iKhaya LikaBaba
OUR NEWS
SEPTEMBER 2018

Doing Life… Together!

iKhaya LikaBaba is currently home to 27 kiddies. To provide them with neat clothing, nutritious meals/ lunch boxes, toiletries and a sanitary environment is of great importance to us. Education is vital for their bright futures and careers. Meeting each child’s spiritual, social, medical, psychological and emotional needs is core to inner healing and their future as sound community members of our “future generation”. If it takes a village to raise a child… how much more does it take to raise vulnerable children? Let’s join as one to make the change. No contribution is insignificant in the “big scheme” of things as all the “littles” add up to reach and meet all the needs. We need you. They need you! 14 Children need stationery and uniforms for the 2019 academic year. This is not an quick and simple feat! Besides the cost there is the logistics of shopping for uniforms and stationery, labeling every item of clothing and stationery down to each pen and pencil! And of course our scholars are aged 5 to 12 years and “come in” all “shapes and sizes”… making the task that much more interesting.

We would love to bless each child with a new outfit or shoes and a quality toy/ gift to open on Christmas Day after church. To celebrate on Christams Day and New Year we would love to provide our children and staff with meat and salads for a family braai. If you would like to partner with us please get in contact with Loressa for the kids’ wish lists.

Congratulations and Celebrations!

We celebrated the birthdays of 2 of our tots this month. We played pass the parcel, musical chairs, musical statues and had a dance off with a prize for the one with the “best moves”. Cakes and treats, games and gifts, bubbles and many giggles were the order of the day as together we made them the centre of the occasion, to feel loved, adored and part of a special family. My heart sings and overflows with joy as I enjoy sharing their day and joining in making memories of a lifetime!

Making Friends

We have 4 beautiful young ladies giving freely of themselves as they serve iKhaya and the kids through volunteer work. Johanna, Lea and Luisa are from Germany and will be with us until July 2019. Julie, from France, arrived this month and will stay 6 months. Part of them doing life with us includes us investing social time with them. We enjoyed a fresh Spring evening at Alkanstand together, walking on the beach sand and the pier, a little splash along the shoreline and a sunset picnic for supper.

Toddler Time

Ensuring our babies and toddlers develop well physically, socially and emotionally takes some planning and effort from those who spend the most waking hours with them. Children thrive on love, acceptance and a sense of belonging and we can meet these needs through intentional play times and social interactions with youngsters. Besides our very own pre-school for the kids aged 3-5 years, we encourage our volunteers to actively invest themselves each day with the littlies, babies to 2 years old, while their older siblings are out the home attending school. Filling the time with a variety of activities and lots noise and fun helps the caregiver to enjoy the time too!

Spring is in the Air!

Empangeni Christian School grade RR and R held a delightful spring tea with the kids dramatically, or with some reserve, strutting down the catwalk! The morning was a great delight enjoyed by us with our iKhaya preschooler class who went to support their siblings in action. Bronwyn, our iKhaya Preschool Teacher treated the moms to a fun morning too with kids dressed with flower faces especially for the occasion!

Extended Family

Jordan turned 3 and chose to celebrate his day with us! Nishi, iKhaya Assistant, and her hubby Melkom, fostered Jordan as an infant, and are in the process of adopting him. A family made by God and knitted together with His love! They showered us with love and delish food as we enjoyed celebrating together. Happy birthday Jordan!

Friends for Life!

Deep connections is what truly warms my heart more than anything… knowing that while our international volunteers serve us they are being knitted into our local community too. Friendships, that often extend beyond their time with us in SA, are forged through the Solid Ground Church community. Here we enjoy the sight of previous German volunteers, who served at Musawenkosi and iKhaya LikaBaba from as far back as 2015 to those who only left us in July 2018, spending time together back in Germany.

First Aid Training

Sister Madeleen from Medipark Pharmacy in Central Park, Empangeni is a gem! She cares about us and our kids’ wellbeing and never hesitates to be of guidance to us. Her passion shone through in all she shared at the recent training she held at iKhaya. She has a wealth of knowledge that she so unselfishly shares no matter when or where she goes!
From each one of us, to each and every one who plays a part in raising our kids, a great BIG THANK YOU! We could not achieve even a fraction of the excellence we do without your care, love and support. Together we are raising children with mighty and bright futures!

Greetings and love,

iKhaya LikaBaba
OUR NEWS
August 2018

Together We Can

Do you want to be a part of our mission? Do you want to see our dreams, goals and vision for our children fulfilled?

At iKhaya we are a family and we do life together. We are a home away from home for previously vulnerable children in need of love, affection and overall care. We reach out and touch these little lives through meeting their educational, physical, emotional and psychological needs with the hope and prayer they are transformed and healed. Our 24 hour care includes schooling, uniforms and stationery, good nutrition, clothing, good hygiene and so on. We can all jump on board to assist in meeting these practical physical needs or we can pledge our financial assistance to cover the overhead cost like transportation, safe and hygienic homes, staffing, administration, medical care, tertiary education, equipment, furniture and toys. Give Loressa a call to see how you can make a difference.

Bravery

Hospital visits are not something anyone looks forward too. But sometimes they are necessary. Thabiso put on his brave face and underwent his op with great courage. Despite being in terrible pain he managed to muster a grin for me when I gave him a happy “Glove Face” balloon while the nurse stepped out the room! Sara was brave too! She was exposed to our medical care in a state facility. This was a life experience, culture shock and an eye opener for her.

Vibrant, Happy, Beautiful

Sara Rudinski from Germany spent 6 weeks with us. She served with a cheerful disposition and kinda crept deep into our hearts in her short stay. She was a HUGE help to us in the gap between the last volunteers leaving in July and the 3 new German girls arriving late this month. Sara returned home to finish her studies and we hope to meet up with her again sooner than later! Johanna, Lea and Luisa are part of a social program run by APCM in Germany who send volunteers worldwide to partnering organisations. We have been blessed with the help of many young ladies through this partnership and are truly greateful to all at APCM for the role they play in sending us the most amazing volunteers.

Friends from Abroad

Taylor, Karen and their 2 beautiful daughters visited us again from Chicago, USA. Lending a helping hand and reaching out in love is how they roll. 614 Church from Columbus, Ohio had a team with us in August. They quickly became friends with us and both parties joined us at the KZN Equip in Pietermaritzburg before returning to the USA. We squeezed in some social time too... Many happy memories were created and friendships fostered.

Playtime

Children learn best through play. It is important to note that this kind of play is meant to be unstructured, child-driven play. Free time is vital to build their creativity and ability to come up with unique ideas. It also develops motor planning skills, helping the child to create and carry out ideas, motor actions, and activities while fostering decision-making skills and independence. Free play teaches kids to work in groups so they learn to share and resolve conflicts and helps kids develop social and emotional ties, both within the family and with other children.

Maxi’s Great Taste

Maxi’s Empangeni boast with the re-launch of their 5 Ways Mall shop. It has a new modern finish with great décor and delish coffee… all with GREAT TASTE!

Do pop by and give them a try!

Empangeni High School Choir entertained us along with the ribbon cutting ceremony.

Thank you Taste Holdings and 5 Ways Mall for giving back to our community! We will make great use of the donation made to our home.

Thank you for taking the time to read our news and for remaining in touch with us. We value all those who partner with us physically, emotionally, prayerfully and financially, even if we don’t get to tell you in person that we appreciate you!

Love and greetings from Loressa and the iKhaya Family

“The BEST LOVE is the kind that AWAKENS the SOUL and makes us REACH FOR MORE.”

"He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." Psalm 107:9 

Partner With Us

At iKhaya we strive to overcome rather than settle as victims of poverty, neglect and/or HIV/AIDS. Our children are given hope and a future as we at iKhaya provide them with the safety, security and love that every child deserves. We desire to see them all grow up to become whole, healed adults who in turn will give back to society one day too. We do this through great education, good nutrition and medical care, clean, quality homes and loads of love and affection from both caregivers and volunteers, who pour out all they have into the lives of the children. Despite the children’s past circumstances, iKhaya is a happy place filled with lots of happy noise and laughter as the children play together as siblings. Do you want to be a part of our mission? Do you want to see our dreams, goals and vision for the iKhaya children fulfilled? Contact us to see how you can make a difference! 

Bonfire and Marshmallows

Creating memories through creative thinking… Our German volunteers get up to so much with the kids, ensuring life is never mundane. They commit many hours to planning and preparing activities, crafts, walks and so on. Entertainment need not be elaborate parties, fancy gifts, visiting cool places. Just thinking out the box a little could mean a walk or run on the beach, picking and eating a stick of sugar cane, rolling in fresh mud, making a picnic out of a normal mealtime or in this case making a bonfire to toast marshmallows for a fun dessert! These are all special times that we all cherish for many years to come.

Mandela Day

Empangeni Christian School celebrating Mandela Day.

Nelson Mandela International Day 2018 marks 100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela (18 July 1918). The Centenary is an occasion to reflect on his life and legacy, and to follow his call to “make of the world a better place.” Many from our community joined us to spend 67 minutes with us cleaning, covering books, serving sarmies, interacting with us all and donating groceries, blankets and other consumable supplies. We also received a beautiful piece of art from Dumsani of Mandela. Thank you to Air Products, Power Factory Shop, Wilhelmsen Shipping, Dept of Labour, Magnet Group, Dumsani & Phindile and Devacka Foundation for blessing us this year. We are super grateful!

614 Church Missions Visit

614 Church in Columbus, Ohio, USA partners with us as we work out our vision and mission at iKhaya every day. They are fully in, committed and one with us to see our goals and vision realized. With this heart, they planned a mission trip to visit us to catch the heart of our home first hand. As they mingled and played with the kids, chatted to staff and leaders we all got to know one another personally. What a privilege it was to have you with us in SA and to have your ongoing support- we love your caring and loving hearts! We look forward to many years investing in our relationship and working towards a brighter future for many children! Caring for vulnerable children and others in need cannot be achieved by those willing or able to be hands on only. Everyone can be a part through their prayers, clothing and grocery donations, financial support, leaving a legacy for tertiary education and so on. Together we can change our world

Birthday Bliss

Parties are fun for us all. But at iKhaya we do your utmost to show the kids our love and acceptance of them and to give them a sense of belonging to a family through activities such as these. Through birthday parties and the gift giving we teach life lessons such as budgeting (monetary gifts), correct social behaviours, manners and safety in public places while shopping (spending their monetary gift), how to carry themselves at a party (manners, sharing, socialising, hosting a friend) and ownership and caring for their belongings. To sponsor a party or a gift thereby being a part of the celebrations, please contact Loressa directly. We would love to hear from you!

Brand It Blue

Express Emplyment Professionals Brand It Blue annual initiative was started in 2013 and was born out of a desire to serve and partner with a variety of nonprofit organizations in more than 800 locations in the United States, Canada, and South Africa. This year their Richards Bay office, together with RBT Gridrod Terminals, collected and donated a vast quantity of groceries, toiletries, baby goodies, clothing and home equipment so desperately needed by us. What an awesome project to reach out to the community. Thank you for choosing to support iKhaya this year. We are blessed!

A Generous Community

July has been a month of plenty as many have been stirred to support the community in celebration of Mandela Day. Rotary Club Empangeni donated bicycles and new plastic tables and chairs to our home and for the kids. GAC Shipping gave us much needed long life milk, nappies and groceries which will all be meeting a great need. Unizul Students joined us for fun and games and a lovely picnic. Richard and Lauren from the UK for baking with the kids. Thore Hopperstad, Norway, heads up Children of Zululand. Thore and his team paid us a visit, donated bicycles and knitted blankets, beanies and jerseys for our babies.Do visit and support their gofundme champaign at https://www.gofundme.com/children-of-zululand-barneheim . Thank you to everyone, not just those I have mentioned here, who graciously give to meet our every need. We truly appreciate you all. The kids had a blast! “

“What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what dfference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.” Nelson Mandela

“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9

Partner with us

Meeting the everyday needs in a home is the easy part of raising a family. Ensuring the spiritual, emotional and psychological needs are met, along with excellent education, means digging deeper and reaching out more as we aim to develop and mold the precious lives of the children entrusted into our care. We accept the challenge as a privilege to love and equip these young lives to be complete and whole young adults, who in turn will multiply our passion and heart for those in need of care in our community; especially vulnerable children.

You too can be a part of each child’s journey to fullness of life through volunteering your professional services, donating food, nappies, clothing, and equipment and so on or financially contributing to the running costs of our home and the children’s educational and psychological needs.

A man’s job is never done… Maintenance, Maintenance, Maintenance…. from buildings to beds, bikes and toys, to equipment, it’s a never-ending story. So if you’re a handy man;

you will be in “handy man heaven” here!

Celebrating Life

What a joy it has been to watch this little tot grow and transform from a “chrysalis to a butterfly”.

Celebrating her first birthday was an exciting occasion as she beamed and glowed as the focus was on her. She is a happy, smiley bundle of delight in our lives and is loved dearly!

Thank you to those who contributed to making her birthday so special and such fun with the ball pond castle, a gift and yummy cake to share. We appreciate you all.

“We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today.” - Stacia Tauscher, dancer and artist

 Parties with a Purpose

As parents we create memories and throw parties to celebrate with friends. Sweets and treats, gifts and games are the order of the day. I am a mother and so I speak from experience when I say our heart is to bless our children in this way. At iKhaya we are no different… we too have a heart to bless the little lives in our home. But we take it a step further and add a purpose. Each child has a turn to be the centre of the attention, to be loved and adored through a party. We allow the school children to invite school friends to their party and they are given a cash gift from us to teach the value of money, respect for their own belongings. The kids get to choose to spend half the cash gift or to save it. The other half they spend on new clothes only. Our ulterior motive of a party and the monetary gift is to teach the children simple budgeting, social skills, safety when in town, value of goods and saving for items on their wish lists.

Look at the fun our princess, who turned 8 this month, had with her friends and iKhaya siblings!

 Quality Time

What a blessing to have four dedicated, caring and loving volunteers who are committed to life with us. They spend much social time interacting with the children and taking them places. Kathleen, Kristin, Ursula and Priska will leave us next month having served wholeheartedly for 11 months at iKhaya. We appreciate them and will surely miss them beyond measure!

School's Out!

The holiday is upon us and the kids are enjoying the much needed break, especially those who wrote exams. What a pleasure to receive a number of reports showing improvement in grades and effort by so many of our children. They have all experienced a life trauma and to be producing the standard we see is simply warms the heart with pride and joy! Here are some of the fun activities enjoyed by the children these holidays so far…

Sponsor's Thank You Function

Solid Ground Church and iKhaya hosted an event to thank all the sponsors who have partnered with us to support iKhaya LikaBaba. We appreciate your kindness and generosity and know that it is a team effort to achieve our goals!

The kids sang and danced, in a show they prepared, to entertain us all. This was such a treat and produced many a smile as we watched them in action! Getting to know each sponsor on a more personal level over a cup of coffee was an important and valuable time, especially to me. Thank you all for joining us. To those who could not make it this time, here is what you missed out on…

“There can be no greater gift than that of giving one’s time and energy to help others without expecting anything in return.” - Nelson Mandela