About Highway Home
Executive Summary
With the relocation of the Home and its temporary closure of the facility in Maitland now behind us, the real hard work starts by not repeating the mistakes previously made and providing a facility that not only cares and provides education but equips the boys for successful re-integration into society as a respectable and working member of society. There is a great need for finances, as always, and we also need members of Melkbosstrand, Table View and Atlantis to become actively involved with the boys and their needs.
The Board would like to thank Philip Laubsher once more for making the farm available, rent free, for the next couple of years.
Highway Home offers services and care to abandoned, abused and neglected children who have been referred to us by welfare agencies and have been on the streets of Cape Town, the Peninsula and the West Coast.
Highway Home affords children the opportunity of
Having basic childhood needs met
Obtaining an education
Developing life skills and problem solving abilities
Re-unification with family
A choice other than the street by the time they reach adulthood.
The above are all lengthy processes, which depend entirely on the availability of resources. Our work also involves ways to enable the children to acquire income-generating skills and thus ensure an alternative to life on the streets.
Part of our vision is to lessen poverty through education. We help remove the physical barriers that hinder street children from receiving an education. We believe that every human being deserves a chance to learn. We provide them with a home in which they can learn and grow each day. We bring stability and provide them with an opportunity to hope for a future. We would like to invite you to make a difference in the life of a street child, which will impact not only on the life of that child, but also on future generations.
The Board of Directors of Highway Home in conjunction with Social Development will be the sole decision makers. The current Service Plan has been amended to provide residential care for 50 boys, (previously 25). Included in this development is a recreation facility, learning centre and sport facilities.
Education and recreation has been identified as areas of priority and we require financial and instructional input into this area.
The cycle of poverty can be broken with your financial assistance.
Background
Highway Home started initially as a soup kitchen in 1989 and was created by the Assemblies of God Church (AOG) for street children in Cape Town city centre, also providing basic medical services.
After identifying the need for a permanent facility to provide for the children, a house was purchased in Maitland after intensive fund-raising efforts. The Home was registered with the government as a childrens home, namely Highway Home Projects in 2001.
In June 2001 registration as a non-profit organisation with its own independent committee was secured. Affiliation to Child Welfare, Cape Town was received in March 2001 and is still maintained.
In June 2002 Highway Home Projects received exemption from taxes and duties and was approved in terms of section 18A by the South African Revenue Services.
Highway Home has grown from a residential care project to include broader family support and family re-unification. It co-ordinated integrated approach to the welfare of children and was adopted with a broader focus on their families and communities of origin.
Highway Home is situated on a farm just outside Melkbosstrand on the Old Darling/Mamre road in the Philadelphia/Melkbosstrand area. It caters currently for 30 boys, aged between 6-18 years of age who live permanently in the home. They are provided with a safe residential care facility that includes housing, education, school clothes, and casual clothes, stationary, feeding and caring for them. In addition there is also a family support programme in place.
Achievements to date:
Services: (Home)
We have a number of boys who, after having left Highway Home have succeeded in their careers.
Morgan and Kayletu, boys housed and educated by Highway Home have completed their studies and are practicing law.
Lennox is a supervisor at Holiday Inn (after having studied hospitality).
McKenzie has completed his 3rd year Marketing Business Management at Damelin College.
Vincent has completed his 3rd year B.Com (E-Commerce) at Damelin College.
David did Cost Management at Peninsula University College.
Michael studied Law at the University of the Western Cape.
Christo did a panel-beating course at Westlake College and
Asanda is trying to get into UCT (2009) to study law.
The Childcare workers at the home are involved in various ongoing training and will be doing a course in Parenting Skills in 2009.
Services: (Family Support)
Most of our boys have been reunited with their families when we closed the facility in Maitland in 2008. Two boys have been placed in other Children Homes and one boy (18 yrs) from Worcester is staying at a shelter in Woodstock. Financial support as well as groceries (April Dec 2008) were given to families when the boys went home.
Some of the parents of the boys were involved in a parenting skills course and gained awareness of their roles and responsibilities.
The life skills support programs has impacted on the intellectual, social and emotional development of the boys.
Family outreach programs would aim to empower the community and families through skills based programs to be allowed to take responsibility for their children and thereby be able to grow up in less restrictive environment.
We need to develop and mobilize Social Networks, strengthening our ties with the community in which our home is based and encouraging community participation. Entering into a working agreement with the department of Social Services forms part of their new Financing Policy, whereby Organizations who receive funding must enter into an agreement with them.
We must also develop relations and network with other Institutions, families and professionals within the community in order to encourage community participation.
Governance of Highway Home
A Board of Directors is elected annually, at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the next twelve months. The responsibilities of the Board of Directors are set out in the Constitution of the Organization.
The main responsibilities are:
Provide leadership to the Home
To ensure that the necessary funds are obtained to meet the running costs of the Home
To ensure proper financial controls are in place
To ensure that the objectives regarding the healthy development of the children in the Home are met
To liaise with, and involve all relevant stockholders with the activities of the Home
To ensure that the staff, employed by the Home, carries out their functions at an acceptable level.
The current list of Board of Directors is:
Juan Engelbrecht Chairperson 082 494 9684
Lizette Engelbrecht Home Care 083 393 1596
Pieter De Beer 07813923256 Vice Chairman ( 081 302 3256 )
Cornel De Beer 07813022404 ( 081 302 2404 )
All the Directors formally accepted the Highway Home mission statement and Code of Conduct and actively participate in endeavouring to achieve the aims and objectives of the Organization.
Board meetings are held monthly to discuss matters arising as well as evaluating the achievement of objectives, reports from staff and financial status.
The Board of Directors plans the strategic direction the Organization should take, taking new developments in the country and community into consideration. Particular emphasis is placed on the requirements by Social Development.
Currently the Home employs 6 staff members consisting of a Home Director, Secretary, 1 Childcare worker, a cook and 2 general assistants.
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