You have probably read about Home from Home in our past newsletters. We support this great organization by including a donation to Home from Home in each and every travel itinerary, YOU, our dear guests, confirm with us. This time we would like to introduce you to two special people, Marlies and Clem Spaubeek, who have been part of Home from Home since its beginning days. Never would they have dreamed that they would be able to assist in giving a new home to almost 200 township children in 34 foster homes throughout the Western Cape. Many of those young children have now become teenagers that are beginning to develop dreams and hopes for their future, which brings its own challenges with it.
Marlies and Clem Spaubeek spend eight months of the year in Cape Town, the other four in Germany. They founded Home from Home Germany in 2006, with the aim of building foster homes for orphaned children in the Cape, by raising funds in Germany. Since the very beginning, they have had a particularly close relationship with foster-mom, Nicky, and the six children in her care. They live in Cape Town’s largest informal settlement, Khayelitsha. The girls and boys in the home are now between 13 and 16 years old and either had lost their parents to AIDS or carry the HIV virus themselves. Thankfully the government now pays for critical HIV vaccines that enable them to live normal lives. However, the prospects for people living in so-called ‘townships” are still poor and the children thus require a good school education to have a prospect for a good future. Marlies and Clem see the greatest challenge in teaching the children to become self-sufficient, independent young adults, who understand that the standard of living they currently enjoy through the support of so many generous donors, should not to be taken for granted and needs to be earned through dedication and hard work. The task is immense, particularly as many have suffered late childhood development, trauma or health impairments. And yet, there are always positive examples of those with courage and determination, that motivate others to follow in their footsteps. Take 22-year-old Musa, who is now a self-employed carpenter, or 20-year-old Jennifer, who has just applied to become a nail technician. Life stories such as these show the importance of the Home from Home foster care system, its tutoring programmes and its dedicated team of caregivers and organizational staff. To find out more, click on homefromhome.org.za or www.homefromhome-germany.org
