1. A Brief History

The Centre was originally established by two caring women to provide some form of care exclusively for homeless black children living in the township of Orlando, which borders on the town of Komatipoort.

These children were unsupervised during the day while their parents / guardians were at work. Essentially, the sole purpose was to provide some food and day care to children who were hungry and vulnerable to abuse. In addition, care was provided wherever possible to the sick and terminally ill people within the community. Due to financial constraints, volunteers were unpaid working in and from wooden shacks, with little or no amenities for playground equipment. Cooking facilities were open wood fires, while finances and food were funded solely through donations from a few caring members of the community.

Following on from the founding members noble efforts to provide care to needy children, as mentioned above, the Centre is now under the auspices of the United Church of Christ the King and provides two meals a day, pre-school education, music, art instruction, all provided by paid volunteers in and from a modern brick building with all the necessary facilities. In addition, a Pastor who is paid by the Church is permanently employed to provide spiritual care to the children and residents of Orlando. Care is also provided wherever possible to the sick and terminally ill. Due to contacts provided by primarily the white community, substantial funds have been donated which have been used to fund the above-mentioned activities and building maintenance. No fees are charged to the parents of the children under care.

There are now 60 black children who regularly attend the Centre, which has been transformed from a modest haven for the poor, to a well- equipped and well run pre-school facility for children from the age of three, up to a grade 0 class.

Some of the improvements include:

The installation of a proper kitchen with cooking facilities:

A new building with proper ablutions and electricity:

Two  nutritious meals per day :

A full time Pastor paid by and under the auspices of the United Church of Christ the King (Anglican and Methodist), Komatipoort:

A Christian based education program for Grade 0 children which is purchased from Accelerated Christian Education (ACE).

A modern and up to date Day Care Centre for the smaller children

A weekly music class and a weekly art class

A proper play ground:

There is a web site where interested people can read all about the Centre; this can be viewed at http://www.komaticarecentre.com

At the present time, the Goal of the Centre has been verbalized as:

To provide meaning to the lives of under privileged children of pre-school age, in the form of a secure and supervised environment, proper meals and an education in both spiritual and worldly matters.

2. Centre Management

The Centre is part of the United Church’s outreach program and is managed by a voluntary committee of six unpaid people to oversee the day-to-day running of the Centre with properly audited accounts. Members of this committee and their functions are as follows:

Chairman: Arthur Muller

Secretary: Louise Lloyd

Pastor: Dumisani Shabangu

Head Teacher: Donna Pearce

Health Care: Sister Theresia Mphuthi

Treasurer: Doug Renecle

In the final analysis the committee is answerable to the Church Council

3. Legal Status

The Centre is a registered non-profit organization, registration details being NPO 053-765, SARS No: 930030242 with a properly documented constitution.

4. Source of Funding

The source of ALL monetary income is in the form of donations. Donations of food and clothing are also received from time to time.

5. Financial Management

Proper accounts are kept and submitted annually to G&M Accounting in Komatipoort for official submission to the South African Revenue Services. These accounts are available for inspection on request.

In terms of cost, the expected monthly cost per child is R 300.00 which includes all expenses required to run the Centre. The committee, apart from the Pastor who is paid by the Church, receives no compensation of any kind.

6. References

In terms of references to the good standing of the Centre, the following people may be contacted:

a) Mr. Tewis Le Roux: Principal of Accelerated Christian Ministries

E-mail: trl@hotmail.co.za

b) Rev. Roland Carle: Rector of the United Church of Christ the King, Komatipoort / Malelane

E-Mail: carle@intekom.co.za