The House of Hope Community Life Development Program used to be known as the “House of Hope Project”. It existed in partnership with the AFM Executive Welfare Department (Umephi) as an NPO community project.

The project was started on the 1^st of June 2004 as a safe house with the capacity of housing 12 babies at a time. These babies were babies with special needs (i.e., HIV-infected, HIV-affected, HIV-orphaned, abandoned, physically disabled, etc.). Two homes were created and accommodated about 18 babies at the time. These children are now teenagers, some remain in our care and others are about to complete their education.

House of Hope is now a Non-Profit and Child Protection Organization focused on the heart of the needy and vulnerable members of the community. 

At the heart of this project, and in partnership with the Department of Social Development, we also provide temporary safe care to babies and toddlers (age 0-18 months) in need of care and protection. Since 2004, more than 600 babies and toddlers have come through our doors. These children often come from difficult home circumstances, we receive them some near death, traumatized and in need of love and attention.

Fortunately, with support, some have been reunited with their families, placed in long-term foster placement whilst others were adopted into loving families locally and internationally.

However, the need in the community is still great, whilst HIV/AIDS epidemic is now manageable, some families are still struggling with various factors (e.g., substance abuse, mental health, circle of abuse etc) that impact on their parenting which is now being provided via Family integrated work that takes place in the community. 

Under Child Youth Care Centre (CYCC), we are approved to look after 20 babies for Temporary Safe Care. We have also felt the need to protect children in our community by fitting in a Baby Safe to prevent more babies being abandoned in unsafe locations.  Unfortunately, we had to close our toddler house (ages 24-36 months) (House of Shalom) due to no funding received.

Our calling is still “Saving His Children’s Lives Forever”. We aim to catch them whilst at home by providing family preservation services (counselling, unplanned pregnancy counselling, parenting programs, mediation, and conflict resolution). We seek to save and protect children in crises by opening 24 hours for 7 days a week to accommodate, assist and work in partnership with SAPS in keeping children safe.

However, we continue to offer counselling and assist to identify external services to victims of Gender based Violence in the community. We carry out outreaches and dialogues in the community to ensure that all members of the community are sensitized on gender equality and can take part in changing perceptions. Since October 2022 to date, in partnership with Pepfar, we have reached about 1600 individuals in the community by running 12 groups of Family Matters and 50:50MenCare Programs.