A Table View charity is in a race against time to buy a smallholding in Morningstar that will be a home for young adults with special needs who cannot live independently.
By the end of January 2022, the non-profit, Home of Hope, needs to put down R3.5 million to buy the one-hectare site on the Anslem Farm.
The non-profit has the first option to buy the property that it is currently renting, according to its founder and CEO, Eleanor Brook.
Tabletalk has a copy of the offer to purchase reflecting a R1 million deposit donated by businessman Nigel Christie.
Mr Christie said he had visited Home of Hope and was impressed with its work.
But R2.5 million is still outstanding, and the organisation has turned to the public for help.
Ms Brook wants to use the property as a “working care farm” for young adults with Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) who will never be able to live on their own and have nowhere else to go.
The smallholding would also be a refuge for other young people with special needs that Home of Hope helped, she said.
For 16 years, the organisation has cared for abused, abandoned and neglected children and young adults, especially those with FASD.
“Those who live with FASD are often not understood and not accepted in their own communities and it makes them vulnerable to abuse,” Ms Brook said.
On the farm, they would learn new skills and how to build healthy relationships.
“We want to offer support and mentorship and walk alongside them, as we model healthy relationships, teach job skills, enable individual development and show them how to advocate for themselves, as well as to be proud of who they are,” she said.
Young adults already living on the farm were taught how to live sustainably by planting and harvesting their own food, she said.
Edgar Gumbu, the owner of the smallholding, said Home of Hope had been doing amazing work in the community, and he felt it would continue to do a “great job” on the property.
If you would like to help Home of Hope, call 021 556 3573 or email fundraisingsupport@homeofhope.co.za
