Today, we celebrate the start of something truly special: a place where we can bring hope and nurture children so that they flourish and thrive regardless of their background. These facilities have been built with love, fueled by compassion, and brought to life by the skilled hands of our design team and contractors. It is way more than just bricks and mortar.
Angel’s Care Centre started as a small feeding program by ladies from the Methodist Church. They simply wanted to help what were then known as “start children” whom they saw daily scratching in bins for scraps of food. This blossomed into them developing loving relationships with the children and the desire to add elements of safety, shelter and learning into their days and so began the first version of our preschool in the hall of the Anglican Church. Over the years the Centre became established and found its first home at the Old House here (our first home and I believe the very first house ever built in Howick).
Today we remain committed to serving the extremely impoverished communities of the uMngeni Municipality through feeding schemes, education programmes, health and well-being support, and youth development programmes.
While the COVID-19 pandemic had an impact on the variety of programmes delivered to communities during 2020 and 2021, the Centre actually grew its delivery of food parcels, our education initiatives became more creative and our health and crisis care absolutely essential. All these factors confirmed what we as a Board already knew – we were totally out of space.
But, with challenges comes opportunity, and despite the years of hard lockdowns and the facing of seemingly impossible odds at times, we actually managed through local and international support, to grow the Centre through the purchase of not only this land, but the Old Agricultural Community Hall thereby ensuring that, for generations to come, we can deliver essential and life-changing services to the community. We have achieved this through building world-class facilities and believing in the transformational value of excellence in creating long-term sustainable and meaningful impact in the lives of children, their families and the broader community.
With our incredible Early Childhood Development programme and remedial bridging class and the repurposing of our health care facilities on this campus, we will enhance the Centre’s ability to ensure the delivery of truly holistic care to everyone who passes through these gates. Here, amidst these colourful walls and playful spaces, our dedicated teachers will create a world where love, laughter, learning and healing go hand-in-hand. They will nurture each child’s individual needs, celebrate their differences, and guide them on a journey of self-discovery. Through play-based activities, engaging lessons, and warm, supportive care, young minds will blossom, and traumatised people, young and old, will find love and care through our truly holistic approach that encompasses our social, spiritual, emotional, and cognitive needs.
Our sincere thanks to FGG Architects, particularly Janine, Kevin, Jeremy and Teya here in South Africa and design experts Kathi from Nero Holt and Tobias from Urban Play in Australia, for being able to understand our vision and create brilliantly designed facilities. Thank you too for engaging and inspiring the remainder of the professional group, many of whom worked pro bono on this project.
To Rob, Gyln, all at Warr Construction and their broader team of subcontractors, what can I say, your workmanship is just awesome! Our sincere thanks, too, to Laurence, my husband and most dedicated (and free) project manager, we simply could not have completed this project without your combined practical and precise expertise and hard work in ensuring every detail of this building fitted both the needs of the Centre and bringing life to this amazing design and campus.
To our wonderful teachers, health care professionals, support staff, Board and volunteers, people such as Sarah who have created a truly magical reading and learning space in her daughter Maddy’s memory. You all encompass the heart and soul of this Centre. Your daily and enduring dedication, patience, and love is beyond measure. Thank you for choosing to make a difference, every single day.
Speaking personally, it has been a long and at times very difficult road for me to travel on what has brought us to this celebration today. I have dreamed, laughed, cried, been angry and frustrated. Despite always trying to seem calm, my ever-changing emotions have earned me many new names at Angels Care. I have grown from Carolyn or Coo, to “Boss Lady”, “the real Boss”, and the Matriarch amongst others must include people referring to me as simply being a regular nagging pain in the rear! But, today I stand here and honestly feel nothing but pure joy as I watch and experience how compassion and genuine love and care translates into hope and an endless world of opportunity.
Everyone here is helping in small and large ways, to create a generation of empathetic, resilient, and responsible young people who will, in time, contribute meaningfully to our society. “Are we fixing all of South Africa’s problems? No, but in our lifetimes we will impact this community and I know that is enough for me. We all need to remind ourselves that by changing even one person’s life, particularly that of a child, you are indeed changing their world forever ….”
Thank you.
– Georgie Purdon
