Life Community Welfare Children’s Home was started in 2002 by Ivy Konisi and some members of her Khayelitsha based church. The home was started in response to the need to provide these children with adequate care that, for various reasons, their parents were not able to provide. Soon children were being left with Mama Ivy resulting in her needing to find alternative accommodation for the children. After a few temporary destinations, LCW now has the use of an unused creche in Elsies River (about 15km from Cape Town). The home currently accommodates 15 children between the ages of 1 and 10 years. There are 4 full-time childcare works, a full-time cleaner, part-time secretary and a full-time manager, all of whom receive a stipend for the work that they do.

LCW has become a place of safety and security for these children despite the many needs and challenges that the organisation still faces. Projects that 2 Way Travel volunteers can get involved with include:

• Painting and redecorating the children’s bedrooms
• Clearing the grounds and making them more child friendly
• Day-to-day care of the children
• Supervision of homework
• Afternoon activity programmes

Please feel free to contact 2 Way Travel if you would like to know more about LCW.