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The Bloemhof Girls' High School, located along the Eerste River in Stellenbosch, is the oldest Afrikaans medium school for girls in South Africa and has been named the best high school with Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in the Western Cape since 2017. In 2021, Bloemhof will be named the best Afrikaans medium high school in the country - a great honor! Bloemhof is synonymous with excellent academic results and learners who bridge the gap between school and university with ease. High-performance sports, professional coaches and world-class facilities help our learners to compete against the best in SA. We offer a wide range of cultural activities that hone social skills and regularly enjoy exposure at the national level.
Eden Schools were established in Gauteng over 30 years ago. The Chief Executive of Eden, Mr Allan Zulberg, co-founded Eden in 1974. He played a leading role in the establishment of Midrand University and Educor. He was an executive director of Educor. He also served as Chief Executive of King David Schools for a time. Mr Zulberg taught Mathematics and Physical Science for many years, and also served as headmaster of Eden Lyndhurst. Eden Schools operate in Lyndhurst, Randburg and Durban. Its head office is in Lyndhurst, Johannesburg. Mr Joe Khouri is Chief Operating Officer, an educator, past principal and lecturer at Wits University. Mr Allan Fehler is the group's Financial Director.[citation needed] In 2007 Eden opened in Durban. The school was previously managed by Crawfordschools. The school operates a Pre-Primary, Preparatory, Middle School and College High School in Glenmore.
Crawford International has been a part of South African education for over 20 years. The schools that make up the Crawford collection constitute the largest single private school organisation in South Africa. Crawford International boasts twenty-two of the top schools in South Africa. Together, they have challenged every traditional and conventional practice in education in our country. Their academic success is proven. Crawford International is a trailblazer in innovative and forward-thinking education. Every student is acknowledged and offered the opportunity to excel. The child-centred approach inherent in every school ensures that students examine and realise their own potential. Crawford International offers an academic foundation of the highest order and ensures that each student is a fully-rounded person. Cultural success is a cornerstone of every school, while sport is enjoyed by every sports-loving student and community involvement is celebrated by every civic-minded citizen.
Timeout is a family run organisation, established with the aim of making a real difference to the lives of children with complex needs. The first Timeout Home was opened in Ripponden in 2004. Timeout now has 12 homes: 8 in the North West and 4 in West Yorkshire. We have developed an integrated, therapeutic, evidence-based approach to care that has enabled Timeout to become a first-call company for many local authorities. It was decided very early that to provide the kind of care we knew young people needed, we would only offer solo or dual occupancy in our homes with a minimum of 1:1 care. Each home is designed specifically to nurture young people, so they can learn how to live a positive, independent life. A central part of the therapeutic development of a young person is their education. Although we strive to keep a child’s placement in mainstream schools, Timeout set up 2 specialist schools for those who have been excluded or require more detailed support. Our schools provide tailored educational programs for every pupil. The excellent quality of our schooling has led to local authorities taking day places for pupils unable to cope in mainstream education. An organisation can never be a true parent, however it can apply the values and principles of good parenting. Our aim is to achieve this through promoting an awareness of a young person’s perspective, and by never losing sight, within the ‘big picture’, of the small actions that make a real difference to young children’s daily lives.
Goodwill Children's Homes is a registered UK charity that works with our partner Society registered in South India as 'Goodwill Children's Homes Charitable Society'. Goodwill has been supporting the care and education of destitute and orphaned children in southern India since 1976. We provide a loving home and a meaningful education to many destitute children. We run three residential homes, a primary school and a Tribal Outreach Programme (TORP). Most Goodwill children come from the tribal communities living in the mountain ranges of the Palani Hills. We look after children who have either been orphaned or come from families that are simply too poor to provide essential shelter, food, and education. Goodwill is able to provide them with a loving home and the life chances that their families cannot.Thandigudi is home to children aged between 5 and 11. This was the first home built by Goodwill over 30 years ago. Thandigudi has its own primary school where all the children attend. Pattiveeranpatti is our girls' home located at the foot of the mountains and house girls aged between 11 and 18 who attend the local school. Sanarpatti is our newest site, and home to boys aged between 11 and 18 who also attend a local secondary school. TORP was started in 2002 with the aim of educating tribal children while they remain with their own families and communities. We either assist the poorest families to keep their children in education, or for those children who do not wish to continue with academic study, we offer skills training in trades such as tailoring and electrical wiring that will provide them with a living and benefit their communities.
In 1869, the Reverend Thomas Bowman Stephenson saw some children living rough under the arches of Waterloo Station Instead of walking by, he stopped to listen to their stories. Then he worked out the most practical way to help. Stephenson was a Methodist minister from the North East of England. He was also passionate about social justice. So when he moved to London, he challenged the Methodist Church to take action to help children living on the streets. Stephenson’s work led to the creation of the National Children’s Home (NCH). In 1994, we became NCH Action for Children. We’ve been Action for Children since 2008. Our vision is that every child and young person has a safe and happy childhood, and the foundations they need to thrive. We put children at the heart of everything we do. That includes our mission and values. They’re our blueprint for the way we work. We protect and support children and young people. We do this by providing practical and emotional care and support. We make sure their voices are heard. And we campaign to bring lasting improvements to their lives.
Hope and Homes for Children was the creation of two extraordinary individuals who believed that every child had the right to grow up in a loving family. Today, the organisation that Mark and Caroline Cook started at their kitchen table in Wiltshire in 1994, is at the forefront of a growing global movement to eliminate the institutional care of children. Our mission is to be the catalyst for the global elimination of institutional care for children and our vision is a world in which children no longer suffer institutional care. In 1994, Mark Cook, a retired British Army officer, read about the plight of a group of children, struggling to survive in Sarajevo’s main orphanage at the height of the Bosnian War. He told his wife Caroline, and within weeks the couple had boarded a plane to the city to see what they could do to help. When they first set eyes on the Bjelave orphanage, the building was in a terrible state. It had sustained hits from mortars and heavy weapons in its exposed position on top of one of the city’s hills. The teenagers who lived there had been left to run wild, living a semi-feral existence in the ruined building and scavenging food and supplies out in the streets. The babies were down in the basement, crammed inside the only warm room in the building. The Cooks visited the orphanage for a week and promised the children that they would find a way to rebuild their home. “In order to keep that promise, we decided to start our own charity to provide homes for orphans of war or disaster”, Mark says. “We wanted to give them hope, hence Hope and Homes for Children.” The Cooks set up an office in a converted hay barn on a farm near their home in Wiltshire and this site remains the headquarters of Hope and Homes for Children today. In the early days, Mark and Caroline’s plan was to create a worldwide network of small, well-run orphanages but, by listening to the children that they were trying to help, they soon realised that they were on the wrong track. It did not matter what race, colour or creed the children were, or whether they were living in an orphanage, on the streets on in the sewers, whenever they were asked what they really wanted, their answer was always the same, “Please, please find me a family.” Mark asked one small boy on the streets of Khartoum what he thought a family and a home were and his answer was “Love”. That response was to have a defining influence on the future focus of Hope and Homes for Children. “We had presumed that what these children needed was food, a roof over their heads, a safe place to sleep and an education”, Caroline says, “but the children themselves guided us to their heart of our mission – they desperately wanted and needed to be loved. “Over the years we have visited numerous orphanages in many countries. Some were awful and smelled so bad that we felt sick and wanted to leave; others were better, being reasonably equipped and staffed. But the one thing we never found in any orphanage was the feeling of unconditional love that is at the heart of a caring family. “Love became the key to our work and we have quite unashamedly focused on and talked about it ever since.”
It is our vision that: “EVERY CHILD HAS THE RIGHT TO GROW UP IN A LOVING AND RESPONSIBLE FAMILY” Founded as a family-run organisation, at the dawn of South African democracy in 1993, TLC Children's Home is now a board governed, fully B-BBEE compliant, registered Not-For-Profit Child and Youth Care Center (CYCC) with the Department of Social Development. We focus on providing quality attachment based, trauma informed care to the little ones in our home to best address the pre-existing and/or inutero trauma every child invariably comes to us with. We also put significant effort into championing for the right of each child to be placed into a loving and responsible family as rapidly as possible. Our purpose is to provide quality care and nurture to the vulnerable babies and children that are welcomed into our home. We undertake to care for and nurture these babies and children on a full-time basis, within a family-modeled, homely environment, whilst painstakingly pursing their rapid, responsible placement into loving forever families of their own. Our motivation and conviction is that every child has the right to a loving, caring family and that no child should be left in an orphanage. At present TLC cares for up to 34 babies, all of which come to us under the age of 3 years upon admission. Since our inception in 1993, over 900 babies have come to our home. We believe that by providing quality, attachment based care to the little ones in our home and placing them into loving, permanent families, we will see the long-term benefits of providing a quality upbringing to these vulnerable children of our nation.
Marsh Memorial Homes nurtures children and transforms lives, by providing short term care for children who have experienced abuse, neglect or abandonment. Our programmes strive to rehabilitate and re-unite children with their families or communities of origin, having developed in them the skill necessary for them to develop into confident, productive and responsible adults. This work of transformation begins with Marsh Memorial Homes providing a safe, stable and loving environment for the children in our care. The environment coupled with an intentional life skills programme, along with multidisciplinary therapeutic support and counselling aims to assist children to find healing, rebuild their self-respect and confidence, thus ensuring that when they leave our care they are equipped to achieve their dreams. All children in our care come to us via the children’s court system, the majority have families. Ultimately, our goal is to see all the children happily reunited with their rehabilitated families. In order to achieve this, we work in partnership with the Department of Social Development and a number of Welfare organisations who focus on assisting the families in their local communities and are committed to reuniting families if at all possible. The roots of Marsh Memorial Homes are to be found in the generosity of William Marsh. William Marsh, Born in 1822 in Walsall in Staffordshire, moved to the Cape Colony with his wife Frances, and founded a hardware firm in Cape Town that became extremely successful. Their only son, Thomas Edward (always known by his second name, after his father’s older brother), was born in Cape Town in 1854. After matriculating from the South African College, Edward worked in his father’s business for seven years before responding to a call to the ministry and going to Richmond Methodist College in London to train as a minister. On the 28 August 1901 the Marsh Memorial Homes officially opened their doors on the 12 January 1903 when the first children were admitted. Much has changed over the years, the estate is considerably smaller with portions having been sold to raise funds, expropriated for the building of roads and leased to the Woodside Village Trust. So today on a smaller property the good work started by the Reverend Edward Marsh continues in the present Marsh Memorial Homes, a multicultural child and youth care facility under the auspices of The Methodist Church of Southern Africa.
The Durbanville Children's Home opened its doors in 1883 and is celebrating 130 years of care to children in need in 2013. We have 144 children aged from 2 to 18 at our home and are a non-profit, church based residential care home who looks after children in need of care from all communities of the Cape Peninsula. We are recognised as a model for child and youth care in a therapeutic milieu. The Children’s Home receive 32% subsidy from the Government, therefore we are very dependent on local and foreign communities for funds and donations.
Welcome to Swan. We’re putting outcomes at the heart of residential care for children with specialist needs. Giving children with unique circumstances, needs and strengths the chance to live their best life Our specialist residential service has been developed drawing on multidisciplinary knowledge, research and expertise to provide the best possible response to the complex needs of children in our care - including Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Learning Difficulties, recovery from trauma and challenging behaviours. Behind Swan Children’s Homes is a highly-experienced team committed to positive outcomes through individualised care for every child. Swan Children’s Homes was founded in 2018, drawing on 11 years of experience working in partnership with local authorities to provide residential care and support for young people. Our vision for our first children’s home, Biggle Corner, was to develop - in partnership with leading experts and specialists - an innovative, residential service specifically designed to meet the needs of children with specialist/high needs (including Autism, Learning Difficulties, challenging behaviours and recovery from trauma). We are absolutely committed to working in an evidence-based and holistic way, based on clearly defined needs, strengths and outcomes for each child in our care. We believe in forming a shared vision for each child, where partnership working is key to ensuring the best possible opportunities for each child and providing the foundations that will support them through transition to permanence in a family environment.
At Christine Revell Children’s Home, we provide full-time care for up to 49 babies and children from birth to five years of age who have been referred to us by social workers and placed here by order of a children’s court. The children are either neglected, abandoned, abused, orphaned and are accepted at the home irrespective of HIV status, race or gender. We strive to create a warm, friendly and homely environment, but our ultimate aim is to re-unite a child with its parents or the extended family should circumstances permit. Children are also placed into foster care with suitable families in the communities and when the proper legal channels have been followed children can also be adopted. These decisions are always taken with the full involvement of our social worker, the social worker who referred the child to us, the family and children’s courts. Many of the children who arrive at our Home have not had the chance to grow and develop normally. A healthy and nutritious diet, suitable exercise and the mental development of our children are therefore of great importance. With this in mind we run a crèche weekdays from 08:00 to 11:45 where we develop the children mentally, physically, emotionally and socially.
Our community in Khayelitsha is afflicted by the largest HIV/Aids epidemic in the world, an increasing number of orphaned/vulnerable children, and an unemployment that stands at a staggering 54.1% or higher. The vision of Baphumelele is to provide a temporary shelter for vulnerable/orphaned children and young adults with chronic diseases and HIV/Aids, and to provide skills development for the unemployed, early childhood care, alleviation of poverty, and healthcare information to the community in Khayelitsha and surroundings, so that the lives of everyone we touch can become more productive and accepted individuals who make a difference within society. In 1989, Rosalia Mashale “Mama Rosie” to those around her, a trained primary school teacher, moved from the Eastern Cape toKhayelitsha in the Western Cape Province. Rosie was disturbed to see young children going through the rubbish dump in search for food while their parents were away during the day, either at work or in search of work. She responded by taking children into her home, and together with a group of women from the community, began looking after these unsupervised children. After the first week, 36 children had joined their charge. The name given to this project was Baphumelele (pronounced: ba-poo-meh-leh-leh), a Xhosa word meaning “you have progressed”. From these humble beginnings, Baphumelele Educare Centre was founded. Today the centre is an established community crèche and Grade R (preschool) caring for roughly 250 children aged three months to six years. While the Educare Centre had developed a reputation for looking after children, Rosie also felt a calling to reach out to orphaned children in the community. To that end, Baphumelele Children’s Home was created as a place of safety for abandoned, abused, neglected or orphaned children, many of whom have been affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic or have HIV/Aids themselves. Through the hard work, determination, and help of the community and friends overseas, Baphumelele has developed into a thriving community project over the years. In addition to the Children’s Home and Educare Centre, Baphumelele has expanded to include the Adult Respite Care Centre, Child Respite Centre, Hospice in the Home, Child Headed Households, Fountain of Hope, and Rosie’s Bakery/Sewing Project. Mama Rosie is a visionary paradigm-shifter whose leadership and vision continue to grow and shape Baphumelele today.
The South African Children’s Home was the first welfare institution established in South Africa. The SA Children’s Home was originally housed on Cape Town’s Long Street before moving to the suburb of Gardens in 1923. Forty-five years later a modern Children’s Home was erected on the same site and this is where the Children’s Home still stands today. Originally known as the ‘Orphan House’ it was founded in 1808 by Mrs Moller, a wealthy Dutch widow, who was assisted in this task by members of the Groote Kerk and the Evangelical Church, two of the oldest churches in South Africa. Mrs Moller dedicated much of her life to establishing the Children’s Home and upon her death she graciously donated the bulk of her estate to her beloved orphanage. Forty-five years later a modern Children’s Home was erected on the same site and this is where the Children’s Home still stands today. Now more than 200 years later, the Children’s Home continues its care for children by providing a secure, friendly, homely environment for its family of 44 boys and girls.
Heatherdale Children’s Home began in 1929. Since that time, it has evolved and re-focussed its vision to be relevant to the changing world of young people. We are a Level 2 Child and Youth Care Centre accommodating children in need of care. Heatherdale Children’s Home had humble beginnings, operating out of what was an old farmhouse on a spacious piece of ground made available to the church by the late Rev. T.E. Marsh (who had founded Heatherdale’s sister institution, Marsh Memorial Homes, 28 years earlier), and initially catering only for orphaned “coloured” girls. As time went by, the needs of the community changed and Heatherdale responded to these needs, establishing itself as a place of safety for all children at risk from abuse, abandonment or neglect. Heatherdale Children’s Home is a level 2 Child and Youth Care Centre in Athlone, Cape Town. It operates under the auspices of the Methodist Church of Southern Africa. For many years, Heatherdale has provided a safe space for vulnerable and at-risk children at risk through its residential programme. We have accommodated up to fifty (50) children, those whose homes are beset with financial difficulties, drug and alcohol problems and/or physical abuse, and who have suffered emotional trauma as a result. Through therapeutic and development programmes Heatherdale has addressed each child’s trauma and equipped them to return to their community and to a normal, healthy and independent life. For the past number of years Heatherdale has accommodated up to fifty children, 25 boys and 24 girls, aged between 5 and 18 years of age. The children are placed in our care by the Commissioner of the Children’s Court, with a social worker testifying that their home environment places them at risk. We offer a range of comprehensive programmes that encompass areas such as life skills training, therapeutic services sporting activities, spiritual development and educational support.
Heaven’s Nest was established in 2004 and is an emergency foster facility for young children in need. Located in Cape Town, South Africa, we care for up to 18 children between the ages of 6 months and 8 years old, offering them a secure, loving home until they can be re-united with their families, fostered or adopted. Heaven’s Nest is a project of the Church of St Francis of Assisi in Strandfontein and the Fikelela Aids Project. Many of our children have experienced neglect and abuse which have left deep scars. So, as well as providing love, good food, basic education and health care, we also provide counselling and play therapy to all our children. The Confidentiality Clause in our Constitution, protects children from having their HIV status revealed, therefore we generally provide care to all “Children in Need”. Since inception, more than 1350 children have passed through our doors with many of them being placed in improved conditions with family members, foster or adoptive parents. Heaven’s Nest has forged a link with child welfare and social service and accommodates approximately 14 -18 children at any time. We sometimes exceed this limited to accommodate siblings. Children who are accommodated range from the age of 6 months to 8 years of age. Children placed with us have been legally declared to be in need of care and are waiting for social workers to further investigate their circumstances of need – initially 6 weeks, or they are waiting to be placed with appointed adoptive or foster parents and the process takes 6 weeks. Alternatively they are waiting for adoptive parents to be appointed, this process is indeterminate. Many of the children however stay here for much longer than 6 weeks. Some even stay as long as two to four years. The programmes undertaken in these sessions help in the upliftment of self-esteem, confidence and ensure that these children are able to become active, mature, productive adolescence. In our 16 years of experience, we have discovered that many of the children placed at the home have not been exposed to the most basic form of education, with many experiencing difficulties. Their mind have been deprived of the right to basic education with which to stimulate their minds. With great success Heaven’s Nest has been able to be in the service of aiding children for the past sixteen years having been established in 2004.
Over 5.7 million South Africans are HIV positive and of the country’s estimated 3.7 million orphans, about half have lost one or both parents to AIDS, while over 150,000 children are believed to be living in child-headed households. The statistics can be utterly overwhelming… But God has called us to be the solution and each of us has something we can use to play a positive role. Some will be able to give financially, others may feel called to adopt, still others to volunteer or pray. When each of us uses what we have in our hands, we can make a difference. Through Kibwe we’re currently focusing on… We have three community-based foster homes, in Kayamandi (Stellenbosch), Franschhoek and Somerset West. We’re also in the process of starting a new home in Piketberg. Living in a small family unit with a caring foster parent is a reasonable alternative for children who can’t be cared for by their biological families. They have a foster family to support and care for them and we hope that one day they’ll either be reunited with their biological families, or failing that, that we’ve provided them with the necessary grounding to lead happy, successful adult lives. As Christians, expanding our families through adoption is a natural response to our faith. As more and more members of Shofar Christian Church are adopting and fostering children, there’s a growing need for information and support for those who are embarking on this journey. As the NGO mandated with orphan care within the church, we’ve begun hosting info sessions for anyone interested in finding out more about adoption and fostering, covering topics like our Biblical mandate to care for orphans and the basics of the process, as well as testimonies from families who’ve already adopted and fostered.
Home of Hope has evolved into an organisation that takes care of children, provides education to children with special needs and helps them to become productive and responsible members of the community, continuing support into adulthood through a working care farm and skills development opportunities. Home of Hope was founded in August 2005 by Eleanor Brook, who, inspired by her faith having adopted children of her own and having experienced life in a children’s home herself, wanted to harness her experience to provide support for other children in need of care. The organisation started as an interim ‘place of safety’ for children who were abandoned in dustbins to die, violently abused, raped, hungry and neglected due to poverty, infected with HIV and AIDS and those who were born bearing the effects of excessive drug and alcohol abuse by their mothers during pregnancy. During that time, it was found that many of the babies leaving the care of Home of Hope would return after a couple of months. Because of this, Home of Hope began to research the possible reasons. Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder was discovered and many of the characteristics of FASD were found to be present in the children. The organisation began to look deeper into this disorder, but could not find many resources, support systems or solutions. South Africa has the highest rate of FASD in the world, where approx. 70 000 children are born every year suffering from this condition. 85% of children with FASD are not raised by their birth parents (usually they are in foster care or children’s homes) and come from families that are often unstable, with the child being in greater risk of physical and sexual abuse or neglect. Based on the challenges in caring for children affected by FASD, Home of Hope began to evolve to provide a long-term solution for our children, as well as services for other families that care for children affected by FASD. As the organisation grew and developed, we were able to respond to a bigger need – to provide a broader and more effective service for the protection of children – more than just that of interim places of safety.
Safe & Sound is a child advocacy organization based in San Francisco. Our mission is to prevent child abuse and reduce its devastating impact. The values we believe in are to be responsible for the wellbeing of children. Whether working directly with children, their families or caregivers, communities, or systems, our goal is to create the greatest positive outcomes for children. No one can do this alone; preventing child abuse is a communal responsibility. We honor the uniqueness of everyone’s own lived experiences and strive for an environment that includes the perspectives of our teams, ourselves as individuals, our clients, and our partners. We value the agency of individuals, families, and systems to keep kids safe. Our approach is to support others in their own growth. We continuously seek to improve as individuals, teams, and an organization. We try new approaches and use data to inform our work. At Safe & Sound, we believe that every child can be kept safe. We seek to inspire each other, our client.
It all started in 1999 with a vision to create a space where people could live and learn together in an ecologically sustainable environment. We share the story through the people that were part of shaping it. In 2019 the Sustainability Institute is celebrating its 20-year anniversary. We reflect back on this amazing journey, and share our story as told by some of the people that made all of this possible. The Lynedoch Eco-Village is a mixed community organised around a child-centered learning precinct. It strives to be a working example of a liveable ecologically designed urban system that is self-sustainable. Above all else, the Lynedoch Eco-Village provides a safe space where South Africans from all backgrounds can live in peace with each other and in harmony with nature. In our fifth video, we share some reflections from residents. The design of the Sustainability Institute was done by keeping in mind how available local resources could be incorporated into the infrastructure, how existing infrastructure could be reused and how the natural elements could be used to cool and heat the buildings. Take a look at how it all came together, as explained by the original architect, Gita Goven. The SI is committed to putting children at the heart of what we do. Education is a right for all children and our core work focuses on enabling access to quality education for children from the Lynedoch Valley. This is our third video which focuses on the various programmes related to the children and youth. You will get a glimpse into the Lynedoch Children’s House, SPARK Primary school, the Youth Hub programme and Lynedoch United Football Club. The Sustainability Institute hosts programmes designed to challenge conventional thinking and open minds to new ways of doing and approaching the known, while incorporating the entire space at the Institute as part of the learning experience. Take a look at the different educational programmes we have been offering since 2003. Food brings people together. At the SI we not only prepare delicious locally sourced organic food, but our food garden provides fresh vegetables and herbs used in daily meals for the children, students, and guests. We reconnect people with where food comes from, and our food garden and approach to food serves as a beautiful living-learning environment. When the Institute started in 1999, there were not many trees and wildlife around. To restore the natural ecosystem and to create a green space protected from any buildings or development, a piece of land was put aside for an indigenous woodland. Over the past 16 years our students, guided by the vision of our woodland custodian Bryce Anderson and Fumanekile Qhinga, have helped to plant trees and shrubs that have grown into this beautiful, peaceful woodland. Today it is flourishing and what was once a barren space, is growing into a dense forest of trees and shrubs. The woodlands provide an opportunity for solitude and connection to nature.
Point High School in Mossel Bay, Western Cape, South Africa is an established school that has been in the service of the community of Mossel Bay since 1921 with the aim of developing the child as a whole. The school is a public school. The teaching norms and requirements are determined by the Western Cape Education Department. The interests of parents are managed at local level by a Governing Body, the majority of whose members are elected by parents from their own ranks. Point High School has the services of a dedicated, energetic and fully qualified staff. The school is housed in a modern building that has the most beautiful views in the country, in addition to the usual organized sports tours, leadership camps and educational excursions are regularly undertaken. An active and dynamic Parent-Teacher Association makes a valuable contribution to various projects in the school.
Milkwood Primary School is an English medium school situated at the Point in Mossel Bay, overlooking the sea. They serve a cross-section of the local community and are one of the most culturally diverse schools in the region. In 1992 numerous concerns resulted in the drawing up of a petition to start an English Language Primary School. It happened quickly, aided by the fast-growing numbers caused by the development of Mossgass. The first principal, Bill Innes, arrived full of enthusiasm in April 1993, with his surfboard and motorbike, to be followed later by his beautiful wife and two freckle-faced sons. The focus and tone of our discipline is positive and encouraging. However, this needs to be balanced with the reality that all children blossom in an environment where there is structure and routine. Learners need to know that there are consequences to our actions and certain actions could have serious consequences. In this environment, the child learns responsibility and respect for authority.
My name is Luis Guillermo Castro Martin. I am a philosopher specialized in philosophy of mind and language. In particular, I am interested in the nature of consciousness, and the way in which we experience and interpret the world. I started my studies at the Central University of Venezuela in 2006, where I obtained a bachelor’s degree in philosophy (2011) and a master’s degree in logic and philosophy of science (2015). In 2012, the university offered me a position as a professor of philosophy and I taught several courses there until 2017, when I enrolled in a PhD program at the University of Genoa, Italy. I have also published several papers in philosophy journals and participated in various international events. In 2020, while writing my PhD thesis, I realized that I had been immersed in philosophy for too long and decided to use my experience to rejoin the real world. In my years studying philosophy, I have learned many things, but the most important is that the world is what we make of it, there is no ultimate truth, no final word. We create our reality. Knowledge has somehow separated us from others and nature, perhaps it can also reunite us. Although I was born in Venezuela, my family is a blending of different nationalities and traditions. I have lived and studied in different countries, which are all part of who I am and what I want to be. My actions define me, not my nationality or my origins. I do not believe in borders or limits; they are only in our minds. The sensation of not belonging can be liberating, once we realize that, by not belonging somewhere, we belong everywhere. I speak three languages (Spanish, English, and Italian) and I enjoy learning from other cultures, as well as transmitting the values of my own. I also enjoy music, sports and nature. I am the author of “Fragments of Mind” on Substack. A space for thinking outside the box, while discussing philosophical matters.
Heart-to-Heart Care Centre aims to bring life, hope and opportunity to children made orphaned or vulnerable in South Africa, by HIV/AIDS, TB and poverty. Heart-to-Heart believes that together WE CAN change the destiny of children, one child at a time. We are passionate about providing Holistic Care, Psychosocial Support, Education and Empowerment to Children, Youth and Women. We strive to see a self-sustaining community. We are tackling poverty that is centered around dignity and not dependence. Walking alongside women facing unplanned pregnancies. This team is dedicated to Care for and Support Teenage Girls and Women who find themselves in a crisis due to an unplanned pregnancy. Our aim is to help teens and women achieve their full potential in life. 70% of children between ages 8-10 years old will not be able to speak, write or read English by the time they are 13 years old. Only 50% of them will go on to write final exams in high school. This tugged at our hearts and therefor the Literacy centre was birthed! Where volunteers along with our Education Coordinator will assess and walk alongside these young ones to make sure they know they are not just a statistic on a board but a life that counts! Together, we can transform lives through literacy!
The Surfer Kids is a registered Non-Profit Organisation 136-987 NPO. Our mission is to "empower marginalised youths through surfing". THE SURFER KIDS CORE SURF PROGRAMME has been offering free surf lessons to the marginalised youths in the Southern Cape of South Africa since November 2010. Our Core Surfing Programme is based at Diaz Beach in Mossel Bay. The primary focus of our CORE SURF PROGRAMME is introducing young children to surfing. Surfing isn't otherwise normally practised in Friemersheim, or any of the other surrounding marginalised communities. The children are introduced to surfing as a healthy way of having fun! As the children grow within the programme they are encouraged to progress. To paddle to the back-line and surf bigger and better waves. This is no easy task, as anyone who's ever tried surfing will know. Learning to paddle and catch waves takes a lot of hard work. But the reward of riding waves is one of the best feelings a human being can experience !!! This allows for the unique medium of surfing to teach one of the most fundamental and empowering life skills of all: Life may be full of limitations. BUT, by working towards a goal, with commitment, one can accomplish incredible things. Despite our limitations, whatever they may be, as long as we have great goals, if we're prepared to work for it, we can achieve what we've only ever dreamt of. And more. This is the message of hope and empowerment around which we structure our entire programme.
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