Donations needed for girls home

Uitkoms Home for Girls is a place of love for girls who have not received love.

The home provides residential accommodation and care for pregnant teenage girls and also vulnerable girls who have been referred by the courts.

The home is based in Observatory and was established in 1944.

Uitkoms is one of the few registered child and youth care centres in Gauteng that offers non-discriminatory service and protection to pregnant girls.

The home gives residential care which includes provision and protection, nutrition, clothing, housing and school supplies, developmental programmes and therapeutic programmes.

The developmental programme includes schooling at local schools and in the case of girls who cannot attend due to pregnancy or short-term care, attend ABET classes.

Life skills programmes which are facilitated by the residential social worker are provided as well as recreational activities to enhance social functioning and spiritual support as Uitkoms is a faith-based organisation.

The therapeutic programme is facilitated by the internal social worker and it includes an individual development plan, counselling of each girl on a regular basis, statutory reports for each girl and tailor-made exit plans for each girl.

Like most non-profit organisations, the home depends on donations.

“Our building is reasonably old and the maintenance issues are therefore becoming more and more costly. There are a number of issues with the building that require attention but the home does not have money to address them,” said business development officer, Ms Lauren Da Rocha.

The home is currently in urgent need of an alternative water heating method because the seven geysers on the property are costing the home to have a high electricity bill.

“We would like to install solar water heating solutions, because that will assist in decreasing the electricity bill,” said Ms Da Rocha.

The home would also like to repaint the palisade fencing around the property and also to repair the electric fence.

“The repairing of the electrical fence would cost R32 000 and the repainting of the palisade fence will cost R100 000,” said Ms Da Rocha.

She said the home receives a subsidy from the Department of Social Development which only covers 49 percent of the funds required to run the home effectively.

“The public and private sector have been of great assistance in the areas of material donations, which we truly appreciate. Although, we still need to pay service providers and employees, any donations of food, clothing, cleaning products or toiletries will be appreciated,” said Ms Da Rocha.