A happy home after a rough start

Running a children’s home doesn’t just require a big heart, it takes a lot of organising, planning, liaising, fund raising, and hard work. To see a children’s home that really feels like a home, where kids are cared for, that’s clean, and extremely well organized, gives hope for these kids that have had a rough start. Christine Revell’s Children’s Home is such a place, where 49 kids aged 0-5 are looked after with heaps of TLC.

Christine Revell’s Children’s Home is based in Athlone, Cape Town. It all started more than 60 years ago, when Christine Revell started to care for young unwed mothers. Lateron, this home for women in need was transformed into a children’s home and place of safety for babies and small children. It was then named after Christine Revell. The children’s home is registered with the Department of Social Services of the Western Cape and receives a small monthly subsidy per child. For all other needs the Home depends on donations.

Question that’s always top of mind for donors, is whether it’s worthwhile the donation in terms of how well the organisation in managed. The home’s very transparent policy in terms of visiting hours for guests/donors to receive a walkabout where the host is explaining everything about the home is already an indicator that the home is extremely well organized. Both permanent staff and a team of volunteers dedicate their time towards giving the children a warm and welcome home. Clear visual management displaying time schedules, rosters, check lists, ensure that nothing is overlooked, and the place is run like clockwork. It reflects in the happy faces.

The cooks in the kitchen have the honorable task to serve nutritious meals for the kids. Obviously, due to the age group, a lot of the food needs to be pureed, and that’s how we came into the picture. On our first personal visit we learned about the need for a commercial kitchen machine as the ones being used are not up for the task being used daily for high quantities. We therefore donated an OmniBlend blender that is capable of processing high quantities, to start feeding the babies solids when they’re ready for it.

The Christine Revell Children’s Home is always appreciative of any donations. Now, with Women’s Day coming up, they’re looking for goods that can be used as prizes for our Women’s Day event. The event will be hosted on 9 August, and is being organised to honour the host moms, volunteers, board members, and staff who give so much of themselves to the children.   In addition to that, goodie packs are being prepared, for which smaller items like lipsticks, lotions, small perfumes or even chocolates are needed. Please get in touch with Carmelita if you’re in the position to contribute. She can be contacted on 021 697 1748, or visit the home’s website for more information.