Our Origins
The concept for Brave Heart Home Kidz@Peace Ministries had its origins in the early 1990’s, when Almaret du Toit, a local teacher, identified the urgent need for a place of safety for vulnerable children. She was motivated to establish a facility that could provide for this vital need within the local community. In her quest to realise this, she rallied members of the community by starting a prayer group, with this goal as their vision.
Gradually plans came to fruition and Kidz @ Peace Ministries was established in 2005 by a group of concerned volunteers led by Almaret du Toit. The group established an article 21 company named Kidz @ Peace Ministries with a board of directors to provide the project with a governing structure. During the period leading up to the establishment of the home the Kidz @ Peace Ministries group visited several existing children’s homes to establish a better understanding of the operational procedures.
In response to the need for a facility, one of the learners in Almaret’s school class offered part of their house in De Doorns to serve as a place of safety for this purpose. The board accepted this offer and began to renovate this section of the building to make it suitable for the purpose. As funding for the renovation project was dependent on donations, the project made slow progress. Halfway through the renovation project, the project ground to a halt as the owner of the house was liquidated.
On learning about this unfortunate development, a group of local farmers were motivated to offer their help. In co-operation with the board of directors, they formed a committee to assist the project. Within a week they collected sufficient funds from the local community to buy the house from the bank. Within a few months the house became the property of Kidz @ Peace Ministries. Brave Heart Home opened its doors in 2011 and this was not a moment too soon, as during the development period, the need for a facility like Brave Heart Home in our local community had increased rapidly.
.
The legacy of Tabitha
Brave Heart took in its first child on the 11th of May 2011. This was a baby of only one day old. As she arrived at Brave Heart with no name, we named her Tabitha. Unfortunately, Tabitha was underdeveloped and very weak. She was very ill, weighing less than 2 kg upon arrival. The facility was not informed of her condition and sadly, she died seven days after being taken in. At her funeral, a prophecy was given that she would be the seed that would help many flowers to blossom. This has been realised as today we can proudly say that we have successfully helped countless children in their time of need and to improve their opportunities in life. By the end of 2020, Brave Heart had assisted over 200 children who had been placed in the safety of our house.
Brave Heart Kidz – Success stories
Baby Xoliswa became one of our Brave Heart babies when the home was not yet up and running. She was discovered in the Stofland area by our senior child care worker. At that time, she was two weeks old and nearly dying due to not receiving milk. We contacted FAMSA who arranged for her to be hospitalized. We then supported the Mother to be able to care for the baby. The mother said she was too afraid to tell the hospital that she doesn’t have milk in fear that they will take the baby away. Today this baby is a healthy teenager.
Babalwa was admitted to Brave Heart as a baby. She had no name and no one to care for her. We cared for her for nearly two years. One of our staff members fell in love with her and seeing that there was no family member coming to the front, the couple decided to take her into foster care and later adopted her. Today Babalwa is a happy and healthy child and part of a loving family.
Vulelwa was also a baby when admitted to Brave Heart Home. His biological mother came to see the staff at Brave Heart even before she gave birth. She cried and said that she cannot provide for the child and would therefore want him to be taken up in Brave Heart once born. Vulelwa was admitted when only a day old. He was taken into foster care by a loving couple and was later adopted by that family. Today he is a happy child.
Vusi came to Brave Heart when three years old. At that stage, his mother was very ill of cancer. The mother asked whether we can take Vusi in while she is in the hospital to recover from her treatment. Only two weeks after admitted to the hospital the doctor called us indicating that Vusi’s mom is dying and will not recover. It was so sad to see Vusi suffer as we had to take him to the hospital to say his goodbyes. A few years later a farmer and his wife contacted Brave Heart indicating that they would like to adopt Vusi. Today Vusi is part of a healthy family with four other brothers and sisters. He has grown into a confident and happy child.
