The happy chortling of the small residents of The Domino Foundation’s Babies’ Home would never “rattle the rafters”, but gusty South Westers accompanied by rainy squalls increasingly are having an unhappy effect on the home’s superstructure. In the Book of Acts, the apostle Paul’s ship anchored at Fair Havens (the name given to the home when it was established 20 years ago) in Crete, waiting for the stormy wind to change. The home provides a place of safety, love and nurture for abandoned and orphaned babies and toddlers and has seen 177 either reunited with their biological families or joining their adoptive “forever” families.
House mother, Precious Thabethe, described how the roof on the main building is leaking because of the combined effects of borer, wood rot, cracked tiles and advancing age: “It’s not immanently about to fall on our heads, but we know now is the time to give it a major overhaul which will include replacement of timbers, ceilings and the tiles.”
With the drier cooler months now on the horizon, Domino’s operations team have sought quotes for the extensive work, and initial plans are being laid for the roof repairs and for temporary lodgings for the six small residents and the staff who give round-the-clock attention to their charges. Cathy Whittle who heads Domino’s Ops team commented that this exercise requires major funding to the tune of R1.2million, way beyond the NPO’s budget: “With our seven programmes impacting thousands of beneficiaries each day, every rand is accounted for. So, when something like this rears its unexpected head, we need to look to the ever-generous community and business world which have seen our effectiveness and accountability over the past two decades.” She added that, with the estimated timeline of three months to complete the project, the complement of half a dozen babies and their carers will be needing a safe space to live.
Faith Whittle, a third-year intern at Chelsea Prep, has already come forward to be part of the answer to the Babies’ Home’s challenge. She is taking part in the Midmar Mile over the weekend of 8/9 February and is giving all her sponsor’s donations to the roof project. Her mum, Cath Whittle is Domino’s Operations Manager who invites anyone or group who would like to sponsor her daughter or to partner with Domino in the exercise, either financially or in providing rental accommodation, to contact her on 031 110 7030 or at ops@domino.org.za.
