The House of Hope project in Welkom is celebrating 19 years of excellence in serving and caring for destitute and abandoned babies.
Past Jackie Botes, project director, says it is 19 years of grace to God all the glory.
“When I bring back special memories, I think of the first two weeks after we opened. With tension and anticipation, we waited for our babies. Each week, the preceding Vista shared sad stories of ‘throwaway babies’.
“We were overwhelmed. Today almost 700 babies away, we can still marvel at His caring, His provision, His love. Every baby is dedicated to Him. His original plan is still determinative regardless of who the parents are,” says Botes.
She ascribes the project’s success story to God’s guidance, his provision and people who care passionately and teamwork.
“The ripple effect of every outreach, every group empowerment, every counselling every intervention in a crisis will never be able to be portrayed in statistics.
“One thing we know for sure, however, is that God is the rewarder of each person that assisted and presently form part of us.”
The House of Hope Community Life Development Programme started off small with just House of Hope (the safe house for babies) and has since grown to include Hope Babies, Hope Kids, Hope Support, Hope Life and Hope Training.
House of Hope has been caring for and making a difference in children’s lives for the past 19 years.
“Everything that has been achieved by this project all these years is because of the Lord and the hard work and compassion of the staff, board of governors, the funders, the volunteers and our partner organisations,” says Botes.
Over the years the project has been kept viable through the largesse of the community.
Anyone who would like to gift the projects for their birthday can bring donations of baby supplies and clothes, baby formula, cleaning, houseware or anything else to the Vista offices at The Strip, 312 Stateway.
To assist with any of the projects call Botes on 083-566-4663, send an email to deodoxa@polka.co.za or contact the social worker Tseleng Molete on 081-398-7609 or on hohsocialworker@outlook.com.
