By The Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies
It was the distinct privilege of the Cape South African Jewish Board of Deputies to dedicate our Mandela Day initiative this year to Home of Hope: an extraordinary Cape Town organisation that provides a safe, loving home and a brighter future for almost 50 children and young adults, from the ages of three to eighteen.
Many of the children in Home of Hope’s care come from severely disadvantaged backgrounds and live with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) or other developmental challenges. Beyond providing a safe space and 24-hour care, Home of Hope offers specialised education, therapeutic support, life-skills development and individual nurturing, ensuring that every child is given the opportunity to reach their full potential in an environment of dignity, stability and love.
With Mandela Day falling on Shabbat this year, we marked the occasion a little early. Armed with Home of Hope’s wish list, our team headed to Makro to stock up on pantry staples and fresh produce. We also put together individual goodie bags for each of the children, packed with the help of our chair, Simone Sulcas, immediate former chair, Adrienne Jacobson, members of the Cape SAJBD’s council, as well as colleagues from several Jewish communal organisations.
Delivering the donations gave us the opportunity to meet some of the remarkable people whose dedication keeps Home of Hope running every day. From caring for the children to managing logistics and fundraising, their passion and commitment were evident in every conversation. Being welcomed by the children themselves was a privilege. Their warmth, resilience and unmistakable sense of belonging were a powerful reminder of the life-changing work taking place within these walls.
Out of the many worthy organisations serving the wider Cape Town communities, Home of Hope holds a particularly special place in the heart of our own Office and Administrative Coordinator, Mika – the glue that keeps the Cape SAJBD office together. She has been supporting Home of Hope for over a decade and has long spoken about the extraordinary work they do. Seeing that work firsthand, it was immediately clear why this organisation means so much to her.
Some experiences cannot be measured in minutes alone. While Mandela Day encourages us to give 67 minutes in service of others, our visit to Home of Hope reminded us that the impact of kindness extends far beyond the clock. It was a profoundly joyful and deeply humbling experience, and one that we know will not be our last encounter with this truly remarkable organisation.
For more information about the Home, see Home of Hope or phone 021 556 3573.
executive, and colleagues from several Jewish
communal organisations helped pack goodie
bags for the children of Home of Hope
with Kayla Abel, Director of Home of Hope
