ABOUT ST JOHN'S CARE CENTRE

THE HISTORY OF ST JOHN'S CARE CENTRE

In 1998, with the approval of the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Witbank and under the direction of the School Sister’s of St Francis, St John’s hostel was transformed into a palliative care centre for adults in the final stages of Aids. Valuing a Christian holistic approach to life, the Centre provided a place and atmosphere to help each person die with dignity, accepted and loved and in peace. Many mothers critically ill often came with their malnourished and sick children (HIV+) to the centre.

St John’s became an alternative home for children who were left behind, affected and infected with the virus, and whose families could not be located or were not able to care for the children.

Between the years 1998 and 2010, 650 adults and children received compassionate care at the Centre, of them approximately 500 died. Some lived to go home and died with their families. When the roll out of the ARV finally reached the centre, some of our children had already started home schooling. They were sickly but determined to learn. Some of them were behind in growth and development due to the virus and especially malnutrition.

In 2010 the Centre became the St John’s Child and Youth Center. Adults were no longer admitted to St John’s. Social workers were hired to start the process of locating families of the children. This began the almost “impossible search” for families and relatives, so that the process of reunification could begin.

The day came in 2012 for the children to face the “big schools”. Equipped with speaking English, having had four years of SiSwati and a bit of Afrikaans, the need for socialization, meeting new children and teachers, dealing with the world outside of St John’s became a new challenge. Most of the children were older than the grade level into which they were placed in the public schools.

From the early days of the Centre’s existence, the residents’ families have no personal resources to contribute financially towards the care of the children. During the course of any year we vary from 36 to 42 children between the ages of birth to 18 years. Although registration permits admission of children up to the age of 6, we do take older children in critical condition.

A government subsidy helps to meet the basic needs of the children. However, donations from various organisations, individuals and churches (local and international) are needed to meet the Centre’s mandate and achieve its objectives.