A little love goes a long way thanks to Amanda
In commemoration of International Women’s Day, we talk to women in the community who are making a difference. Women like Amanda Koekemoer
POLOKWANE – Over the past 10 years, Amanda Koekemoer is rarely seen without a baby in her arms. These babies, however, are not her own, she is only fostering them for Ngwana Baby House.
“I started working as a volunteer at Ngwana Baby House 10 years ago, eight of which I have been the manager, and I enjoy every second of it,” she says.
Amanda is married to Pieter and they have two daughters aged 22 and 24. She is a Gr. 1 teacher at a primary school in Polokwane and says she cannot imagine her life without the babies and personnel at Ngwana Baby House.
“Most of the time I foster babies who are born prematurely to take care of them for a few months until they are strong enough to go to the home. At the moment, I am looking after a four-month-old baby born with Down syndrome, as well as a hole in her heart. One of the best parts of being a manager here is seeing the eyes of children who came here with a dull, haunted look, light up. Or see how their hands that always used to remain clenched, open up as they reach out to the caregivers. It is one of the saddest feelings when you lose a child to death or if you see some who come here who have been abused or mistreated,” Amanda says.
“We are all here because we love to help these children. The social workers do their best to have the children adopted by loving families, we have even had a few international families adopt the children. We try to have siblings adopted together and if a baby comes in with an older sibling we refer them to similar institutions to make this process easier. It always warms our hearts when the adoptive parents come visit to show us the children’s progress. The children may not remember us, but we certainly remember them.”
When a child spends a longer amount of time at the Ngwana Baby House, it makes it difficult to say goodbye when they get adopted, she says.
“It is a bittersweet feeling, you are happy they have found a loving family, but you will miss them terribly. I am glad to celebrate 10 years with the house. I really want to thank my family for their undying support. Admittedly, it was difficult in the beginning when people stared at me when I had a baby with me, but these days they greet me and ask me where my baby is if they see me without them.”
