Touch Isithembiso

This past Saturday Isithembiso Babies Home had its first touch rugby fundraiser, Touch Isithembiso. The fundraiser consisted of ten invitational teams playing in two pools. The inter-pool round robins were followed by the two top teams from each pool going through to the semi finals. The losing finalists played in a 3rd/4th play-off which was followed by the final.

Isithembiso officially opened their doors on the 1st of November 2005, and has cared for more than 60 babies to date. Isithembiso is a place of safety for children between the ages of 0-3 years who have been abandoned, abused, neglected or orphaned. We work hand in hand with social services to find these children new families or to reunite them with their biological family according to their individual case.

Isithembiso's mission is to speak up for those who can’t speak for themselves. Proverbs 31 v 8-9 “Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor & needy.” Secondly, to reach the community by providing a safe home for children these children.

Isithembiso takes a maximum of 6 children at a time. The reason that they want 6 babies in the home at a time is that at the age of five, the brain has reached 90 percent of its adult size and the child’s emotional, behavioural, cognitive and social foundation is set for the rest of the individual’s life. They are therefore very much aware of the responsibility they have of taking care of these children at such an incredibly critical stage of their lives. To do this well they need to be able to give much one-on-one time to each individual child. The goal being to restore love, trust and security to these little ones who have had such traumatic starts to life, as well as physically rehabilitate the many children who come into their home who are often far behind on developmental milestones due to malnourishment, neglect and abuse.

 

Isithembiso relies solely on the donations of individuals and businesses to run from month to month. Some of thier expenses include rent, the salaries of the 6 staff members, rates and the general running of the household.

 

If you would like to get involved in assisting them in any way or visit the home so that you can get a better idea of what they do and who they are doing it for, you can contact Carmen Faragher | Home administrator to set up an appointment.

 

For any further information please feel free to check out their website www.isithembiso.org and/or ‘LIKE’ their facebook page. You can also contact them on 041 581 0374.

The semi-finals were played between Die Grensvegters, Varsity Reds, The Slayers and The Trojans. Die Grensvegters beat Varsity Reds 8 - 4 in the one semi-final with The Trojans beating The Slayers 7 - 1 in the other. The Slayers beat Varsity Reds 6 - 4 to take the 3rd place, with the final being played between the two better sides on the day as The Trojans beat Die Grensvegters, 8 - 1, in a somewhat one sided game.

A special thanks to Nutri Tech, USN, Tsitsikamma Crystal, Action Sports, AG Aviation Africa and all the teams for their contributions in making the day a success.