Twenty twenty three is the year we will always remember for the winter with the endless rain! It felt as if it just never stopped raining. Rivers overflowing, dams full to the brink, water everywhere. We at Joya Homes will remember it as the year of grace and favour. Like with all storms, we had our challenges but with it came growth and new life. Our hearts are overflowing.
Drawing by Bongile 10y, foster child.
Empowering women: Meet the A-team
We have always believed in empowering women and people in the community. These women took hands with us and have truly been a driving force behind Joya Homes and our work. Meet three women who have a heart for children and who do their work with loving dedication.
From the left:
Dalene, our foster mother with the heart of gold.
Sophia, our project manager, the one who keeps everything together. Sharon, our loving,kind assistant mother. Zukisa, our aftercare teacher who makes even maths fun.
Education Education has always been a high priority for us at Joya Homes and Educare. This year some of the children played chess at their school’s club, and even played regular matches. We believe this is such a good way to develop their minds and help them to improve in their schoolwork. Our educare classes continued all through the year, four days a week. We helped with school work, did educational activities and provided a healthy meal or snack to make sure no one goes home with an empty stomach.
Winter clothes and blanket drive During one of the coldest winters, a blanket and warm clothes drive from Bloemhof Girls High was very much welcomed and appreciated by foster mothers and children in the Nomzamo and Strand area. We were able to give warm blankets and clothes to several mothers and children to stay warm during the cold months. Thank you Bloemhof Girls High!
New Places…
Our vision and hope for the children in our care is to give them a ‘normal’ childhood with a bag full of memories to carry with them into their adult lives. That is why we make time and put a budget aside to take the children to new places. Their year was filled with some pretty amazing outings and holiday activities! During the June holiday they paid a visit to The Giraffe house where some of them saw a giraffe for the very first time in their life! They visited the flying field just outside Stellenbosch and the educare group spent a morning at the Cape Town Aquarium. The children were big-eyed at some of the fish- creatures they met there and to see an underwater world they never knew existed! Some of the boys played soccer with their school teams, went for golf lessons and the children enjoyed a few outings to the beach. We had birthday parties, dress up parties, bok Fridays and school events. Saturday afternoons were spent on the jungle gym or in the garden at home with our little dog. It was a pretty amazing year!
Thank You! From our board, Joya Homes staff and children- we want to thank you, our donors, family, friends and support network for a year filled with experiences and memories. In 2023 it rained endlessly and we felt blessed endlessly.
We must teach our children to dream with their eyes open. Harry Edwards
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok
