Ilitha Labantwana Place of Safety is growing from strength to strength, with special attention to special needs of the children, improvements in book-keeping practices, and progress in building repairs all underway in recent months!

CHOSA was drawn to supporting Ilitha last year after hearing the powerful stories of founder Rosemary Mvumbu’s efforts to provide a “place of safety” in her own home for children who have been removed from their homes in emergency situations. Many of these children have been abused or neglected, and desperately need the loving home that Ilitha provides.

One of the ways we have been able to support Ilitha in recent months is by helping Rosemary with her financial reporting system. We had begun by helping her to develop an effective system of keeping track of finances manually. However, we plan to soon teach the Ilitha staff how to do their book-keeping on Microsoft Excel, which we have recently helped them install on the Ilitha computer. These lessons will not only benefit the organization, but also empower the staff with new skills and abilities.

We are also working with Ilitha to get two children back in to school, who have not been attending for some time. This is challenging due to their long period of truancy, but we are committed to walking alongside Rosemary and ensuring that this takes place. In addition, CHOSA’s Community Organizer Zukie Mabuya has taken the lead on helping one child at Ilitha, who is a couple of years behind in school, to find an educational environment for children with disabilities, which will better meet her needs and help her reach her potential.

In a final bit of good news, we have just completed some important repairs on the Ilitha home, with the help of local donors Claire and Dean Lynch! These improvements will continue to guarantee a safe and healthy environment for the children at Ilitha, and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.