St. Joseph’s Home for Children provides convalescent care and medical services for up to 120 children in four wards (plus our HIV ward) who suffer from chronic and debilitating illnesses.

In 1935, as a result of the great depression, a heritage of suffering, including significant numbers of disabled and chronically ill children, living in destitute circumstances on the Cape flats, the Pallottine Sisters in South Africa decided to open a home for these children. They suffered from Tuberculosis, malnutrition, Polio and other severe and chronic illnesses.

Unfortunately for many of our children and their families the great depression continues to this day in South Africa. With over 60% of the South African children living in poverty, with life expectancy at birth at 47.7 years of age, and with 75% of all children ages 0 to 6 living in poverty, that adds up to 5.2 million children in South Africa, still caught up in the great Depression. The Pallottine sisters are needed more today than ever before.

We care for children suffering from all forms of cancer, congenital birth defects, juvenile arthritis, insulin dependent diabetes, heart and renal failures, accidents and abuse victims, HIV/AIDS and other chronic long term illnesses. The Pallottine Sisters back then and today along with a caring staff continue to make a difference in the lives of the children we serve.

With many of the children living in informal settlements, clean water, electricity, sanitation and healthy foods are in short supply. Unemployment is over 60% and for those mothers who do work; they are absent from their homes for long periods of time, usually working as house cleaners for minimum wages. The informal settlements are also nesting grounds for drugs, crime and opportunistic infections.

45% of our children are in treatment for up to a year, 20% are in treatment for up to 6 months and 35% are in treatment for 3 months or less. Our children live in four medical wards. Daisy (girls) and Sweet Basil (boys) serves 50 children up to 8 years of age and Protea (boys) and Freesia (girls) serves children ages 8 and over.

While the children are in our care, we provide 24 hour nursing care, a multi-disciplinary intervention focus which includes physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, educational services, hydrotherapy, special dietary meals, and spiritual services and support that fully respects the religious orientation of each child in our care. In addition, parents receive training and counselling from our Social Work staff on how to monitor and care for their child.

For parents that are not from Cape Town, we provide temporary live-in accommodation allowing them to be with their child during this critical phase in their child’s medical treatment. Most days several trips take place to local hospitals for chemotherapy and other medical care. Peritoneal dialysis is provided in our medical wards.

Since 1935, all that we have done has been through the kind donor support of many caring people. Today, we remain dependent on the generosity of caring people to make the small and big miracles happen at St. Joseph’s Home on a daily basis.

I want to take part in these miracles and wish to donate.

Also have a closer look at our Sunflower Ward for HIV infected children.