A group of women from Good Shepherd Anglican church, Kensington, made the chilly winter season a little warmer for babies at Hannah’s Place of Safety in Mitchell’s Plain by donating knitted items.
Hannah’s Place of Safety is a non-profit organisation (NPO) that provides temporary shelter to vulnerable babies, newborns to the age of one.
Muriel Denton, a member of the ladies’ support group, said they started an initiative a few years ago where they would donate clothing items and toiletries to hospitals.
“We are just a group of women from the church that provides support where it is needed,” she said.
“We would provide love parcels to people from rural areas who perhaps are admitted to Groote Schuur Hospital without any of their belongings. We do this from our own pockets, with support from our families and the parish.”
Denton said this year the group decided to focus on Hannah’s Place and visited the facility on Tuesday 21 June.
“We heard of the amazing work it does and wanted to help them. We donated some baby items and toiletries, and got to spend some time and interact with the babies as well.”
Denton says her parish also collects groceries and non-perishable items, which are donated to vulnerable people in the Kensington area.
Janine Fabe, chair and founder of Hannah’s Place, says the much-needed donation is “greatly appreciated”.
“They donated toiletries, knitted items some of the older ladies made and also did a play gym for one of the children, but all the children will be able to play with it. We are grateful as these are the things we need all the time. It was such a wonderful initiative.”
Fabe said items such as diapers, baby formula and baby clothing are constantly on their wish list. She says while they accept pre-loved baby clothes, these items must be clean. She explained the babies stay at the facility for a period of six months.
“We currently have 10 newborn babies in our care. The babies are here 24/7. Children stay with us for six months before moving on to the next destination, which is either adoption, foster care or family reunification.”
Fabe says an NPO’s financial constraints are a constant challenge.
“The challenge is always finances. We have a staff rotation of 11, and those staff need to be paid. They are employed by Hannah’s Place of Safety. We need fuel for the car for doctors’ appointments, so money is a great challenge. We greatly appreciate the basics people offer us.”
She says the public can assist them by either donating in cash or kind or by becoming a volunteer.
“People can call our office or find us on Facebook and inbox us. We welcome volunteers, we have a programme for volunteers, we put people through the screening process to make sure they are police cleared and they have child protection clearance. Those in the volunteer programme actually become foster parents.”
- To support the NPO visit http://www.hannahsplaceofsafety.org/
