Mrs Sithole* is one of Give a Child a Family’s Temporary Safe Care (TSC) parents. She lives in a semi-rural community with her family and is someone people often turn to for advice and support. She sews clothes from home to earn an income and has informally cared for other people’s children for many years. Since joining the TSC programme, she has cared for seven children.
When asked what inspired her to become a TSC parent, Mrs Sithole said:
“I was encouraged by seeing a lot of children not being well taken care of. They seemed to be in dire situations, as young as they were. I wanted to avail myself because the children needed time, love and adequate attention to fully be children and be raised as children. They also seemed to need proper guidance, respect, teachings and values.”
For Mrs Sithole, one of the greatest rewards is seeing the change in a child during their time in her care:
“I make sure to see change in them. I work hard in making them feel at home, welcome and in a peaceful environment. Seeing the change in their behaviour from when they arrive to when they leave is the proudest and biggest milestone for me, because that shows that I have impacted the child the way I wanted to.”
She understands that her role is not to replace a child’s family, but to help them through a difficult period until a safe, longer-term solution can be found:
“I don’t see myself as replacing their biological parents. I see myself as a bridge for the children to a better future, whether in their own families or in other families they might end up in that are hopefully also warm and welcoming.”
For a child arriving in crisis, having a safe home, someone who cares and a person who believes in their future can make all the difference. Mrs Sithole is one of those people. Through the support that makes the TSC programme possible, children who might otherwise have become one of many in an institution can instead spend this difficult time in a family, receiving the individual care, attention and security they uniquely need.
(*not her real name)