The Crossroads Child

Dr Michael Mol cycles for Beautiful Gate!

2012-01-23T12:26:00.000+02:00

Yes indeed! Michael Mol, Former ABSA Cape Epic Rider and South Africa's favourite doctor will be riding this years Pick n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour to benefit the children of Crossroads. For the second year in a row, Michael will don the Beautiful Gate jersey and make his ride count for children affected by HIV and poverty on the outskirts of Cape Town. Beautiful Gate is a children's home and hospice and partners with the Western Cape Health Dept in bringing anti-retroviral medication to HIV positive children provides empowerment to families affected by the disease.

The ride takes place on 11 March 2012 and will take in 110 km of scenic beauty as the riders circumnavigate the Cape Penisula.

Would you like to ride with Michael and join the Team? Would you like to sponsor a rider to raise support for vulnerable children? Send an email to vaughans@beautifulgate.org for more info

Teen poems

2011-12-08T07:05:00.000+02:00

Here's one of many vibrant poems written by our very talented young people about the challenges and joys of life in South Africa!

Lerato's Hope Outing

2011-11-11T11:34:00.011+02:00

Every month a group of dedicated volunteers visit the children and mamas at Beautiful Gate Child Care Centre to help with house chores, play games, sports and general fun activities. Recently the "Friends of Beautiful Gate" team, run by our partner organisation, Lerato's Hope, took the kids and mamas for an outing to Wynberg Park. It was great fun! Check out the photos! Thank you FoBG - you guys are awesome!

Another Parenting Course graduates!

2011-09-29T17:30:00.005+02:00

Last week our third parenting course graduated! This time with 23 graduates. Parents from the local community attend the course following referrals or on their own initiative to improve their parenting skills. All the sessions are run by our Family Preservation team lead by Social Worker, Nodumo Ndengezi. Topics include positive parenting and discipline, children's rights and parental problem solving. Parents also learn God's heart for parents and for children. Next month we hope to include a special module on helping parents disclose their own and their child's HIV status to their children.

2011-08-25T07:00:00.001+02:00

There are some organisations that continually find ways to improve the world of others. One of these special organisations is Reach For a Dream http://www.reachforadream.org.za/

Recently Reach For a Dream took our kids on a creative outing of crafting workshops at Canal Walk. There they explored their creative and crafty side by making wonderfully arty pieces and generally having a great time. Such opportunities to build our children's confidence and belief in themselves is indeed the dream and vision of all involved in helping hurt and ill children. Big thanks to all at Reach for a Dream for making our little ones dreams come true!

The harvest is coming in!

2011-08-18T12:52:00.011+02:00

The hard work and dedication of the children (and the wonderful green fingered staff members who encourage, remind, organise and equip them!) is paying off! Yes - the food garden is producing a plentiful harvest for our kitchen. So much so, that it saves our shopping bill and we hope it will be able to expand even further! In reality, many people make the food garden happen - Thank you to sponsors such as Lerato's Hope and Willow Creek and volunteers like those from the Auditor General's Office who helped us break new ground, clean up the beds and even mended some irrigation pipes! Thanks to all who have invested in this project and continue to do so. For BG, it's a sustainable step in the right direction...

Aya adopted!

2011-07-20T12:53:00.005+02:00

Yes! Aya is going to a home of his own. As some of you might remember Aya, (now his second name after he was renamed by his new adoptive parents) was found abandoned outside Cape Town in December last year and placed with us at Beautiful Gate. With no family coming forward after months of searching and advertising in the City newspapers, he has been embraced by a loving family who were able to take him home last week! This is a very special moment for us all to see the process of love redeeming his precious existence. While we hear regularly of children being abandoned in our City, we are so glad that Aya now has a family of his own!

Unfortunately this comes in the same week as news of two more babies dumped by their families in the Crossroads area (http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/hunt-for-mother-after-newborn-s-throat-slit-1.1097548). One child was killed, the other left for dead. The tragedy of child abandonment in our City continues.

From Shool to Work

2011-07-10T13:23:00.002+02:00

Recently the Beautiful Gate Resource Centre partnered with the Volunteer Centre (http://www.volcent.co.za/ ) to assist grade 12 learners to get experience in the "world of work" after they finish school. The course developed by the Volunteer Centre is a 3 month Administration course with the very helpful add on of linking the learners with an orgnaisation for a placement afterwards. The purpose of the placement being to expose the candidate to the world of work and give them needed experience in understanding what will be required when one day being fulltime employed.

Presently up to a third of graduates in South Africa are unemployed. This is the fastest growing group adding to SA's present unemployment woes with offical unemployment sitting at 25%http://www.tradingeconomics.com/south-africa/unemployment-rate

The main reasons being a high drop out rate, the lack of career advice and poor subject choice. We are hopeful that through this and other career guidance and support given to learners using the Beautiful Gate Resource centre, we will be able to help young people develop realistic expecations of different jobs and find meaningful employment opportunties.

Corporate Social Responsibility working...

2011-06-28T14:08:00.013+02:00

This past Youth Day our kids had an absolute ball! All thanks to the joy and fun provided by friends from local Cape Town accounting firm, Ernst and Young! Their staff provided a day full of activities and games at our Child Care Centre and add to that...back at the office staff members are collecting children's clothing for the cold winter months ahead! All because Ernst and Young, along with many other South African companies, take their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) seriously.

And this is no small matter. According to a recent global report on the amount of time and money certain nationalities give to charity, South Africans ranked 2nd (after the US) as the most charitable nation and fourth, after Ireland, India and the US as the country which gives the most time to charity and good causes. http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/Content.aspx?id=128267

And this has certainly been Beautiful Gate's experience of South African companies. Over the years we have received great support from various companies wanting to invest in the social fabric of the nation. What's more, individual staff often give more of themselves in the process.

So - while many question whether CSR is working in South Africa, we say: The proof is in pictures! Thank you!

Resource Centre in Crossroads

2011-03-22T21:15:00.006+02:00

So far the Resource Centre at our Centre in Crossroads has been such a wonderful success! Since we opened in June 2010, over 2000 people have visited the centre to seek resources and information from teen life-skills, development and study opportunities to family preservation services. Here we run life-skills and leadership programmes for teens which include career guidance, preparing for a future job, bible studies and making good choices. Twice a week we have a social worker available to assist community families with issues threatening their families. These range from abuse and neglect to income support and access to services. The social worker provides counselling, helps people apply for grants and ensures that children in abuse situations are afforded protection. So far, very good! We hope to see great things happening in the Centre thoughout this year...watch this space!

Home and Happy

2011-03-22T20:58:00.010+02:00

Re-unifying children is difficult, it's true. But sometimes, something amazing happens! A couple of years ago one special boy went home after a long struggle. He was one of the first children to be placed in our home but he knew that his Mom was still alive and although she hadn’t come to take him home, he would not go to anyone else. Unfortunately his mom was unable to take him home. And so we found a number of foster families who loved him and wanted him to come to them. Each of which he rejected - Because he wanted to go to his Mom. So we set about doing our best to help the mother to take him back - and in that process I also realised that we often worry about how a child or parent will cope with any illnesses, whether they have a tiled roof or a sheet metal roof or enough food on the table - but all they worry about is “Where is my mom?”, “Where is my Dad?” “Why did they leave me?”, “Why don’t they come for me?”. Thankfully – we got him home! And the family is doing well. Recently he came for a visit and how excited we were to see what a wonderful young man he has become!

We made it!

2011-03-14T11:30:00.003+02:00

We made it! A big thank you to all our Beautiful Gate Riders for their tremendous support in riding the 2011 Cycle Tour this year! Of the Beautiful Gate staff, we are proud to have all finished the race - especially of Tino and Sonwabile for completing their first Cycle Tour! Our sincere gratitude to all the riders who took up the challenge this year! Your willingness to ride for the cause is so appreciated! While it took some of us longer than others, it was a wonderful day to ride with cool weather and little wind - the best way to face 110kms. To those who have pledged support - THANK YOU for helping us make this ride count for the children of Crossroads!

All kitted out!

2011-03-07T16:49:00.004+02:00

Thanks to the generous support of local company, Tullow Oil, the Beautiful Gate Riders will be riding in style this year! Today, some 15 of the 30 riders set to ride the Cycle Tour received their sponsored jerseys ahead of the big ride this Sunday 13 March. The jerseys are a reminder to the cyclists and the public that this ride is for a very special cause! It was also a reminder that "Riding for the children of Crossroads" is possible whether you're a speedster, a weekend cyclist or, like some of us, simply hoping we're going to finish!

If you haven't yet sponsored a rider, you can do so now by sending a pledge to support@beautifulgate.org and make difference in a child's life.

Riding the Cycle Tour for Beautiful Gate kids!

2011-02-07T17:40:00.006+02:00

Cycle training has begun for the Beautiful Gate Riders!

Once again we shall be riding the Pick n Pay Cape Argus Cycle Tour (http://www.cycletour.co.za/) - a 110km race around the mountains of the Cape Peninsula happening on 13th of March! This event, which takes place annually in March, is extremely popular, with over 30 000 cyclists from around the world taking part. This year, Beautiful Gate will be entering with a group of some 29 cyclists all riding to raise support for the children of Crossroads, a peri-urban settlement on the outskirts of Cape Town. Sponsors can sponsor the riders and donations will go towards the Child Care Centre in Lower Crossroads providing safety and care to vulnerable children between the ages of 0 and 12 years, facing abandonment, abuse and rape. As always, staff from Beautiful Gate will also ride, along with friends from around Cape Town as well as riders from local oil company and sponsor, Tullow Oil. Above are BG staff Sonwabile Dwangu, Tino Tadokera and Vaughan Stannard on a training ride through Crossroads.

Please would you consider to supporting this cause? To sponsor a rider, please email vaughans@beautifulgate.org and make your pledge!

Christmas Party!

2010-12-18T14:45:00.010+02:00

End of the year and time for a Christmas Party! This year, on the last day of school, over 200 kids came to Beautiful Gate to enjoy games, hotdogs, some presents and of course...the nativity story. It was great fun, and for many of the kids, the highlight of the end of year! Check out the pics above of all the action. Thanks to all the community teenagers for organising the games and all the friends who helped with the goodies and food. You have sown great joy into the hearts of these little ones!

World AIDS Day

2010-12-03T07:50:00.003+02:00

This year we celebrated World AIDS Day (1 Dec) with a special candle-lighting ceremony. The candles were lit for each of our beloved children who have died over the years of HIV. It was a moving and meaningful time of thanking the Lord for the children, family and friends who have touched our lives before passing. All was not gloom, however, as afterwards we were able to celebrate and pray for those children who are still alive! Many of them have returned to their families or have gone to foster families. With ARV's, many children (and adults!) are enjoying quality in their life and we thank the Lord for the HOPE we have for our children's future! Do you have someone who is HIV postive in your life?

Remember them this week.

Mama Thandi's Vetkoek!

2010-11-07T22:40:00.001+02:00

Who says you can’t find good food in Crossroads? A friend of mine, Thandi runs the “Roots Cafe” around the corner from Beautiful Gate in Lower Crossroads. She also happens to make the best amagwinya or “vetkoek” (a sweet bread type cake fried in oil) in the township and Thandi sells her cakes for just R2 each - real bargain - if you don’t count the calories of course! This makes it my favourite lunch in the township, next to Masiso's braai (barbeque) house, that is. But even better is when our children's home cook, Nokuzola makes them! The only problem is that if you're not one of the homes kids, it a lot tougher to get your hands on one.

irideyougivetheylive

2010-11-01T22:20:00.003+02:00

Cycling across America for Beautiful Gate! What better friends than ones willing to put their bodies on the line for our children? Two special friends, Jacques van Wyk and Brad Wilkin have spent the last month cycling across the USA to raise support for our children’s home. This week, they end their epic 6 week cycle journey having started in San Diego, California, and cycled an average of 80 kilometres as day! Soon they will arrive some 3840 kms (2400 miles) later in Jacksonville, Florida. Jacques, the husband of one of our previous volunteers, Brittany, decided to do the ride to raise awareness and support for BG just 2 months ago. Now, he and Brad have not only fulfilled a dream of a life time, but also helped save the lives of precious children abandoned and placed in the care of Beautiful Gate. If you’d like to congratulate them or just check out the journey, pics and videos, you cans see it all at www. irideyougivetheylive.org

The bottom line

2010-10-31T22:16:00.001+02:00

Newspaper headlines in Crossroads, Cape Town. While most people are only too happy with the life-saving effects of anti-retroviral therapy (ARVs) for HIV positive patients, it seems for some it has not been met with as much enthusiasm. Adults and children living with HIV, businesses as well as government and private healthcare providers are all celebrating the increased quality of life, the hope of a future, less time in hospitals, less time off school and work, less loss of income, improved company performance, and most of all - a postponed appointment with death. Not so happy, are the funeral directors. Hundreds, if not thousands of funeral companies, which have sprung up overnight during the 'boom' years of AIDS & ARV denialism in the 1990's are now complaining that HIV is no longer the cash cow it once was. This is indeed a sad reality for them, but also a welcome proof of the reality that with ARVs, HIV is no longer a death sentence.

Dumped! At five days old...

2010-10-11T16:39:00.005+02:00

Just last weekend this beautiful little baby boy (seen here with Sabelo, one of our child care workers) was delivered to Beautiful Gate by the local social worker. Police had found him lying in a drain on the side of the road, outside Cape Town, where he had been abandoned by his mother. To make matters worse - he is one of three newborns we know of to be abandoned in the city during the past week and according to Child Welfare, one of 500 to experience the same fate this year. Why? Is the first question to go running through your head! Difficult to say. Unless the police can find his mom of course. But experience does tells us that teen pregnancy along with poverty, HIV, lack of food security and alcohol abuse, all contribute to child abandonment. It's a stark reminder that helping children without finding ways to help their parents is a losing battle. Fortunately BG tries to do both, but still much more is needed to help preserve families in our city.

Neuro-Developmental Therapy

2010-10-07T10:48:00.006+02:00

Unfortunately many children suffering from abandonment, abuse and chronic illness (like HIV), tend to have slower development and struggle to keep up with their developental milestones. Some stats show that up to 70% of children infected with HIV have global (many different areas) developmental delay and tend to lag behing other children in their growth and learning. A number of these children show symtoms and signs of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder as well as learning disorders, making schooling a greater challenge. At Beautiful Gate we try to provide some focussed stimulation and therapy for those worst affected. Along with regular activities by child development workers, we also have a volunteer physiotherapist to help children achieve their milestones. Other support, such as speech therapy is accessed via the academic hospitals like Red Cross Children's Hospital.

Painting the Activity Room

2010-10-01T10:35:00.002+02:00

The Activity room is used by all the children in the home. The little ones use it for play and activities in the morning while the older kids are at pre-school and school. Once the older kids are back, they use it to do homework, dance, drama and crafts. Lately, the kids and child carers decided the walls of the Activity Centre are just too dull! So they made a plan. Paint, brushes and some arty ideas soon blossomed and the room started to fill with colour! Here's Nkosi and Cebo painting the murals. Well done everyone! Looking forward to the finished product...

Volunteers celebrate their birthday serving!

2010-09-26T09:05:00.003+02:00

Once again, we've been surprised by the generosity of people and their families! A couple of weekends ago, a friend of Beautiful Gate celebrated her birthday and decided to spend it serving the kids here at BG. They cleaned windows and cottages and then had a great time doing games and having fun with the children. What a meaningful way to give back! Thanks so much to Anri and all your friends for helping us and spoiling our kids - hope you had a good time. Happy Birthday!

Musical Chairs

2010-09-17T13:28:00.005+02:00

Fun in the home! Here's some pics of Bongiswa playing musical chairs with some of the kids in cottage 2. Great fun beiing had by all - except of course, those without a chair! The Child Development Workers like Bongiswa run different activites each afternoon, from school work, computer based learning and crafts to games, dancing, sports and working in the food garden. Never a dull moment around after school. It's wonderful to see the children so happy and to know that they are developing into well adjusted young people.

For those who are hard of hearing...

2010-08-27T10:50:00.001+02:00

Here is a special thank you to you from Thembekile

Knitting for the needy

2010-08-20T12:09:00.008+02:00

How wonderful it is when everyone uses their gifts to help those in need! This past week I was blessed to meet with some of the many precious ladies (some from all over the world!) who knit garments and blankets for our kids. Visiting the PBC missionary work party, which has been knitting garments for children, seamen and the needy for over 30 years - was a humbling experience! We regularly receive such precious items from knitting groups like PBC, Meadowridge Busy Bees and even from friends in Australia! And we are so thankful that people are so generous with their skills and time to provide something so unique and special or our kids. Thank you and please keep using your talents for others!

World Cup Visitors!

2010-08-10T11:52:00.003+02:00

After the hype of the World Cup has died down many people go back to their lives as if nothing has changed. But not so for New Zealand forward, Rory Fallon and Team manager, Phil Warbrick and their families. These celebrity New Zealanders came to visit Beautiful Gate and entertain the kids for a day with football skills and a bit of fun! Wanting to make their trip to South Africa about “more than just the World Cup”. Our local soccer team was very proud to meet them and even got to pose for a team photo. Thanks to Rory and Phil and their families for making a special day in the lives of some of Crossroad’s biggest soccer fans!

God's heart for children

2010-07-29T11:27:00.002+02:00

Many of us think that only “grown-ups” can do things of great significance. But we forget the young boy David, slayer of Goliath, and the child Samuel, who heard God’s voice or the youngster who gave up his fish and bread so that Jesus could feed 5000 adults. God has a plan for each new born and each young child. Sadly, many of our nation’s children are abused or neglected, left without anyone to nurture or protect them. Thoughts of doing “great things” are far from their minds. Yet Psalms says that “You (O lord ) have taught the little children to praise you perfectly. May their example shame and silence your enemies.” Our children are not only our future, they are our today. As we speak words of encouragement and hope, of love and life into them, I am convinced that ALL children, rich or poor, all around the world, can do great things!

Retreat

2010-07-23T15:51:00.001+02:00

Recently the entire BG family went on a spiritual retreat at Rocklands campsite in Simon’s Town. It was a wonderful time of reflection and refreshment. Through the quiet morning we were able to allow God’s Spirit to remind us of our reason for being in this ministry of caring for vulnerable children and families. It was good to be encouraged to embrace the gifts He has given us to carry on despite sometimes facing difficult challenges and heart-breaking situations with children and families. A big thanks to those who made it possible and who volunteered their time to make a special day for us!

I can see!

2010-06-18T16:25:00.002+02:00

Recently Sisipho came home from school with a letter stating that she was struggling to read from the board in class. Fortunately, hearing that Sisipho was from a children's home, a local optomitrist, Eye Save in Mitchell's Plein offered to assess all the children's eyesight for free! Sisipho is now very proud to have her own trendy spectacles! We're very grateful to companies like Eye Save for their service to vulnerable children. This is what corporate social investment is all about!

2010-06-09T17:23:00.008+02:00

Last week we officially opened our Resource Centre to the community! The aim is provide a place where families in need can find relevant information, referrals and support from Community Workers. It also provides services to Youth and Community Based Organisations with info brochures, training opportunties, learnership and college information for Youth as well as information, training, funding and capacity building for small Community Based Organisations and Churches. Traditionally people in the Philippi, Crossroads area have not had easy access to such information, but we hope this will now change! Over one hundred people attended the opening of our resource room and computer centre today and the teens even did the DISKI dance for us!

Children need our protection

2010-06-03T10:40:00.004+02:00

On an average day in South Africa, a child is abused approximately every 8 minutes, a child is assaulted every 14 minutes and a child is raped every 24 minutes. These are the harsh realities facing children in our country. The last month of May in South Africa is dedicated to Child Protection, so last week all the BG staff and teens got together to design and make some banners which we can display around our centre. Do you want to get involved? Visit our website http://www.beautifulgate.org/ to see how you can donate or check out these other worthy organisations:

http://matlaabana.co.za/
http://www.friendsofchildprotection.com/
http://www.rapcan.org.za/

Can you hear me now?

2010-05-27T13:23:00.006+02:00

In our Crisis Care centre we have 3 very special deaf children. While they do go to a local school for the deaf, in many other ways they are excluded from interacting with mamas and children in the home because they are hard of hearing. To remedy this, the entire Community Support programme staff decided they needed to brush up on their sign language skills! This has had a tremendously positive impact on our deaf kids. Thanks to Lisa Harvey from “Talking Hands” http://talkinghands.org.za/ we are all learning to communicate in a deeper way with our children! Now they can really HEAR us!

Active Kids!

2010-05-27T12:48:00.004+02:00

Kids love to learn! Since we’ve been blessed with computers for our kids, they’ve had great fun learning new skills and practicing their typing and writing skills, using different programmes and playing games. In the local schools computers are hard to come by, so we are privileged to be able to share these computers between the crisis kids, local teenagers, and also local community based organisations in our area. One thing we still lack is a decent maths programme, but we hope to soon have the funds to purchase one so that the kids can practice their arithmetic in a fun way!

Kids Clinic Party!

2010-03-31T09:44:00.011+02:00

Every year we try to host a party for all the children attending our kids HIV clinic in Crossroads. The clinic is run in partnership with the Crossroads 2 Clinic, Dept of Health, Kidzpositive (www.kidzpositive.org) and a number of other partners,and is able to provide HIV treatment for over 430 children in the Crossroads area. Kidzpositive sponsored the goodie bags, Tullow Oil sponsored the food, toothpaste and toothbrushes and volunteers gave helped make the party a great success! Thanks to ALL who volunteered and sponsored the event. A special thanks to the local teen lifegroups for running the activities. Here's some pics of the fun we had!

THANK YOU - WE MADE IT!

2010-03-30T16:26:00.003+02:00

They did it! Thank you so much to ALL who supported this years Beautiful Gate Argus Ride! Riding 110km with over 30,000 riders, Vaughan (our director) and Lizo (our driver) were joined by 4 Tullow Oil riders and raised over R20,000 to support vulnerable children in Philippi and Crossroads. To all those who have been a part of this years ride, the riders, the sponsors, the supporters who came to watch - we salute you! Lizo said "I was so tired with 30km to go that I almost gave up but when I saw a big sign –saying WELL DONE, I hung on to my dear bike and treaded on to the finish line!" If you’d like to join us as a Beautiful Gate Rider next year, please email vaughans@beautifulgate.org and sign up!

The Beautiful Gate Riders ride the ARGUS!

2010-03-04T13:33:00.007+02:00

Well, here we are at that time in the Cape Town calendar when 30 000 cyclists converge on the peninsula to sweat in the saddle for the now famous 110km cycle tour around the mountain. Usually my Sunday afternoons are reserved for lying on my couch, watching sport or playing with the kids in the pool.But next Sunday will be different! Two of our staff, Vaughan and Lizo are going to ride the Argus on behalf of the kids of Crossroads! Yes, you heard correctly. Along with a group of passionate riders from around the city, including cyclists from local company Tullow Oil - we're taking on the Argus challenge to raise funds for Beautiful Gate! Watch out for us on 14 March and wish us luck! If you'd like to sponsor us and help the children of Crossroads - please send an email to vaughans@beautifulgate.org

I'm HIV positive and proud of myself!

2010-02-25T14:09:00.001+02:00

On World AIDS Day the kids all drew pictures reflecting their counselling journey. This picture, as you can see, belongs to Reuben, a 12 year old boy who has known rejection as an HIV positive orphan since a young age. I had tears in my eyes when I saw this picture because Reuben has been through some tough patches in his life. Not the least of which is the fact that his health has seen a few dips over the years. But having the courage to share this statement is a psychological triumph all on it's own! Reuben - we're proud of you!

Kicked out!

2010-02-18T12:31:00.001+02:00

Disclosure, for many people is the hardest part of living with HIV. This past week at the clinic I met a young mom with two children. The youngest is only 1 year old. She has just recently returned from the Eastern Cape, having left the city to live there just one year ago. Now she is back, seeking anti-retroviral therapy for herself and her children again here in Cape Town. "I'm staying with my sister now. Here in Philippi." she says softly. "Why did you come back?" I ask - later wishing I hadn't. It seems the baby feel ill soon after birth and after being tested, she discovered he was positive. Her result was predictably, the same. Being a loving wife, she told her husband. The result? Sadly the same a many other South African wives and mothers: She was kicked out of the house. I wonder how many other wives and mothers are sleeping on the floor of a friend or family member tonight? All because so many men are not man enough in this country...

Praying for our sponors

2010-01-21T07:27:00.004+02:00

Last week we devoted our weekly devotion time to praying for those families and individuals who are part of our Sponsor a Child Programme. There are over 300 families and individuals from all overthe world, who faithfully sponsor our children every month. Gifts differ, but most are around R120(15 Euro)or similar. The generosity of people towards the children of Crossroads always amazes me. Half of our funding comes from government or grant making associations, which we are very grateful for of course. But theres something special about the small, regular gifts of individuals. Somehow it connects people, it gives a face to the need and provides us with a face in return. It creates a bond and a warm feeling knowing that there are people, families, churches, friends and even other children thinking about, praying for and giving of themselves for our kids. Together, this allows us to provide the necessary food, clothing and best care for children in need of love and a home. We are so appreciative of our sponsors and continue to pray for you. May you be blessed in this year.

If you would like to join our sponsor a child programme, please send an email to support@beautifulgate.org and we'll send you details

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-24T08:40:00.005+02:00

Yesterday we had a wonderful Christmas party for the kids. See Tino - our African Father Christmas (and fund-raiser during the year)! It was all made possible by some "sponsor a child" friends who come at the end of every year to spoil the children at Christmas time. We also had special visitors from the BG Holland office to bring cards from a Sunday school class and presents for the children, along with a gift raised by one of the primary schools in Dokkum.

The children who have not been able to go to host or foster families for the holidays will all be going home with staff members for the Christmas weekend. We hope this will make their Christmas a little bit more special this year. Merry Christmas to you too.

Volunteer teaching

2009-12-24T08:20:00.000+02:00

One of the recent blessings here at BG has been that of having people willing to help with the children's extra lessons in Math and English! As you may know, many kids with chronic conditions such as HIV or who have experienced emotional and physical abuse, tend to struggle in the learning environment. Karin is one of our volunteers from a local church who comes to the activity centre on weekends to help the children "catch up" in these subjects. Thank you to all those who volunteer to help our kids!

Going Home!

2009-12-18T20:53:00.011+02:00

This last week, we had a farewell party for six of our kids who went home to a "real" family! Five of them were reunified with family members and one girl starts her teenage years with a foster family. It's always a bittersweet moment. Sweet, seeing our babies all grown, yet bitter knowing we wont be around to see them grow even bigger. The feelings of happiness about them finally having their "own" family at last are always tempered with sadness about the "gap" left behind. In the end, we share in their joy at going home and then share in the tears with those kids who stay behind.

Yes - going home is a bittersweet event in our children's home. As staff, we often remind ourselves that the pain of the "faewell party" is really, the "pain of success" in our line of work. Life is not a perfect science. God designed us to be born into and grow up in a loving family, but life happens along the way. However, whenever we are faced with the ablility to restore a small part of that ideal design in a child's life, it's a precious moment. A small move in the right direction. Perhaps only a miniscule shift in the number of children living in children's homes, but a divinely significant event in the life of that one child.

Past volunteers keep on giving!

2009-11-25T14:46:00.007+02:00

Over the years BG has had numerous dedicated volunteers serving the children of Crossroads. Looking back, each one had a special role to play – in the lives of the children, or the mama’s and in my own life. Some stayed for a few months, others for years. Some are even still with us! But one thing has shown me that no matter how long they stayed, they continue to love the children of Crossroads. I was recently in Holland and met up with a few of them, listening to stories of children who have now grown up and of mama’s who are just the same. It’s heartening to hear how much of an impact these children from the tip of Africa had on the lives of young people around the world. And even more heartening is that many keep on giving. They send us donations from their churches, organise concerts and fairs to raise funds, sponsor children, forgo their wedding gifts to give us the proceeds, volunteer on our overseas boards and send cards and photographs to our staff and children.

To all our volunteers, past and present – South Africa, Netherlands, Brasil, USA, Namibia, Congo, Canada, Rwanda, UK and more – we thank you!

Can a township sustain a children’s home?

2009-11-25T14:35:00.004+02:00

Muhummud Yunus wrote, “The poor themselves can create a poverty-free world — all we have to do is to free them from the chains that we have put around them. “ There are many that believe that for any community to develop sustainably, change has to come from, and be sustained from, within. Outside pressure, plans, and funding, generally don’t help create sustainable change, but rather cripple it. The question is: can a children’s home in one of the poorest peri-urban areas of Cape Town be sustained by it’s own community? Funded only 25 percent by government, but running with huge overheads to supply a safe and secure place for orphaned and abandoned children, children’s homes like ours are in need of strong partnerships with their local communities to help keep child-care and protection services available for their community’s children. Unemployment in Crossroads is 51.6%, more than double the National rate of 21.9%. Can a community with a minority of economically active members help? We think they can. And, more importantly - so do they! At Beautiful Gate, we’ve actually made this practical: local businesses in the Crossroads area have been asking to rent available office space in our Development Centre alongside the children’s home. We’ve agreed, on condition that only local businesses benefitting the local community, can apply, and all the rental payments go into running the children’s cottages. So far the income is paying for the running costs of one of our cottages every month. It’s not yet sustainable, but certainly proof that even those we consider “poor and needy” can care for their own community's children with dignity.

Can every child go home?

2009-11-25T14:34:00.003+02:00

Christopher was every doctor’s nightmare. He was admitted to our children’s home when he was just 2 years old. Having been hospitalised for most of the early part of his short life with tuberculosis; eventually causing abscesses in his lungs and destroying so much tissue that half his left lung had to be removed; any chest infection sent him reeling close to the brink. At 8 years he was still three foot nothing, never having enough oxygen to grow, he spent it all on trying to breathe. It didn’t stop him running around though. His run just usually ended up in the nurses cottage. “I need my neb” he’d huff, shoulders hunched, chest heaving as the nurse would hook on a mask from the oxygen machine with a bronchodilator solution to open up his lungs. All around him children were going home to family: uncles, aunts, grannies, even older sisters. All they needed to learn was how to give the medication. But Christopher worried us all. Would he ever go home? Who would be able to care for this young boy who needed oxygen every night, after every soccer match and cold spell? Imagine our surprise when our re-unification workers made contact with his Aunt. Although quite old and caring for her husband with chronic lung disease for many years. Yes. She’d love to take him home. (name) had her own oxygen machine and was very used to using it on her husband, she made known. As if this wasn’t enough, the clinic sister out in the aunts home town of Grabouw was too happy to do home visits, should Chris come to Grabouw. “I know the family well,” she said. “I know the place.”
On 8 December 2008, Christopher went home for for good for the first time in 6 years. Who would have predicted? Can all children find the right family and go home one day? I don’t know. But Christopher has certainly done one thing…he’s given us all hope.

Solitary healthcare

2009-11-25T14:32:00.001+02:00

It’s difficult to understand what some children go through on a daily basis to survive with HIV. One usual Monday morning, mothers bustling around our busy children’s clinic, grannies herding their charges, I spy a young, conscientious-looking 12 year old boy sitting quietly in the waiting room. His linen bag, full of medicines clutched on his lap, clinic card in hand, waiting patiently for his turn. As I call out the name on the top of the pile of folders, he gingerly gets up with an almost guilty look. The other caregivers in the room cast furtive, concerned glances in my direction. His mother is not here. Thembela attends our children’s HIV clinic every month and going through his notes I realise that she’s hardly ever here. We start to chat and he flashed a brilliant smile: “My mother needs to work” he says. He remembers his own appointments, packs his own lunch and bag of medicines and then catches a taxi to come to the clinic. His blood results are back and I explain his progress carefully, congratulating him on his good results. His mother does help him to take his medicines though, he defends. He’s attentive throughout and almost excited when I hand him a diary card explaining the new regimen and a letter to his mom to remind her that we’d love to see her too, someday. When asked if he wants to attend our adolescent clinic some 20 km’s away, he gets tearful. “My mother is sick” he mumbles. “I don’t want to go there. Here I can come by myself”. I assure him he won’t be sent away and he smiles. “Can I have a note for school?” he ends.

It’s days like this that I’m reminded of why we fought so hard to start this clinic in Crossroads. How else would children like Thembela survive?

Reflecting God

2009-11-25T12:27:00.000+02:00

Just the other day someone asked me “So, what is the main purpose of Beautiful Gate’s work? What is the main thing that you do?”. I began answering by talking about protecting children, providing safe homes for abused kids, supporting local clinics and then rambled on about empowering mothers and fathers to keep their families together. Then I started to elaborate on building community strength and encouraging other organisations to respond and care for orphans and vulnerable children. Eventually, I had to stop, realising that I hadn’t actually answered the question! So what is the main thing we do? Very simply: We try to show the children and families of this community what the love of God looks like. No more, no less. Practically it may well be; a food parcel given to a desperate mom, anti-retroviral drugs provided for a sick child, a warm, safe bed free from the fear of abuse or a kind word to help a family hang onto hope. But at the end of the day, it’s just people showing other people love. Organised religion often complicates life and creates expectations we neither want to of feel we can fulfil. Mostly, such expectations are man made and do not accurately reflect Scripture itself. I am aware that many people see “real ministry” as preaching, teaching and evangelising. I think all gifts have their place. But I also believe that we’ve all been given different gifts. For Beautiful Gate, those gifts are “mercy” and “justice”. By acting mercifully and justly towards the families and children of this community, we try to reflect a little bit of heaven. It’s a small bit indeed, probably too small for some. But for those who endure, we hope that they will see the God who loves them.