Highveld House celebrates 20 wonderful years
Currently, they have 12 children living in the house.
Every time you set foot in Highveld House, the smell of freshly cooked food fill the air.
The grass is always neatly cut and the house is neat as a pin.
This is a place of safety where children go to escape the vicious curveballs life throws at them.
They opened their doors for the first time in June 1999 and have taken care of children since then.
The house was sponsored by Highveld Steel and Vanadium.
This past weekend they celebrated their 20th birthday and thanked everyone who has made contributions over the last 20 years.
They invited different stakeholders and sponsors to enjoy the day with them and the children.
The stakeholders and sponsors were presented with certificates from Highveld House as well to show their appreciation.
Currently, they have 12 children living in the house.
The process to get placement at Highveld House:
The children are placed at Highveld House through a court order.
Social worker, Nomusa Mashimbyi added on Friday that the social workers are responsible for placing the kids at Highveld House.
“These are children in need of care and protection. If we get a call or complaint, we investigate the situation and remove children from their homes and place them here, in a place of safety. The children then stay here for a maximum of six months until the child can be moved to a suitable placement we find for them. This can include relatives, non-relatives or an orphanage,” Nomusa added.
She stated that they work hand in hand with the police, various nurses, doctors and more.
Mr Thami Nkosi, a social auxiliary worker at the house shed some more light:
“Once we finalise a case, the child can find a more permanent home. Sometimes, but in very rare occasions the child do go back home if our assessments show that it is safe for the child to do so.” He also said: “I have been here for two years and have a colleague, Gugu Nkosi. We, together with someone who does the laundry, another is responsible for the cooking and cleaning and another does the maintenance and appliance repairs.”
Thami added that they have various holiday programs for the children currently, those that have not gone home for the school holidays.
“We have holiday programs which includes group and individual sessions. We have talks with children on various topics,” he said. “But some children do go home, to siblings or to family members.”
A day in the life at Highveld House includes doing homework with the children, getting them fed and ready for bed.
Thami said that: “If we do see that a certain child has problems, we do refer them for professional help.”
He said that maintaining a house is expensive and although they do get funded from the Department of Social Development, they are still very dependant on donations.
“We have a vehicle that needs fuel and maintenance, which we use to drop the kids off at school and fetch them. We currently have 12 mouths to feed daily and maintaining a house is very expensive. Highveld House is a baby of Child Welfare, but we still do need help from the public. We do appreciate what we receive. The house would not still be open if it weren’t for the generous donations we receive, and we are extremely grateful for that.”
During the celebrations on Friday, Charles Magagula stated that he thanks God all the time for the existence of Highveld House.
“I read something interesting just before Fathers Day. 64% of children grow up without a father. Let us do more for the kids.”
He said that the public must give these kids, who live at Highveld House the support they need and be allowed to make a mark in the success in the lives of the kids.
