Visit to the Johanesburg Children’s Home

There’s something interesting Jodene said at our latest #JoziMeetup. She says the really cool thing about blogging is that it has opened doors of opportunities for her.

So, by a series of fortunate events, I visited an orphanage on Saturday. Actually I went to a Netflorist event last year (where I learnt to style a rocking bouquet of flowers) and was introduced to the Johannesburg Children’s Home. Media at the event were matched up with various kids (who we chose) to sponsor them a cake on their birthday. So I chose Sibusiso in September, as my husband, father and sister all have birthdays in this month.

 

 

 

 

 

Nicky chose the cake. He has a thing for Oreo biscuits at the moment and he liked the “Cookies and Cream” cake. (I bet you didn’t know Netflorist did cakes. Neither did I.)

We also went through some of his toys to give some away. The bigger ones he doesn’t play with anymore. And a tricycle. Plus a Lego lookalike which isn’t really Lego. 

So we drove there and as it turns out they have a system when you bring stuff in. You have to fill in a form and it goes to the office. Probably a good idea so that it all gets equally distributed. 

We then went in search of Sibusiso. And we found him. And a little friend called Banele.  Sibusiso was turning seven the next day. We spent a while playing with them. 

They have a stunning playground there with lots of jungle gyms to play on. Nicky had fun with his new friends.

 

I could see how the kids took pride in showing Nicky around. Nicky has a current fascination for upstairs homes and was entranced to see that they have this setup. So up we went to see their room and he looked out of the window in wonder. A lovely leafy view and also of the swimming pool. 

As much as they have a lovely environment to live in, there were signs that this was an orphanage. Sibusiso definitely wanted hugs and my heart ached for him and the situation. The rooms were neat and tidy but definitely sparse. I did notice books though and they showed Nicky their Ben Ten book very excitedly, also wanting to do some moves. 

I came home to all the clutter of toys and was reminded about what was important. The love we have in our family. The fact that Nicky has a mom and a dad. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have so very much to be so grateful about and I want to thank Netflorist and JHB Children’s Home for giving us this opportunity to make a difference.

(Check out our Spring gardening tips and win a daffodil with Netflorist in our current competition)

If you’d like to know more about the home and how to assist you can visit their website.  

You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.