Appreciating another financial year of caring for our children

The end of March marked the close of Kids Haven’s financial year and we are so grateful for having had the support to get through another year. “Every year when our financial year concludes and I reflect back on how Kids Haven has impacted the lives of children, young people and communities I am humbled and incredibly thankful,” says Sam Mokgopha, CEO of Kids Haven. “As we start budgeting for the year ahead each year, it seems like a huge mountain before us. The cost of living, education, resources, maintenance, and so on keeps increasing and the need for childrens’ homes sadly doesn’t decrease. Despite the many challenges each year brings, we celebrate the joy, the big and small wins, and the incredible people who are Kids Haven – from our dedicated staff to our generous donors.”

Highlights from Kids Haven’s financial year 2024/2025

• Spending was managed well and we ended within budget for the year.
• Donors stepped up to assist when we were waiting for our Department of Social Development funding.
• Every child living at Kids Haven participated in education. This included formal schooling (pre-school, primary and high school), Schools for learners with special education needs, Kids Haven Bridging School programme, and the Youth Development programme (Pathways Programme). We also had enough capital to ensure our children could go on outings and camps and participate in sport and cultural activities. 59% of the participants in the Pathways Programme are now employed or in training.
• 385 home-based food gardens were supported through the year in communities in Marikana, Windmill Park, Chris Hani, Petit, Mayfield, Msholozi, Barcelona, Nigel, and with the aftercare youth in Benoni. These gardens are providing nutritious food for families and some grow excess which is shared with the community or sold for additional income for the family.
• Over 500 people attended workshops run by Kids Haven during the year tackling topics such as gender-based violence, parenting, mental health awareness, family strengthening, men and boys dialogues, and more.
• 1 697 clients received a ‘hand out’ of resources (e.g. food, clothing, transport fares etc). 526 food parcels and food vouchers (valued at R350 each), 1 209 single meal-in-a-bags and 254 blankets were distributed providing much relief to families.
• We could invest in much-needed upgrades to our facilities including water tanks for rain harvesting, the installation of solar panels and improving the water supply and pressure for showers. All these projects ensure the sustainability of Kids Haven and were donor funded.
• Retaining staff is always a priority as we need dedicated staff to care for our children, run programmes, maintain our properties, cook, clean and attend to all the administrative needs to keep us operational. Due to good governance, spending and income generation we ensured all our staff were paid their salaries and could continue their much-needed service to Kids Haven. We welcomed a Digital Skills trainer to our staff from 1 April 2025 just for this year with committed funding for his salary. We are excited that no child or young person is left out of the digital world.
• We continued to provide counselling for our children and families and our Kids Justice programme continued with social workers working tirelessly to get documentation for whoever approached Kids Haven needing help. Both are costly exercises but essentials, we believe, and ensuring they are supported financially remains a priority this financial year.  The right to a name and a nationality is the right that brings all other rights – the right to everything your country has to offer.

“Many thanks to everyone who supported us this last financial year. Please continue this help so that we can keep offering love, protection and support for those children and families who need it most,” concludes Sam..

Sam and the children share supper and chat about life, worries, being grateful, family and more. It’s a special time for all.

A family of brothers reunited and thriving

M speaking at the Department of Social Development event honouring high achievers.

Midway through 2023, a small family of children were found to be living alone in a dilapidated house in the community. The oldest boy was 16, his younger brother was 11 and his little brother was just 9 years old. Their mum had passed away and the children had been with their father.  He had left the home some two months earlier and the children were looking after themselves. They appeared to have travelled from another country to South Africa although the youngest child was born in SA.

The youngest brother was placed into foster care but it was decided that the two older boys  would be placed into care at Kids Haven to ensure that they could continue in school. Kids Haven ensured that they had regular contact with each other regardless of their living arrangements.

The boys settled in well at Kids Haven. They were very excited to be back in school because they had been out of school for some time.  The boys also knew how to play chess and enjoyed soccer. The two boys are very close and clearly demonstrated that they could take care of each other and would look out for each other – definitely as a result of their past experiences. 

At the end of 2024, the oldest boy (M) completed his matric exams and graduated with four distinctions.  He was invited to a ceremony hosted by the Ekurhuleni Department of Basic Education in February 2025. He shared his story with everyone and was recognised for his hard work and excellent results even as he had faced so many challenges. 

A BIG challenge was their lack of personal paperwork. The boys were not yet documented and this immediately created a barrier for M to use his excellent results to start studying.  The social work team of Farayi and aftercare worker, John, at Kids Haven, persisted in their approach to the embassy and finally both boys received their birth certificates from the Embassy in March of this year. This is the first step towards getting a passport and study visa to study further in South Africa. The process was highly challenging, but the boys received lots of support from Farayi and John to get through all the questions and requirements of the embassy. 

M has already started his tertiary studies at a local College in Benoni where he is studying towards an NQF qualification in engineering. 

During February, around the same time as the excitement of the Matric results and through the tensions of the embassy visits, the boys approached Kids Haven to say they were worried about their youngest brother who did not seem to be thriving in foster care. Kids Haven listened to the boys and their youngest brother, now 11, joined his big brothers at Kids Haven by the end of February.  He too received his birth certificate in April 2025.

This story sums up so much of what Kids Haven works towards for the protection and care of every child. The right to a name and nationality is the most basic right, yet it is a crucial right for a sense of belonging (identity) and to enable access to inclusion in society. Without your identity, you can be invisible and excluded or exploited. School is a BIG part of every child’s life and Kids Haven makes sure that every child is included in the most suitable school as quickly as possible. Once in school, each child is assisted with homework, tutoring, and Matric students are helped to attend the Saturday classes that are a necessary part of Grade 12. At the same time, our counsellors and care workers provide the stability of a loving home, helping children like the M brothers to cope with life’s challenges and take hold of the tools to build resilience.  Children are not isolated from their siblings and wherever possible, they are connected to family, extended family members or caring community members who have been a part of their lives.  We appreciate that children need to belong to family and build life-long relationships.  Finally, Kids Haven listens to the children, doing what we can to help them find their purpose and reach their goals. M is doing well at College and we look forward to finding a way for him to be a part of a university campus in the coming years.

These boys are part of our Kids Haven family which is held together and supported by our broader community of caring and committed donors and sponsors.  Nothing would be possible without you.

A blessed and fun Easter was enjoyed by all

It was chaotic fun as the children living at Kids Haven got to scramble around the gardens looking for sparkly bunnies and eggs on Easter Sunday. “Once again our incredible donor community gave so generously and our children got to enjoy what every child should at Easter time – the Easter hunt. We also had a visit from the Easter bunny and Easter activities arranged by volunteers in the week leading up to Easter. The kids had the best time. We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this Easter a very special one,” says Khethiwe Zwane-Mnyanda, Fundraiser and Volunteer co-ordinator at Kids Haven.

Volunteers and Community Hours make a big difference

We love having Impact Days where corporates and businesses come and spend time with our children and young adults. We recently welcomed Puma SA Sport who spent a few hours with our pre-school children.
Nandi Buthelezi, one of the Puma crew, summed up her experience like this: ‘Spending time at Kids Haven was such a heartwarming and wholesome experience for us. We were all reminded of the pure joy that comes from connection, laughter, and just being present. From the games that we got to play and shared smiles, every moment was just incredible. Grateful for the opportunity, and even more grateful for the team that made it so special!’.
Individual volunteers and scholars doing Community Hours are also most welcome and make a big difference through their acts of service. On our website there are numerous ways in which people can get involved. We also have a link dedicated to community hours which includes donations such as clothing, meals, cakes and so on and how many hours these equate too. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you are looking for a way to get involved. There are opportunities at our offices in Bryanston and Benoni.
We look forward to building lasting relationships with you as part of our Kids Haven community. See you soon!

Save the date! It’s our Golf Day – 9 Oct

Driving Hope – Every swing brings a child closer to a classroom.
We are excited to invite you to our annual charity Golf Day to change the lives of children living at the Kids Haven Children’s Home.  All of the children living here have sadly experienced neglect, trauma, and abuse. This includes being left out of school or moving from school to school because of their unsafe circumstances.  We need your help to change this for every child.
Playing in the Kids Haven charity golf day generates funds for school placements, learning support, school uniforms – a real chance at a brighter future for every child at Kids Haven.

Our golf day is returning to The Wanderers Club in Illovo on the 9th of October 2025.  Your fourball will enjoy a round of golf, including a (quick) sit-down meal at halfway and a tasty supper at the end of the day.  Once again, every player will win a prize as they finish, with extra prizes going to the top players in the tournament.  It is a feel-good day from start to finish!

Please add your details to this registration link https://forms.gle/Mkv94jVHSLZwLJqJ7 and we will contact you with all the details.

Can we encourage you to do more – and put your hand up to sponsor a hole, adding to the funds we raise and showcasing your brand to 120 players passing through the course, demonstrating your commitment to building a better future for every child.  Please make this commitment on the link above.
Let’s drive hope — together