Urgent need for places of safety

Henry Harber and his wife, Margie, say there are no more places of safety in which to place children who are removed from their circumstances at home.

“These children come from places where the parents are using drugs, or where they are left to care for themselves and their younger siblings; they are neglected and abandoned and need a better environment,” says Henry.

He urges the public to open their hearts and doors to these children, as they may have nowhere else to go at the time.

“To remove the children from places with which they are familiar and take them to a new town has a hard effect on them, that’s why we need more places of safety in Springs,” he adds.

“We are pleading with individuals of Springs to open their homes and register as places of safety for these children.”

A place of safety is a temporary living arrangement for children who urgently need to be taken away from the poor circumstances in which they find themselves, whether it is parents who are abusing their children, not caring for them or under the influence of drugs.

Henry, Margie and the Wild Wild Guardians live to remove children from such circumstances and create the possibility of a much better future for them.

“A community needs to take care of their children,” says Henry.

“If we don’t intervene, this becomes a vicious circle where the children may also turn out like the parents and the abuse and neglect will never end.”

He adds that they do not want to disrupt a child even more by placing them in another town, but that all the places of safety in Springs are completely full and they have nowhere to put a frightened children.

“They truly are happy with the least and just want a loving environment where they feel they are cared about,” says Margie.

“These arenot problem children, but children who have been dealt a bad hand by their parents.”

Henry adds: “They are helpless to stop it or change their circumstances, as they are only children, that’s where we step in and remove them from the situation.”

To register as a place of safety:

• Call one of the three child welfare offices, depending on the area in which you are situated.
• Tell the the relevant welfare society that you want to register as a place of safety.
• The welfare office will then take it from there.

Requirements:

• A loving and livable home.
• A stable environment.
• Neat and tidy home.
• Be able to put child in school if necessary.
• Willing and able.

A registered place of safety can take up to six children at a time.

Depending on the child’s circumstances, they can either remain at a place of safety for one night, or a few weeks or months.

Residents are urged to keep in mind that they will receive no funding or payment for their actions.

“It has to come out of the heart and love for children,” says Henry.

For further information or to register, call

• Melissa Jordaan at the Christelike Maatskaplike Raad (CMR), Daggafontein, on 011 363 2222 or 083 984 3075;
• Sanet van Moerkerken at the Springs and KwaThema Child Welfare Society on 011 812 2345.

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