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ut there are sadly thousands of South African women who don’t dream these possibilities into being… the future just too farfetched for their babies. The Domino Foundation has a legacy strategy of investing in vulnerable children from “Cradle to Career” and this encapsulates the heart of its nine community centric interventions which impact the lives of over thirteen and a half thousand people each month, most of them children, creating what they call the #Domino Effect - changing individuals and so changing communities and then the nation. Among Domino’s first beneficiaries in 2004 were orphaned and abandoned babies. Sixteen years on and the Fairhaven Babies’ Home (also referred to as a Transition Home, not an orphanage) has nurtured over 160 little people and to date 154 babies and children have been reunited into the security of their biological or extended families, or have matched into the comforting arms of their new “forever families” through adoption. The home is currently full of the joyful noise of babies and toddlers being loved and nurtured through their various stages of development and child protection. As we all know, babies grow into busy little toddles and should also be afforded the opportunity to learn and
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EVERYDAY LIFE WWW.MUMSMAIL.COM
Cradle to Career AS THEY GAZE AT THEIR NEWBORNS, MANY NEW MUMS DREAM OF ‘MY SON, THE DOCTOR’ OR ‘MY DAUGHTER, THE BUSINESS WOMAN’ develop their age appropriate milestones through PreSchool or Early Childhood Development (ECD) Centres. Domino plays their second pivotal role into this education space by embarking on a three-year partnership with six local ECD centres, in the community of Amaoti - mentoring crèche owners through enterprise development tools in order to help them strengthen the business of foundation phase learning to enable children to thrive and prepare for school readiness. As children move into primary school and then onto secondary/high school, Domino’s Literacy and Life Skills programmes are designed to keep building their hunger and capacity for learning. On the academic side, the building blocks of phonics is to enable each child to read, write and communicate effectively in English. And as they progress to pre-adolescent youth and teenagers they are mentored into develop-
ing healthy relationships and making wise lifestyle choices, especially in regards the ever prevalent and constant reality of HIV/AIDS. Many of the beneficiaries in the interventions listed above are not adequately fed or nourished at home and depend on Domino’s Nutrition Programme for “food for thought” – over 7 000 meals in the form of sandwiches, porridge or soup are supplied through Domino’s three kitchens in the Ethekwini area (North and South Durban). The mission is that no child should be too hungry to concentrate and learn. After leaving high school, many capable and ambitious young people are faced with the challenges of unemployment, lack of finances for tertiary education or an overwhelming sense confusion as to which path to take to realise their dreams to earn a living. Domino’s Skills Development Programme provides opportunities for selected learners to apply for the Bursary Process which includes tertiary education and access to funding for living and travel allowances, educational resources and fees. Tragically, some young people react out of desperation and fall into the clutches of prowling sextraffickers. Domino’s Red Light Initiative reaches out
