THE KERUS ORPHAN CARE CENTER
Kerus House of Encouragement is located in the township of Soshanguve, just outside of Pretoria, South Africa. The average household consists of 10 people who live on a monthly income of $172. The unemployment rate is 60%.
Over 2 million children now live as orphans in South Africa, having lost one or both parents to AIDS. This is the equivalent of 30,000 busloads of children, each one in desperate need. The orphan crisis has overwhelmed local communities like Soshanguve.
Kerus House of Encouragement has been caring for orphans in Soshanguve, South Africa, since June of 2008. After school each day, the children come to eat a nutritious meal and play in safety. They receive medical care, tutoring for their schoolwork, and spiritual development training that will help them chart a positive course for their lives.
All of the children attend school and live with a caring adult in the community, often a grandmother who is struggling to take care of several children. Kerus House of Encouragement exists to assist these primary caregivers: it is not a residential orphanage where children spend the night. The center eases the financial burden of caring for each child, allowing caregivers to provide emotional support and instill cultural heritage in their homes. The care center assists; it does not replace the family member or caring adult in the community. Currently, the center serves approximately 56 children and their families.
Program Overview
The primary goal of Kerus House of Encouragement is to inspire and equip the local church to be a beacon for compassionate care for those in great need and a trumpet for courageous actions that will stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Soshanguve area.
1. Compassionate Care for AIDS Orphans:- Providing day-care for pre-school-aged orphans
- Providing after-school care for school-aged children
- Serving at least one nutritious meal each day
- Assisting with homework
- Providing medical care
- Offering trauma and grief counseling as needed
- Offering discipleship training, plus character and life skills development
- Creating a garden to cultivate vegetables for the Orphan Care Center
- Helping orphans create gardens at their residences
- Providing training in basic values necessary for workplace success
- Developing skills to become economically independent through: computer training, handcrafts, beadwork, artifacts, needlework, embroidery, and similar skills.
- Training church-based volunteer caregivers on the cleaning and treatment of sores, bathing of patients, nutrition, and taking medications as prescribed.
- Counseling the patient and the family
- Teaching biblical principles, fellowship, and discipleship
Project Partners
Kerus House of Encouragement is a joint project involving many international and national agencies.
- Acts2Change coordinates many orphan care projects in the Soshanguve area and is the principle contact for Kerus in South Africa.
- The care center is located on the property of and under the management of Ark of the Covenant Church and Acts2Change.
- The local primary school, Pulamadibogo Primary School, identifies the orphans, helps coordinate services, tracks their progress in school, and provides tutoring as needed
- House of Encouragement, of Switzerland, is developing craft projects and other means that will enhance job training skills for the orphans and provide income for their families.
- The majority of resources that meet the financial needs of the center come from Kerus Global Education via caring individuals, organizations, and churches in the United States.
Contact our office to learn more about how you can become actively involved in this exciting program.
