Lonehill orphanage receives community help

Avril Kearns-Eastwick, manager of the residents’ association explained that the donation came from funds raised at the Otters Lonehill Funrun which took place on 19 July.

She said that 60 percent of the funds raised went towards the maintenance of Lonehill Park. The residents’ association and Otter Estates decided that the remaining 40 percent should be split between two charity organisations, one being Lonehill-based orphanage, The Baby House.

Robin Fenn, founder and primary mother at the orphanage, was very grateful for the new freezer as it would help the orphanage store food for their six babies and toddlers. She said that the orphanage cared for and prepared babies, who came from traumatic situations, to either be adopted or re-united with their families.

The Baby House has been running for three years, and during that time 15 of their babies have either been adopted or re-united. The orphanage works with an adoption agency which facilitates adoptions both in South Africa and internationally in countries such as Denmark, Austria and Luxembourg.

Fenn said that The Baby House gets feedback about the adopted babies from the adoption agency and the adoptive families regularly after they are adopted. “There’s two things we put a lot of emphasis on at The Baby House,” she said.

“Firstly, when the baby comes to the house, we focus on slowly bonding with the child so that he or she feels comfortable. Secondly, when the child leaves the house, we introduce the adoptive parents slowly and go through a bonding programme with them. The child always needs to feel comfortable.”