Two of the children
From left to right: Nonhlanhla(7)
and her brother Philani(4)
The House of Shalom was the brainchild of Saras Govender, then an employee of Pick & Pay in Empangeni.  It was her vision to care for the abused and neglected children which gave her the courage to resign from her employer in 1989 to be able to dedicate herself to them on a full time basis.  Subsequently the House of Shalom was established in November 1991 with the assistance of Rev, G.Pillay. 

The House of Shalom is an interdenominational organisation with its own fund raising number.  It serves as an "advocate" on behalf of all abused and neglected children.

During the years of 1992/3 Saras initiated a once a week feeding scheme for street children from her home.  Eventually, as the number of volunteers increased, the feeding started taking place daily,  With time a relationship with the children developed.

In February 1994, the Siyabonga Children's Shelter was established at Greenhills, Richards Bay. It was a traditional abode which provided shelter and the basic needs for food, clothing and shelter for 15 children at a time.  Their ages ranged from 6 to 15.  "Ikhayalethu" was born.  "Ikhayalethu"is now a home the children can call their own and which will help preparing them to be absorb back into society, while being treated with the dignity they deserve..

Unfortunately, as the children grew, it was obviously not always possible to return them to their respective families.  To this day, dozens of youngsters have passed through the shelter,  Some have returned home, while others, sadly, have gone back to the streets.

The House of Shalom is  administered by duly formed Committees, It is run exclusively on the goodwill of their members, none of whom receives any material compensation for their effort.

As a whole, the House of Shalom derives its income from a subsidy given by the government as well as donations received from the community and local businesses.


 

 Although every child has the right to protection and care and that child's family is the social institution that has been entrusted with this responsibility, it is not always possible for his family to meet this need due to a number of reasons, such as political turmoil and social unrest.  For quite sometime the Lower Umfolozi region has been an area ravaged by violence, causing many families to disintegrate.  It is against this background that many children roam the streets of Richards Bay.

As the world may look uncaring on the plight of these children, there are still a few who have assumed responsibility.  While many intentionally decline and fail in their duty, these destitute children should not be denied the basic necessities of life.  Having this in mind,

The short term goals of the House of Shalom are :

  • to provide shelter to street children who are referred by the police and members of the community for accomodation.
  • to provide a place of safety for the children referred to the shelter in terms of section 14(3) of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983.
  • to provide the children we shelter and who have been deprived due to a variety of circumstances, with what they need, materially, socially and spiritually.

The long term goals of the House of Shalom are :

  • To provide a substitute home able to shelter, care for and protect the children found to be in need of care in terms of section 15 (1) (c ) of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983.
  • To identify and establish projects, programs and activities for the social and economic development of the community, particularly in rural areas, and
  • To remind the Christian Community of it's social responsibility by promoting awareness, according to  the beliefs of each and every member of that Community.