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MONTE VISTA: NEHEMIAH SAFE HOUSE IN DESPERATE NEED OF VEHICLE
Safe house needs wheels CARINA ROUX
H
usband and wife team Amy and Bronson Vos opened their home to abused, neglected and abandoned children five years ago and in 2016 the Nehemiah Safe House in Monte Vista was registered as an NPO. At present there are seven children at the home, six of whom are under the age of two. The couple also has a biological son of 10. Amy says she comes from a childcare background and was a day mother in Sanddrift before she started volunteering at other homes. Bronson comes from a real estate background and is still involved with a family business that makes wooden furniture. Amy says the choice they made to open their hearts and doors to children in need of a safe home and a loving family was most likely the hardest but best thing they have ever done. It has been an amazing journey thus far and they are still learning as they go along, but they have seen children heal, grow and thrive, she says. With TygerBurger’s visit last week, the only little girl at the home at present, who will turn two later this year, was being a bubbly and chatty bundle of cuteness. Bronson remarked that it was like she had just discovered, in the last week or so, that she “has a voice”. However, when she first arrived at Nehemiah at age 13 months, she had what looked like boils all over her tiny body, he says. These were discovered to be cigarette burns. She was also badly bruised, had a broken nose and a dislocated ankle. One of the boys, now 18 months, was found abandoned in a house where he was left alone for three days. He is behind in his development as he cannot walk or roll over yet. He also still wakes up during the night, says Amy. All of the children are in foster care, with the exception of two that were abandoned. Amy and Bronson are in the process of adopting one and will start the process of adopting the other after the initial foster care period has passed. The other children are in long-term foster care as the whereabouts of their parents are known. Only one of the children currently gets to see his mother on occasion. Amy says permanent reunification with
the parents happens very rarely and often children get removed again. She says the authorities are looking at changing the regulations to shorten the initial foster period so that children will become adoptable sooner. This will be positive, as “it is much easier for children to become family oriented at a younger age and because no-one wants to adopt a 10 year old,” says Amy. The sooner one can get a child into a stable environment the better, and, says Amy, “the earlier they come the better their chances of dealing with the trauma they have been through.” Nappies and formula do not come cheap and Amy admits their running costs are substantial. The children also often need special diets because of the past neglect they suffered. Local business Fish4Africa sponsors the nursery school fees of some of the children while the owner of Little Rascals Nursery School also sponsors one child. Amy says this helps a lot and there are also a few people who make consistent donations every month. Currently they receive R5000 worth of goods per month from the Dischem Charity Foundation, but this will come to an end in September. At the moment their biggest need is for suitable transport for the trips to be made to courts, social departments, hospitals and clinics and for fetching or dropping off children at school. The bakkie they have is not viable for the safe transport of young children and Amy says her mother’s car, which they have used on occasion, is not always available. She says they have spoken to a few dealerships which are all willing to give them a discount. To make their dream a reality she has started a Thundafund campaign online. With R40 000 they will have a deposit on a vehicle which will bring the instalments down, but if they can reach their goal of R130 000 they can pay in cash and not have to worry about monthly instalments. For more information, call Amy on 072 049 2709 or email amy@bothasig.co.za.
Bronson and Amy Vos of Nehemiah Safe House. PHOTO: CARINA ROUX
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