Thandi House Baby Home

18/10/2026

The girls from The Wykeham Collegiate came bearing gifts of pads for our girls, and then they stayed to play. A game of Open Gate turned our garden into pure joy.

Thank you, Wykeham, for the pads and for the play.

11/10/2026

Get to know Thandi House | World Mental Health Day

Yesterday was World Mental Health Day, we want to share something that sits at the heart of everything we do... belonging.

When people think about mental health for children in foster care, they often picture therapy, assessments and interventions. These matter deeply. But research keeps bringing us back to something simpler, and in many ways harder.

Professor Adrian van Breda, an amazing person with such a heart for children in care and a researcher in resilience at the University of Johannesburg (he was my H.O.D. during my Master's), has spent years listening to young people who grew up in residential care in South Africa. In one study, young people were followed for seven years as they left care. What stood out most was their deep longing to truly belong, and the researchers concluded that building a child’s sense of belonging is what ultimately builds resilience.

His earlier work points in the same direction. The resilience that made the greatest difference in young people’s lives in care came from their relationships and the world around them, with family, friends and community, rather than from services alone.

This is what foster care looks like at Thandi House. Not a programme, but a family. The same faces at breakfast and at bedtime. Family who have known some of our children since they were babies. Someone who notices when a child is struggling, and stays.

For many of our children, Thandi House is not a stopover on the way to somewhere else. It is home. And belonging here is part of how they heal and grow.

Thank you to everyone who helps us keep this home steady, so our children can go on belonging. If you would like to stand with us, you can join our ROOTED monthly giving partner at www.thandihouse.com/support/rooted.

With love,
The Thandi House family 💙

(If you want to read his work you can find it here: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9984-9180)

09/10/2026

Seventeen years ago, Thandi House began with one hope: to give children more than shelter. We wanted to give them a family ROOTED in love, stability and lifelong support.

None of it would be possible without you. Every donation, every shared post and every person who has shown up for these children has kept our doors open. Thank you for walking this road with us.

It’s impossible for one person to hold Thandi House up. That’s why we’re asking many people to hold it up together. As we start our 17th year, we are asking you to join ROOTED and choose your part of the tree: Roots, Trunk, Leaves or Sun. From R200 a month, you help keep the children fed, rent paid, lights on, and the water running, so our children can keep growing here.

Small gift. Every month. That’s all it takes to keep the door open.

👉 www.thandihouse.com/support/rooted

Thank you for growing with us. 💛
Thandi House, held up by many hands.

27/09/2026

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!

He came to live with us when he was just a few months old. Today he turns 16! 🎉

We were so young when we started Thandi House, but we knew this was our calling.

Being foster parents isn't always easy. There have been hard questions, tough days and plenty of sleepless nights. But we have always been there, and we always will be.

And look at him now. He is an amazing young man. He loves art and is always drawing and painting. He loves his music. And he wants to be a chef.

Years later, we don't regret a single day. We've always said you cannot change the world, but you can change the town you live in.

Happy 16th birthday, our boy. We are so proud of who you are and who you are becoming. We love you so much.

Since 2009 we have been there for our children, through every birthday, every school year and every hard day.

That will never change. If you'd like to be part of raising children like him, we would love for you to join us as a ROOTED partner. 💛
rooted

https://www.thandihouse.com/support/rooted

17/07/2026

It's impossible for one person to hold Thandi House, that's why we're asking many people to hold it up together.

Keeping the children safe in our care comes down to three things that never stop: the rent to keep a roof over their heads, the lights that keep the home warm and bright, and the water that runs through every ordinary day. These costs come to around R12,000 every month, without fail, and every month we have to find the money to pay these bills.

One person can't carry that. But many people, each giving a little, can change everything for Thandi House costs. This Mandela Day, we're asking for 67 people to consider giving R200 a month. That's all it takes. 67 people, each holding one small corner of this home - and our rent, lights and water to be covered.

Become one of the 67 people helping hold Thandi House together. Become a ROOTED member and choose to give R200 a month. The ROOTED campaign makes it easy, as your donation comes through automatically every month without you having to lift a finger. It also brings us peace of mind rather than needing to scramble every month to raise this money in a panic and despair. With 67 people behind us, we can stop panicking and simply care for our children, knowing that some of the essential running costs at Thandi House are covered.

This Mandela Day, become one of the 67 ROOTED members, knowing that the kids will always have a roof over their heads.

Together we can! Thank you for your ongoing support.

Thandi House - together.

https://www.thandihouse.com/support/rooted

* Payments are handled securely through Paystack, so your details are always safe, and you're free to pause or cancel any time.

Join our ROOTED community to support foster children with lifelong love and care

09/07/2026

This Mandela Day, 18 July, we are inviting individuals, groups and businesses to join us in caring for our children at Thandi House.

It's this simple:

1) Download our poster from the link below

2) Collect donations from your friends, family, colleagues or customers (cash, clothes, toiletries or tinned food etc)

3) Then drop them off with us.
Can't make it to us? Just let us know and we'll arrange a collection.

And if you or your business are looking for a way to give beyond Mandela Day, our ROOTED monthly giving campaign makes it easy to become an ongoing partner in our children's lives. It's convenient and offers continuous support for the home and helps us plan ahead and not just get by.

Every person, family and business that stands with us, whether for the day or for the long run, helps us pay our rent each month and keep our children fed, clothed and cared for.

Link for Mandela Day fundraiser poster -https://thandihouse.com/document/2026_mandela_day.pdf

Link to the ROOTED monthly giving campaign - https://www.thandihouse.com/support/rooted

With gratitude,

The Thandi House Family 🙏

29/05/2026

Looking at what your donations support
More about the work we do with teenage mothers

Our first encounter with teenage mothers came many years ago, when a 12-year-old and her newborn baby were about to be separated. The baby was to be placed with us, and the young mother into another children's home. We said no, and we took them both in. For years after that, we supported teen mothers just like her.

Due to financial constraints, we can no longer offer residential support. But we continue to provide therapeutic and social support to teen mothers through our social worker, including individual and family counselling, life skills, attachment-based parenting guidance, and practical assistance such as clothing and baby items.

Teen mothers are among the most underserved populations in our social system, falling through the gap where they are too old for child services and too young for adult support.

Supporting a teen mother is never just one intervention. It is two lives redirected simultaneously. A mother who is held emotionally and practically can hold her baby. And a baby who is securely held grows into a child who trusts the world. That is how cycles of trauma are broken.

14/05/2026

We wish M a happy heavenly birthday today. April was 5 years since she passed.

M came to us as a teen mom. She faced more than anyone her age should ever have to face and she did it with a courage that left a mark on all of us. Cancer took her far too soon, but it could not take the love she poured into all our lives.

Her son remains part of our Thandi House family. In two days, it will be his birthday, so this time of year carries so much for us all. His mommy's birthday, then his own. A celebration shadowed by missing her.

We remember you today, M. Happy Heavenly Birthday. Your boy is loved, he is safe, and he is not alone. His family is here tight looking after him.

13/05/2026

CHILD PROTECTION MONTH - MAY 2026

The Pretoria High Court has heard a landmark case that goes to the very heart of what it means to protect children in South Africa. The Department of Social Development has argued that baby saver boxes (anonymous drop-off points where a desperate mother can safely surrender a newborn) are illegal under the Children's Act.

Baby Savers South Africa and Door of Hope Children's Mission have pushed back, arguing that these boxes save lives, and that placing a baby safely in a box is something fundamentally different from abandoning a child in a field. One judge stated that even if one life is saved through these boxes, we should say thank you.

We can say it works. In 2009, Thandi House installed a baby box (which is currently down). Those babies were received, cared for, and loved. They are alive today, growing, thriving, living human beings because a desperate mother had somewhere safe to turn rather than unsafe abandonment. We do not sit in judgement of the desperation that brings a mother to that moment. We understand it. And we believe the law should too. This case also highlights what we, as a society, can offer a mother who has nothing left and whether our laws protect the most vulnerable or punish them.

Judgment has been reserved. We are watching this case closely.

This Child Protection Month, we are reminded that protecting children requires more than good intentions. It requires laws that recognise human reality, systems that respond with compassion, and communities that refuse to look away.

Read more here:

The three-day hearing examined whether baby saver boxes protect children or violate the Children’s Act.

12/05/2026

Dear friends of Thandi House.

Many of you may know of Thandi House and the work we do. Our charity is under threat and we have never been more scared. We are currently in arrears with our rent, water and electricity. We need your help to overcome this and ask that you read this to the end and share it with anyone who can help us keep Thandi House open.

We started Thandi House in our early twenties, giving up our lives for children in need. At the time there was an increase in abandoned babies, sadly many found too late, left in gutters and bins. A local newspaper published a picture of a dead newborn baby on their front page, which changed the course of our lives. It broke our hearts, and so we installed a babysafe box in the middle of town. At the same time we registered an NGO and Thandi House was born, and little lives started arriving.

For nearly 17 years we have helped, counselled and cared for over 600 orphaned and abandoned babies and children in need, pregnant teenagers and their babies, and supported victims of GBV and their children. We have done various community and outreach projects throughout the years. The permanent children in our care, including children with severe disabilities, have mostly been with us since birth and we are the only mother and father they have ever known.

What makes Thandi House unique is that we are not a facility or an institution, we are family based care. Our care is rooted in attachment, because we know that what a child who has been abused, orphaned or abandoned needs more than anything is not a programme but a person who shows up every single day. Every child in our care is seen, known, and loved as an individual.

During and after Covid, things became very hard financially, and so one of us took up part-time employment to help maintain and keep Thandi House open. Today, one of us works seven days a week just to keep Thandi House open and still it is not enough. This has resulted in a crisis where we can no longer carry parts of the charity, mainly rent, electricity, and water. This is the only home our children have ever known and we are facing the very real threat of eviction and a court battle. These children have no place to go. This is their home. They are not a caseload or a statistic, they are our children. And we are asking you today to help us protect them from losing their home and family.

The immediate crisis we need to overcome is the outstanding rent, electricity and water accounts to keep Thandi House open. However, we are praying for support not only to remain open today but for another 17 years and more. We would be honoured to welcome you to Thandi House in person so you can see for yourself what your support would be protecting.

We have chosen the children and greater work at Thandi House every single day for the past 17 years and from the depths of our hearts we are pleading with you to choose Thandi House too. This will allow our work to continue and allow the children to remain in their home, safe and cared for. Donations are tax-deductible under Section 18A. Please visit thandihouse.com/support/donate for verified banking details or request the bill to donate directly into the rent account.

If you would like to be part of the longer-term stability of Thandi House, we invite you to join our ROOTED community. ROOTED supporters give monthly, and it is their consistent, faithful giving that allows us to plan, to grow, and to never face a crisis like this again. Visit thandihouse.com/support/rooted to find out more.

With gratitude,

Mark and Rene Morcom (A.K.A - Dad and Mom)