Services offered
ADOPTION
Adoption is the permanent placement of children with families who have the love, care and financial means to take care of an extra child in their home. Adoption offers our orphans an opportunity to have loving parents and to live permanently in a caring home environment.
FOSTER CARE
Foster-Care is a temporary or permanent placement for children with their relatives or non-relatives. This process is done through the courts and is renewable every two years. Social workers assist foster parents to apply for foster grants.
HOSTING
Our hosting programme enables suitable adults with a passion for children to take one child or more for weekends or during holiday periods and return the children after entertaining or spending quality time with them.
FAMILY RE-UNIFICATION PROGRAMME
We do our best to re-unite the children with their families, for the purposes of family preservation and to provide the children with the comfort to know they have a biological family. We do everything in our power to locate relatives of the child and restore them to their families.
EDUCATION IS LIFE PROGRAMME
We believe that education is the key to providing the children with a foundation to build their futures. We have a Montessori Pre-School onsite (www.orangebabiesmontessori.co.za) that provides quality early childhood development for the children resident at the Home as well as children from the surrounding community. The pre-school accommodates 80 children in 4 fully equipped Montessori classrooms. Each class is led by a qualified Montessori teacher and teacher's assistant which provides for a low pupil to teacher ratio.
We also provide aftercare activities for our school-going children to develop their literacy and numeracy skills and assist with homework. This programme is run by New Jerusalem staff as well as volunteers willing to offer the children their attention, time and skills.
NETWORKING
As a pillar of faith in the community we network with schools, churches, NGOs, the South African Police, Child Welfare and the business community to help alleviate the trauma suffered by vulnerable children and youth.
Environmental Sustainability
New Jerusalem's mission is located within an environmental sustainability framework and the Home has committed to use any means possible to reuse and recycle and to minimize our carbon footprint.
To this end, every effort is made to utilize as much clean technology as is financially feasible in all new developments. Already we have installed a domestic effluence system that converts all effluence from the kitchen, laundry, toilets and bathrooms to water suitable for irrigation. Solar water heating has also been installed, as have water conserving taps and toilets and storm water tanks. Our new buildings are designed to maximize natural light and are built with materials that keep the interior temperature fairly stable. Therefore, energy needs are kept to a minimum.
With the construction of our first family style home for the children, we have taken our commitment to the environment a step further. The new house is constructed out of 28 recycled shipping containers and incorporates a wide array of environmentally friendly materials and technology. The house is partially powered via photovoltaic panels. Hot water is provided by solar water heaters and a heat pump.
The grounds have not been neglected and we have planted 200 indigenous trees around the perimeter of the property. Our permaculture garden provides the children with a constant supply of fresh, organically grown fruit and vegetables. All members of the New Jerusalem community are involved in a waste management program. Children and staff collect and sort all inorganic waste generated by the Home for recycling.