How does a child arrive at Hearts of Hope?

Its 4pm, the phone rings. 'Deborah have you got space? We have a crisis. Two boy siblings already been removed from their shack, they are sitting in front of me.' 'What’s the story?' The boys have been alone in the shack for the past 4 days. This is not the first time they have been abandoned, it’s a pattern. This is the 3rd time the police have been called, so now they are removing them. They are on the hunt for the family who were looking after them 'Do you have any documentation? Clinic card? Age? Nothing just their clothes. We think they are about 4 and 2 years old.' 'Give me five minutes I will come back to you' An urgent discussion with staff team – can we take them?, these are approximate ages, do we have enough beds and capacity, how is ‘Ntombi’s’ health is she ready to move into another house so we can create space ? Our team when we can, we always say yes- ‘we will make it happen’, ‘bring them home’. 'Ok we have space when do you want to bring them?' 'I am on my way – the shelter in Hillbrow is full they have no space for tonight' 'OK, see you shortly.' Now it’s a rush to prepare– 1. Make up 2 files – one for their records and one for the house to record their health and medication. 2. Put together their individual medicine boxes for their immune boosters and multivitamins 3. Find clothes – estimated 4 and 2 years old, need clothes for tomorrow for court 4. Find pyjamas, gown and slippers for tonight 5. Get a new tooth brush each and new face cloth 6. Get a new school bag for when they start school the day after tomorrow 7. Confirm with the new house mom they are coming and on their way for tonight 8. Tell the kitchen we need two extra meals for tonight 9. Tell the nutritionist we need to add 2 children for Shosholoza for meals from tomorrow 10. Allocate their classes at nursery school 11. Tell the teachers they are coming One hour later two boys arrive. Shocked, traumatised, lost and fearful. Overwhelmed as they arrive to a new place, new people, lots of new children, everything they have never seen before. They are welcomed of course by the team and the children who come to see the new arrivals. And so, our intake process begins – 1. Water and a meal. The boys ravenously tuck in. We are careful to not give them too much as we don’t know what food they are used to or what their tummies can manage 2. Get weighed and measured and photographs taken to identify any injuries or scars 3. Have a through health check to see if there are any immediate or evident concerns 4. A nice warm bath – this is often actually quite traumatic as many children have never had a bath before and are used to washing in a bucket so a big body of water is quite terrifying As it’s already late in the day we dress them in pyjamas, a gown and slippers and they go to the lounge to play games and read books until dinner time. Once all children are bathed its dinner time. The little 2 year old has not yet said anything but indicates what he wants or needs with hand gestures. Very often a traumatic experience renders children mute for a while until they feel comfortable to speak and interact. As the children sit down to supper – it’s now 1.5 hours after their arrival ‘Sizwe’ asks if they are eating again ? 'If you are hungry', says the house mom 'I am always hungry', he says, tucking in after making sure his baby brother understands that he can eat as well. New toothbrushes and face cloths are given to the boys and wide eyed they go to the bathroom with the house mom for their bed time routine. Sleepy now, tearful, overwhelmed and exhausted they fall into a deep sleep not knowing tomorrow is another traumatic day as the social worker has to take them to court where they wait for hours and then have to account for their family and why they find themselves in this position. Until finally they can come back ‘home’, ready to face another challenging day – day 3 – starting school for the first time in their lives ….. Dinner two nights later – the 4 year old says when he gets a bowl of pudding: What is this Ma? It’s chocolate mousse. What is that? It's pudding What is pudding? Something you eat after a dinner Why? As a treat because i's delicious Ok. WoW that’s so nice – thank you Ma, I will never forget this .