelled as ‘the kid from the homes’,” she said.
Expensive items such as anoraks, in primary schools that did not use blazers, were also difficult to buy.
“We often keep things like this from the older kids to pass on to the younger ones,” she said.
Common lunch items like polony, cheese and peanut butter would also be welcomed.
St Theresa’s Children's Home in Sydenham says the nearby St Joseph’s parish helped them by collecting stationery for the children.
St Henry’s School also assisted with collections.
“Our boys, particularly those in high school, need more expensive things like scientific calculators and Afrikaans and English dictionaries. We try to get as many as we can, so that they can share,” said director Debbie Bowes.
Smaller items like socks and lunch boxes were also in short supply, she added.
Melaine Pillay, executive director of Child Welfare in the Durban District, said they co-ordinated four facilities, namely Sherwood-based William Clark Gardens (72 children); Edith Benson Babies Home (60 children) in Sherwood; Lakehaven Child and Youth Care in Sea Cow Lake (60 children); and Zamani Child and Youth Care Centre in Sea Cow Lake (45 children).
“We rely heavily on donors and sponsors to clothe and equip our children with the basic necessities for return to school,” said Pillay.
The homes, she said, were committed to emulating the most normal family setting they could possibly give their children.
“We can provide them with all the love, attention, effort and time that will meet their need to emotionally belong in a family setting, but we cannot guarantee that their academic needs are adequately met without material and financial assistance from the communities and donors,” Pillay said.
* For more information or to make a donation, contact St Thomas’ Home for the children on 031 207 3223; Durban Child and Youth Care Centre on 031 201 1301; Child Welfare on 031 312 9313; and St Theresa’s Children’s Home on 031 209 2166
Daily News