Viatores Christi Volunteer Aisling Foley has worked as Project Manager at Amathemba (Home of Hope) for more than four years. Photo: Cape Times.

After four years Home of Hope (HOH) Amathemba is moving into its own building. It was blessed to be under the guidance of our partner school West Coast Christian School (WCCS) for almost four years. This support enabled HOH to pilot its school project without having to worry about premises, a principal or registration.

HOH is based in the Western Cape of South Africa. It provides community based foster homes for neglected, abused and abandoned children; a special needs school for children suffering from Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD); distributes donations of clothes and furniture; offers support to caregivers of children with FASD; and operates a training program on FASD for professionals.

Initially, HOH was anxious to start the project to address the urgent educational needs of its children, and so we were able to start up the project in the space of a few months with the support and guidance of WCCS. The project was so successful that we soon found that we needed to expand to meet the needs of more children. WCCS had been very generous in allocating space in their school but we needed another two classrooms. At the same time WCCS was also under pressure to take back the classrooms as their numbers were growing, and their planning application to build an extension had been turned down.

Since its inception HOH has cared for nearly 500 children born with FASD. Every year there are 60,000 – 72,000 children born annually in South Africa suffering from FASD. HOH is the first school on the continent of Africa for children with FASD. Over the years, HOH has become a centre of excellence for caring for children with FASD. Unfortunately children with FASD cannot flourish in mainstream schools, and HOH offers a unique environment where they can learn in a positive environment.

The search alternative premises went on for nearly a year. We approached the government for land but nothing was available in the catchment area was zoned for ‘educational use’. Without correct zoning, the Department of Education would refuse to register the school. Eventually we found a partner in a local church in the community who was willing to rent five classrooms to us, and as a church it had the right zoning. With this move to our own premises we were then in a position to apply to the Department of Education for registration as an independent school.

We now have five classes, one of which is a pre-school class and one a practical class, which can accommodate 48 children.

With extra space, we were able to add another class to reach more children, and consolidate the school. Up to this point the practical class operated from a room in another location. Now all of our classes take place onsite in one location.

Eventually we hope to identify land on which we can construct a school. This will of course mean fundraising for the construction costs. This is our medium term objective but for now we have added more classrooms so we feel we are making significant, and more importantly sustainable expansion and progression. We feel that a school specifically for children with FASD will also help to raise awareness about the huge problem of FASD not only in the Western Cape but in South Africa and globally.

Special Report by Viatores Christi Volunteer Aisling Foley, Project Manager with Amathemba (Home of Hope (HOH) for the last four and half years.