When Mrs Cele’s sister expressed interest in becoming a foster mother, she found herself drawn to the idea as well. They had already heard about suffering children in need of secure and loving families to welcome them into their homes. When they found out about Give a Child a Family Africa (GCF), the sisters took a taxi to Margate without knowing the organisation’s location. After asking around at the crowded taxi rank, someone eventually gave them directions and they arrived safely.

Today Mrs Cele is a skilled foster parent, thinking back in time with a smile on her face. “At GCF, we received such a warm welcome. It gave us hope. We knew we were at the right place.”

Both sisters successfully went through the foster care screening process and became part of the foster care database for approved foster families. When GCF asked Mrs Cele if she would be open to hosting three siblings from another centre during a school holiday, she did not hesitate to say yes. The children arrived and continued to stay with her every holiday for two years until they moved to relatives in another part of the country. She describes this experience as a beautiful journey, where they grew to love each other deeply.  

Eight years ago, Mrs Cele welcomed two children into foster care, a 7-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy.  The children had a rough background of mistreatment and struggled in different ways. Initially, the boy suffered from ill health, while the girl faced challenges in school. Today things are much better. The girl excels academically and has dreams of becoming a nurse. Mrs Cele’s foster son, now an adult man, feels a strong sense of belonging to the Cele family. He shows a great interest in cooking, which she encourages him to pursue at a local college.    

“If they would have stayed where they came from it would have been much worse for them emotionally and physically”, she reflects. “They remember how it was then. It was really not good for the boy; he was constantly beaten and scolded. He says that he never wants to go back.”

Mrs Cele shows strength and perseverance when talking about her foster children and the challenges they have been through as a family. She mentions how her foster son befriended the wrong crowd and lost hope for the future due to complications in applying for his ID documentation, among other difficulties they have encountered together.

Drawing inspiration from David and Goliath, “The whole of Israel feared that David would be killed, but it did not happen. What God did then, He can do now.”  She passionately gives God thanks for giving her solutions to their problems.

Mrs Cele is satisfied with how GCF has walked a mile with her and so many other foster parents. She finds the GCF support group meetings particularly helpful, where they listen and learn from each other. It has built her as a person and has made her understand that others are living similar lives.

Being a foster mother has not been an easy ride, but Cele would do it all over again and bring another child into her care if she only would have been younger.