The SA Care Trust Children’s Home in Middelburg, South Africa, which has been caring for abandoned, abused and neglected children

since 2002, has recently suffered a devastating blow from the Department of Social Development (DOSD) who have removed almost all the children from the home.

According to volunteers working at the home “The welfare of thirty four children is at stake” following the unjustifiable removal of all but three of the children who have been given care at this home which has been denied to them by the DOSD.

The founder of the children’s home Dianne Lang, who also gave account of her struggle with the DOSD and the South African Police force in her book Saving Mandela’s Children, has been living as an exile in the UK for the past two years, due to death threats. Dianne who is seriously ill, mainly as a result of her harrowing experiences, is now at her wit’s end as to how to win this battle with the DOSD and its Chief Social Worker for the Middelburg area, John Pienaar, in particular.

According to Dianne, the DOSD recently made it clear that they did not want to deal with her “due to the constant and continual lobbying to government to improve service delivery and to stop all violations of children’s rights by government officials”.

Despite all efforts and contrary to what was agreed with Johan Pienaar of the DSOD and the Commissioner of Child Welfare in Middelburg, the children were removed from their care without knowing where they were being taken or what was being planned for them.

Without much needed and frequently requested funding from the DOSD, the home has relied heavily on private funding and the assistance of volunteers, mainly from Europe. One such volunteer described what happened on the day social workers removed the children from the home:

“The attitude of the social workers seemed very cold and aloof. They did not appear to communicate with the children to explain where they were going to, and no checks were made as to what medication they had to take with them or any interest shown in confirming how it had to be administered. For one child, Thandiwe (name changed to protect the child’s identity), they even left in the car before we had time to package his medication for him so he went a night without taking it”.

On previous occasions when children had been removed from the children’s home, the results have been appallingly tragic. Previously abused children had been placed back in the care of abusive families or in inappropriate institutions which has resulted on at least one occasion in further abuse and even the death of a child.

The current managers and new trustees of the Emmanuel Children’s home, Carol and Bertus Deysel, will be doing everything in their power to ensure the continued safety of the children who have been removed from their care.