Kids Haven hopes to expand
The founder of Kids Haven, Moira Simpson, has, for years, dreamed of expanding the home by building a girls’ dormitory, but this plan has not yet materialised.
“I would like to lease the vacant car park next to Kids Haven, so that I can build a double-storey dormitory for the girls living in our current building,” Simpson said.
According to Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) spokesperson Themba Gadebe, there is no time frame for the process period, because the report goes to several sub-committees in council.
Another delay is the ambiguity about the submission date of an application from Kids Haven to purchasing the premises, before they tried to lease it.
“We submitted the request in 2008 to purchase the premises,” Simpson said.
But Gadebe said the request to purchase the premises was received only five years ago, not eight.
“According to the Benoni Property Section of the EMM, the request from Kids Haven to purchase the properties was received during March 2011,” Gadebe said.
“In 2012 the council adopted a new leasing policy and it was decided that council must retain ownership of their properties and lease them, rather than selling them.”
This decision was communicated to Kids Haven, who submitted a leasing request in October, 2014.
“Their request was attended to in terms of the council’s internal compliance processes,” Gadebe added.
“A report was submitted for consideration to the sub-committees of the council and ultimately to the council.”
Simpson confirmed that Kids Haven resubmitted a report, requesting to lease the property instead of purchasing it.
“Once a decision is available the Benoni Property Section will reply to Kids Haven,” Gadebe said.
Simpson is hoping for positive feedback, so she can build a dormitory similar to those of the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
“It would be nice to turn the property into a dormitory for the young women who need their privacy, too,” Simpson explained.
“Just like the dormitory Oprah has for the girls – with the ground floor being a social area for the youngsters and the upstairs being their sleeping area – I would like to do something like that for the girls.”
The dormitory would cater for young women between the ages of 10 and 18 years.
Currently, the 168 children (girls and boys) who live at Kids Haven use the vacant car park as a playground.
“We allow them to play sports like cricket and soccer,” Simpson said.
She added that, since the establishment of Kids Haven in 1992, the number of girls has increased.
“Currently, 48 per cent of our children who live here are girls,” Simpson said.
“There are about 16 girls who share a room.”
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