On Tuesday, Kids Haven received a message from a teenager in the community asking for help. Within two days, we had her details and on Thursday, the team went to visit her in Katlehong.

She is 14 and living with her unemployed mum, an unemployed aunt and the aunt’s 5 month old baby. Her dad is absent and the baby’s father lives in Soweto, far away from this family on the east rand.

Through discussion, our team learns that this young teenager is good at school and doing well, but she has no birth certificate and is undocumented. This is impacting on the family too and they are unable to receive a child support grant that could help them. Our team provided the family with Shoprite vouchers to the value of R 1 000 so that they can buy the food they need and the baby items.

But more importantly, she is now part of our #Protection program. After lockdown, we will be contacting her father, paying for the DNA test that is required in order to prove paternity and thereby citizenship. Our team is experienced at this process, and even though it takes a long time, we have positive outcomes and children are able to be registered. We have even been able to secure birth certificates for siblings and half siblings this way.

THIS is exactly how the Kids Haven Precare process of food parcel distribution works. We visit each family on our register and spend time with them, chatting and checking on the well being of everyone in the home, especially the children. We keep our priorities of #Protection #Care and #Health firmly in our minds when we chat and share. Then we provide the food parcel that will keep them going.

We are able to do this with YOUR help and the steady stream of money and food parcel deliveries.
Thank you to everyone for being a part of our story and part of #ChildProtection 💙💛