Elim Home - a home for children and young people with disabilities

Background information

The Elim Home was founded in 1963 to help children with disabilities in particular, who were excluded from institutions that supported children with disabilities during the apartheid era due to the racist regime. There are still very few such institutions in South Africa, so children with disabilities come to the Elim Home from a radius of 700 kilometers. Today, the home is home to 50 children and young people, with more than 20 on a waiting list. The aim of the facility is not only to look after the children, but also to provide them with targeted support. The residents at the Elim Home learn basic skills in order to gain more independence in simple everyday activities. The children and young people receive intensive mental and physical support through modern therapeutic approaches such as physiotherapy, occupational therapy and art therapy.

The facility is located in the old Elim mission station, around 220 kilometers east of Cape Town. In addition, there is now a day care center in the towns of Gansbaai and Bredasdorp, where children are cared for by therapists and specially trained parents from Monday to Friday. This new program allows more children to be reached. It also keeps them integrated into their family and social structures.

Project goals

Through various holistic therapeutic measures, the Elim Home helps to ensure that children and young people with intellectual disabilities receive comprehensive support.

Target groups

50 children with severe mental and physical disabilities, mainly from economically poor families in South Africa.

Activities

• 24-hour care for children and adolescents with severe intellectual disabilities
• Occupational, physical and art therapy by qualified therapists
• Day care with therapeutic offer in two outposts in Gaansbaai and Bredasdorp
• Home visits by trained therapists
• Educational and awareness-raising work in surrounding communities for the rights of people with disabilities
• Operation of a tomato plantation and an olive grove to increase the facility's self-financing and to integrate people with disabilities into agriculture

Project progress

The Elim Home is an esteemed institution for the promotion of children and young people with intellectual disabilities in South Africa. A long waiting list testifies to the high reputation of the Elim Home. In recent years, the facility has been carefully renovated. The buildings, which are over 50 years old, and their sanitary facilities have been brought up to a standard that allows all residents to live in dignity. The decentralization of the work is also remarkable. In addition to the 24-hour care in Elim, two other locations were opened in Gansbaai and Bredasdorp, where children are supported during the day but otherwise live with their families.  

Almost without exception, the children and young people come from poor families who are unable to make substantial contributions to care and therapies. The majority of the costs are financed by donations. In order to be more independent of these fluctuating donations, the Elim Home has set up an agricultural project, the income from which can be used to additionally finance the work of the facility. There is now an olive grove with around 100 olive trees, from which oil is extracted. In addition, nine greenhouses are now in operation, in which tomatoes can now be produced all year round thanks to a heating system. In addition to the income from sales, the tomato and olive projects have a gratifying side effect. The children and young people can be supplied with fresh vegetables on a daily basis. Some of them are integrated into the agricultural work and help to cultivate and harvest the tomatoes and olives.