Princess Alice Adoption Home needs community support

The Westcliff-based Princess Alice Adoption Home needs community support to keep providing a loving environment for young babies and toddlers.

The 91-year-old temporary safe house caters for 30 children from birth to three year’s old at any given time.

The manager at the home Jo-Anne Schermeier said that the home had been hard-hit by the lockdown.

“It has been tough during Covid-19. Our volunteer programme was put on hold and no community service was allowed. At the beginning of Covid-19, people were very generous to us, but as lockdown extended it has become more challenging.”

The home began by providing a safe space for babies born out of wedlock, with just 10 children at the facility in the 1930s. It has grown to now house babies who were either abandoned or consented for adoption.

While family reunification is the first option for the children, where that is not possible, children are housed at the facility until they are adopted or fostered.

The home offers a Granny Programme for four hours each weekday, where gogos come in and give one-on-one attention to individual children.

“It helps to give children stability and consistency, which is so necessary when otherwise we would have four caregivers attending to 30 children on each shift,” said Schermeier.

She hopes to see volunteers return to the home this year to give children more individual attention and help brighten up the drab nursery area.

The home receives a subsidy from the Department of Social Development which caters for between 35 and 40% of their expenses, while the rest is funded through donations.

“Funding is always in a precarious situation,” explained Schermeier, appealing for donations in kind to cater for the children’s needs.

Locals are encouraged to donate cleaning products, nappies and formula (Lactogen or Nan) on a regular basis.

Schermeier also requests the donation of a bush cutter and a CD player for the nursery.

Locals with skills are asked to assist with maintenance at the home. Others with skills in communication, public relations, graphic design and marketing are requested to lend a hand to help put the name of the home on the public agenda.

Schermeier said that it is the difference that the home makes to the children’s lives that keeps her going.

“There is nothing better than seeing children leave to be adopted into a loving home. It makes you realise the important role you have played in a family. We offered the first love and care that the child has received. The first two years of life are so important in the child’s development,” she explained.

To offer your assistance, email manager@princessalice.org.za or call 011 646 5641.

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