Background:
Vuyani is the only Child & Youth Care Centre in the Beyers Naudè district of the Karoo – an enormous rural to semi-rural area around Graaff-Reinet where farming and tourism are the main industries.
Poverty, unemployment and hopelessness lead to a high incidence of alcohol and drug abuse which oftentimes causes the break-up of the protective family-unit.
Who we are:
Vuyani Safe Haven is a registered Child and Youth Care Centre (children’s home) in Graaff-Reinet, providing safety and care for about 35 children classified as Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC’s). This refers to children who have lost their parents/caregivers and child-headed households, or who have been removed from their households due to parental incapacity. This further includes street and homeless children who have been left destitute, abandoned, abused and without any stable accommodation.
Vuyani’s home at 87 Cradock Street houses about 24 children from new babies of a few weeks to 11 years. Our Thanduxolo house at 48 Bourke Street is for our older children from 12 years to 18 years. We support our youth from 16 – 18 and beyond, through our Independent Living Program.
The Department of Social Development contributes approximately 50% of the running costs of Vuyani Safe Haven and it is only with the generous support of businesses and individuals, local and foreign, that we are able to make up the shortfall.
These precious children need all the help they can get.
Vuyani’s Vision:
Joy grows through care
Vuyani’s Mission:
- Holistic Child Care Services in a homely atmosphere
- Developmental, Therapeutic, Spiritual & Recreational Programs
- Facilitate Successful Reunification with Biological Family OR
- Facilitate Foster Care Placements
What are your organization’s core values and beliefs?
We value:
- Safety – we provide a safe environment where children can develop optimally
- Stability – children can grow optimally in a stable predictable environment which fosters discipline
- Care – we set a high value on the level of holistic care we provide for our children.
- Ubuntu – through the spirit of ubuntu we encourage our children and staff to treat others as they would want to be treated themselves
- Responsibility – we teach our children to be responsible for their own actions and future
- Accountability – we teach our children from a young age to be accountable for their own actions through positive or negative consequences
- Learning – we foster an environment of learning new skills and positive mindsets
- Mentorship – we put high emphasize on mentoring our staff and the children in our care
- Development – we encourage children to reach their developmental milestones, self-development of our staff as well as continuously developing our organization
- Empowerment – to empower a child to grow and develop is life-changing
- Teamwork – we believe it takes a village to raise a child
- Change – through our values we try and instill a culture where change is possible (hope)
- Joy – we believe joy grows through care and that children develop optimally in a joyous environment
- Appreciation – we teach our children from a young age to appreciate what they have and we regularly show appreciation towards our staff for their commitment
