Since 2018, Guardians of Hope has cared for 152 abandoned, abused and neglected children in the metro, however, after having had to move premises, the home is now facing a financial battle.
Guardians of Hope cares for vulnerable children and babies, from newborn to four years of age.
In 2022, the municipality forced Guardians of Hope to vacate its original premises in Bonnie Doon due to zoning disputes.
The home then relocated to 52 Belgravia Crescent.
The new premises has enabled Guardians of Hope to house more children, includes a nursery for the babies, a room for the toddlers, a palliative/sick bay, as well as a bathroom and a classroom for the toddlers.
The premises also includes for counselling and play therapy.
Despite this, Guardians of Hope founder and director, Elaine Brinkman, said the home had lost vital donor funding.
“We sadly lost a few of our sponsors due to us not being able to provide the advertising on the busy intersection.
“Also, we are not getting the same amount of donations as before due to the perception that our home is not in a safe area. This is most definitely not the case.
“We thus are experiencing financial constraints and unable to cover all our overheads.
“We are hoping to be able to accommodate 30 children.
“Currently we have 23 and are not able to take in more due to the cost and not being able to have an extra caregiver.
“Not having enough funding will hinder us from achieving our goal of caring for 30 children and continuing to bring hope to vulnerable children.
“We would love to be able to pay for a foundation phase teacher. We are 100% community-funded and have started the Hope 1000 Club where we need a 1,000 people to sign up for a minimum of R150 per month. This would assist with the sustainability of the organisation.”
Brinkman said donors such as Mercedes Benz had come on board to assist, however, more support was needed so that more children could be helped.
“Guardians of Hope has a number of special needs children. When we get a call for a child, we assist immediately.
“The only reason we would not be able to assist would be not having enough space or funding. We would love to have you visit us and show your love.
“Alone we can do so little, but together we can do a lot.”
