Family Services
Focus on iThemba
Parenting with Purpose
Parents have a profound influence on a child’s early development. This understanding inspired our Parenting with Purpose Programme, designed to respond to the pressing needs of the communities we serve. The programme equips parents with knowledge, skills and practical tools to nurture their children’s wellbeing and raise resilient, capable children.
At its heart is a belief that children thrive when parents feel supported and empowered to parent with love and intention. By reaching the hearts and minds of parents, we help strengthen families and lay the foundations for change that can span generations.
Delivered over six to eight weeks, Parenting with Purpose is guided by trained facilitators with qualifications and experience in social work or related fields. Their guidance and support are central to the programme. Through our train-the-facilitator model, we aim to equip more facilitators to bring the programme to new communities, extending its reach and deepening its impact.
Benefits to families:
- Strengthens the bond and deepens the connection between parent and child.
- Empowers parents to lead their families with confidence, fostering a sense of security and emotional safety in children.
- Encourages positive communication and problem-solving skills, helping families navigate challenges with greater understanding and respect.
- Builds consistent, nurturing parenting practices that create stability and structure within the home.
I am so happy now. I am able to communicate clearly with my children and my husband about all the concerns we have been facing. It has really helped me to be consistent.
PARENT
Focus on iThemba
iThemba Foster Children
The calling to bring hope and a place of belonging to children from orphaned and vulnerable backgrounds was the heart behind the formation of our Organisation. Moved by Arthur Ashes’s “start where you are, use what you have, do what you can,” philosophy, our Founders, Danie and Judy van den Heever, embraced the opportunity to ignite change in the community of the Valley of 1000 Hills by establishing Focus on iThemba.
‘iThemba’ in isiZulu means ‘hope’ – a befitting name for an Organisation whose core belief is providing children a ‘Place of hope’, refuge and safety. For many years, children were housed on the iThemba Campus where a Cluster Foster Care approach was adopted to provide these children with a loving family. For some, it was the first experience of having a mother and father figure present in their lives. Our iThemba Kids, as they are fondly known, soon came to call Focus on iThemba their home and found comfort in belonging to a very big family. As time passed, and the children grew older and ‘fledged’ the nest, the iThemba Esther model was adapted to accommodate children and their respective foster families off-Campus.
We are blessed to have had over 30 iThemba Kids call Focus on iThemba their home, and even more blessed to have seen them grow, some from infancy, into the ladies and gentlemen that they are today. Through our Social Worker, we remain connected to our iThemba Kids, and always find time to catch-up with them in person and look forward to our annual Christmas gatherings which are always filled with joy and laughter. In 2021 we introduced the iThemba Kids Development Fund to assist those who were looking to further develop themselves post school/university in areas like education and basic life skills. This Fund has been warmly embraced by our iThemba Kids and we are grateful that we still get to add value to their lives.