In South Africa families are destroyed by poverty and alcohol or substance abuse. Many vulnerable children are abandoned or neglected by struggling parents who cannot provide for them. The Almond Tree provides permanent residential care and education for 75 children who would otherwise have no hope and no future. The Almond Tree Children's Village is a place where children can be children and can grow into adults developing in a safe and nurturing environment, having all their needs met.
The rate of child abandonment in South Africa is staggering. Statistics claim that there are 3.7 million orphans but this is only a drop of what is truly known about the problem at ground level. Poverty and the destruction of families due to alcohol and substance abuse are contributing factors to the rise in child abandonment, neglect and in some cases child abuse. For as long as adults are not able to take responsibility for their children, The Almond Tree will fill in that gap.
The Almond Tree provides a loving home to orphans and vulnerable children. Their baby center focuses on rehabilitation of babies that were left for dead, putting intervention plans in place to ensure that each baby develops to their fullest potential. Their social department facilitates re-unification with family where possible but for children with no where to go, The Almond Tree is their forever home. Early childhood education is a key focus, each child is provided with a development plan.
The long term impact of this project is to see children from broken circumstance be restored into family, rehabilitated and educated, giving them the opportunity to become valued citizens in their community who are able to contribute.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
