10 year-old gives rather than receives on her birthday
Black bags and Domestos are what you need just as much as nappies and formula when running a transitional home, Jo Teunissen of The Baby Home learnt in their first year.
WHEN Lyla-Mia Appasamy turned 10 on 19 January the uMhlanga resident told her parents that rather than receiving she wanted to give.
Her idea was for her friends and family make donations to The Baby Home in Durban North.
The 10-year-old comes from a family of givers – last year her sister Macy-Miya Appasamy, who was eight at the time, collected food for rescued cats. “It was the children’s idea,” the girls’ mother, Ramona Reddy said. She went on to say that she thinks it is the perfect age for children to become aware that there are people out there who need help. “I think it is a nice time when they can understand. Then they know why they’re doing it.” The Crawford College La Lucia pupil’s party invitations told guests that instead of giving her gifts, they should buy items that would be given to The Baby Home.
“The kids had a blast. When we did the invitations and kids said to Lyla, ‘you want no presents?’, it was something new but after the teacher explained to them it was something nice to do they were actually quite excited about it. They took a really good interest in it. All the parents were so lovely and generous that I think it also taught a lot of the kids a nice example of what they can do,” Reddy said.
The Durban North Baby Home’s Jo Teunissen said they were thrilled with the donations from children. She said: “Probably our biggest consumables are actually black bags and Domestos because you must know with the number of babies how many nappies you go through, so you’ve got to keep on taking out the rubbish and the ladies keep everything very clean and sterile. So everything gets cleaned with Domestos. We go through a hell of a lot of Domestos. So often people say, ‘What do you need: powder and bum cream? And I’m like, ‘No, Domestos and black bags’.” She added that The Baby Home relies on the community for support.
The Baby Home Durban North that was started in December 2015 cares for abandoned babies while Durban Child Welfare looks for more permanent homes for them. The transitional home has four permanent staff and two assistant carers. It currently has five children in their care with a maximum capacity for six.
