Residents open their hearts for Noah’s Ark

For the 52 children who live at the children’s home, Noah’s Ark, on the outskirts of town, it is a place of safety and refuge which they call home. Noah’s Ark was started in 1990 in Duiwelskloof by Sylvie Delsouiller and her husband, Rémi, who sold all the properties they owned in Cape Town and moved to Tzaneen. “We lived next to a church and since we are Christians, we easily adapted to our new environment,” Sylvie told the Herald.

“We became interested in helping people and giving back to the community. The idea of an orphanage to accommodate children who come from abusive homes and those who are abandoned by their parents was born.” Sylvie says they decided to move the orphanage to bigger premises after the Duiwelskloof plot became too small as they had many children in need of shelter. With the help of the community and farmers, they were able to buy land to expand the facilities.

Today Noah’s Ark boasts numerous facilities to accommodate volunteers, staff members, a school, and dormitories for children ranging from newborns to teenagers. “It is really difficult taking care of a lot of children but God always makes a way in every situation. “We even get babies who were abandoned at birth, they are either left at the hospital or left on our doorstep. “We also have children who return to their parents or families after they have solved the problems they had.

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“Mostly the children come from abusive families,” Sylvie said. She said the orphanage does receive funds from the Department of Social Development but it covers only half of their expenses; for the rest, they are reliant on donations and fundraising. “The purpose of the open day is to raise funds for the orphanage and thank all the sponsors who have been donating.

“The whole community has contributed to making Noah’s Ark what it is today, and we want to show them how much we appreciate their efforts in making sure that no child stays on the streets and goes to bed on an empty stomach,” said Andrew Lind, chairperson of the Tzaneen Community Forum. Sylvie said that children react differently when they are brought to the orphanage.

“When they come here, they are very excited and when it’s time for them to leave, it becomes really hard as they already feel at home and have built their own family with us. We do sometimes have some of our children adopted, but since it’s a long process, it does not happen often. “Most of them stay with us forever and we even have children who have passed grade 12 with us. If they want to further their studies, we apply for them.

“We have one child who is studying to be a teacher and works as a teaching assistant with us.” Other children are taught skills, such as farming. Yvonne Baloyi, a social worker at the orphanage, says that it is hard for the children to accept their circumstances. “Even if they come from abusive families, they do miss their family. We counsel them as much as we can and explain to them why they are really here. Abandoned children especially struggle to understand and accept the situation.

They feel unwanted and need extra care, but we try to make them see the positive side,” she said. A soccer tournament was held during the open day with teams from Pfunanane Academy and a children’s home in Ofcolaco, Holy Family, taking part. Pfunanane was crowned the champions with Holy Family in Ofcolaco in second place. People who want to learn more about Noah’s Ark or want to become involved, can contact Sylvie on 082 573 8383.