She was just 6-weeks old when she and her twin brother were brought to “Fairhavens Babies’ Home” in Durban North at what was then COGS (Church of The Good Shepherd) and now Anthem Church. They were the first children in the home but their stay was short as health issues meant they had to be transferred to a government orphanage where all medical expenses would be paid. However, the indirect connection to the home continued. The hearts of a couple in the congregation had been moved by the tiny duo. Ted and Cecilia Silcock fostered Owami and her brother and then adopted them.
As she was part of COGS’ Sunday School immediately next-door to the home, Owami was very aware of the loving and safe environment provided by the staff to the small residents waiting either to be reunited with their biological families or to be adopted by the new “forever” adoptive families. That connection was reinforced when she celebrated her 5th birthday there.
Over the years, Owami Silcock’s connection with the home waned: her early schooldays saw her having to deal with learning challenges and her moving from mainstream to Livingstone Primary School, the Morningside short-term remedial establishment. “I loved it”, she declared, “and my brother and I have been invited back twice to speak to pupils moving back into mainstream education.”
After a short stint in a Durban North high school, she completed her secondary education in a home school where she said she learned independence, a trait which is evident in this focused young lady.
Thinking she might study social work, Owami took a break to consider her future options, and decided that she would not be an emotional fit for helping people deal with big life challenges. Opting for a very different path, she enrolled at Vega to study brand strategy. Halfway through her first year, she and her parents were invited to a meeting at The Domino Foundation which now was running the babies’ home as one of its seven programmes. Owami says she was stunned into silence (not a regular reaction from this determined young woman) when she was told that the Foundation’s Skills Development programme had funding for her further education: “I was so shocked that I couldn’t even cry at the good news!”
Owami had come full circle with Domino, whose marketing catch-phrase is “From Cradle to Career”: “When I consider the two decades of my life, I realise that I have been very blessed in a beautiful journey. From a very uncertain start at my birth, through Fairhavens to a loving adoptive family, dealing with health and educational struggles, and now having had my career path opened to me, there have always been supportive people to cheer me on.”
She has just written her finals at Vega where she says she has learned so much and was very stirred by a recent brand-activation for Sibusiswe Africa Initiative which helps fatherless boys and young men to reach their full potential as productive caring and responsible citizens. “I was parentless for my first years, and I see how vital having a family and community has been in shaping me.”
