Children need a family environment

“A stable family is still the solution to many of the social ills in today’s life,” said Major Valerie Potgieter, the manager at the Salvation Army Strathyre Girls Home in Kensington.

The Strathyre Girls Home is home to 47 girls between the ages of three to 18. Some of these girls come from broken families.

Major Potgieter said the children were committed to the home through the Children’s Court.

“This is due to the varying degree of abuse, neglect, poverty, abandonment or incapacity of their caregivers. Here, with a loving environment, we help address the children’s past hurts and support them on the long, and often difficult, road to a meaningful future,” she said.

She added that the girls attend classes at one of the 11 schools in the area.

Major Potgieter’s assistant, Mrs Cherly Lee, said parents and the community need to take more charge with raising children instead of blaming them.

“Children today are unruly and lack discipline. It is a tragedy. We are producing a generation without discipline. This is mostly due to the lack of fathers in the family and the lack of boundaries in our homes. Children need love and boundaries. They should know and feel loved, but should also know there are limits in life,” she said.

She added that children need love and time, not just money from their parents.

“Some parents just give their children money to go to the malls and movies without making sure they are in good company and watching the correct movies,” she said.

She added that these are some of the things that lead to a broken society.

She added that children in their teenage years are easily influenced by the media and they need more attention from their parents.

“This is the stage where teenagers feels they know everything and that everyone knows nothing. They want to emulate what they see on television and in most cases, it is not good for them. This is where the parent have to step in,” said Mrs Lee.

Ms Cathrine Mandava, a social worker at the home, called on those willing to volunteer their services to the home to contact her.

“Sometimes we receive children who come from traumatic backgrounds. Sometimes they need the services of a psychiatrist and to get them from the government may take more than six weeks, while these services are needed immediately. So if we can get someone who can help us with that, we will be grateful,” she said.

She added that the home tries to prepare the children for the outside world.

“During their stay here, we teach them skills they can use in the future. We also organise host families for the children. The children visit these families during weekends and on holidays. This exposes the children to a family environment as well,” said Ms Mandava.

She added that families who want to be host families can contact her at socialworker@strathyregirlshome.co.za or by calling 011 615-7327.

The same details apply to those wishing to volunteer their services at the home.

“Because we are dealing with children, everyone who works with us has to go through a police clearance. It is worth going through the process,” said Ms Mandava.