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Middelburg Care Village offers children refuge

Children in the South African province of Mpumalanga are being given the chance to fulfil their potential through education and a secure home life at the Middelburg Care Village.

Nomathemba Dlamini (15) and her brothers Sandile (12) and Thabo (10) lost both their parents to HIV/AIDS and were rescued from impoverished and difficult circumstances with their extended family by the Middelburg Child and Family Welfare Society in 2004. They were placed in the custody of the village through a court order in 2005.

Manager of the village, Stoffel Wolvaardt says the family has settled in well and, after 12 months, is actually blossoming.

Nomathemba is in the care of foster mother Albertina Masango and the boys are living with their foster mother Aletta Ngobese. They attend school in Middelburg and last year they all passed their exams. Like most local children their age, they are active in sports. They enjoy athletics, the boys are soccer fanatics and Nomathemba is a keen netball player. When she completes school, Nomathemba is hoping to become a nurse or a teacher.

The Middelburg Care Village was established in April 2004 in an old orphanage that had been left vacant since 1994. A ZAR6 million (nearly $1 million) donation from Xstrata Coal South Africa and two other mining companies was used to renovate the existing buildings. Today the facilities include nine housing blocks with up to 10 bedrooms in each house, a community hall, laundry facility, a well-equipped kitchen, clothes storerooms, a swimming pool, workshop and an administration office that includes a small library for the children. The village hopes to add a computer room where the children will be given the opportunity to develop basic computer skills and can carry out research for school projects and other tasks.

The village has a staff of 13 and is managed by a Board of Management which includes Rotary and community members. Xstrata Coal South Africa is continuing to fund its day-to-day operation and is represented on the Board of Management. By June 2006, the Board expects that 60 children will have made their home at the Middelburg Care Village and the numbers should reach 120 by 2007. Around 40 physically and mentally disabled children also use the facilities during the day.

Sandy Sandlana, Group Social Development Manager for Xstrata Coal South Africa, said the village had been well accepted by the Middelburg community and this was apparent at Christmas time.

"Many community groups provided gifts to the children according to their 'wish list' and high school students even came here to sing Christmas carols â€" it was a wonderful time," he said.

"We have approached the way we care for these children in a very sensitive way. For example, we chose to send the children to nine different schools in Middelburg because smaller numbers of children could be more easily integrated into school life â€" they wouldn't be easily recognised as 'the orphans'.

"Some of the children have had their school friends visit them at the village, so we are considering buying some computer games to make their home environment as 'normal' as possible.

"What I've learned from my experience with the village is that children like these, who were destitute, didn't have much hope. As soon as they came into this loving environment, they started to grow again."

The Middelburg Care Village is aiming to become self-sustaining. Currently the hall is leased to community groups and planning is underway for the establishment of a vegetable garden to supply its own needs and eventually to supply local supermarkets.

NOTE: The names of the children and their foster mothers have been changed to protect their identities.