Life Community Welfare

Ivy Konisi is a remarkable woman. She has spent the last 6 years looking after up to 15 children. What makes her special is that none of these children are hers by birth but all of them are loved and cared for her as if they were her own.

This home started in Khayelitsha on the Cape Flats when Ivy gained a reputation as a woman who cares for children. Soon children were given to her from a range of sources, mostly from mothers that were too sick to look after their children. A few children had been abandoned and found by strangers who took them to Ivy to look after them.

Now this "children's home" has moved to a previously disused TB (tuberculosis) clinic in Elsies River, where children are cared for by Ivy and other staff who live with the children. At present there are 15 children in the home. Hlumisa is the youngest at 18 months (she was taken in at 1 month old) and Ace is the oldest at 11 years. There are 11 boys and 4 girls being cared for by Ivy Konisi and others.

There's no luxury here, but all the children have their own beds. Boys and girls are in separate dorms. They eat together in the dining room, like a family, and there is a nice garden for them to play in. This has the feel of a real home - something so important for these children.

Moving forward to October 2008, and the home was fortunate to have a group of Swiss learners from the International School of Basel in Switzerland come to visit them. The learners gave up a day of their educational trip to South Africa to spend cleaning, painting and fixing the home in Elsies River. All in all, 29 learners between the ages of 16 and 18 painted window frames, jungle gyms, shower and a toilet and fixed doors and equipment. Not only did they help to beautify the home, but they also had fun caring for and loving the children.

What a great legacy to leave on a trip to South Africa. With your support, Breadline Africa can help even more vulnerable children find a place to call home. Make a donation to support this and other projects.