The Reporter

Around midnight, fire broke out in the Kwa Mai Mai informal settlement in downtown Johannesburg on Sunday, June 12, killing one person and leaving many injured, and hundreds of residents homeless. The cause of the blaze is unclear. Within hours more than 400 shacks were burnt to the ground. Victims watched helplessly as the fire…

Exquisite hand-knitted jerseys and beanies presented to the Ethembeni Children’s Home, were so special one felt they could have been inspired by top fashion couturiers.  They were lovingly made by the ‘knitting’ ladies at Riverside Manor Retirement Estate and the Bryanston Sports Club Bowls Section, says Major Bongi Zulu administrator at Ethembeni. This has been…

It’s Sunday morning and there’s an excited buzz at the Krugersdorp Family Mission Centre, as the residents and staff lay out tables and chairs in the garden and staff in the kitchen are hard at work preparing hot dogs and bacon and egg rolls.  Then, suddenly all you can hear is the revs from 150…

In April and May this year, deep in the night, the heavens opened up and unleashed the most vicious storms in KwaZulu-Natal, storms that not only ravished homes, washed away infrastructure, and worst of all took lives. Awakening to this massively destructive noise made the shock of the event even more devastating. Rushing floodwaters not…

Last year Lindiwe Ngcobo* matriculated with three distinctions, thrilling “Daddy” Owen, formally known as Lt. Owen Mutize. After quite a short time at Carl Sithole he endeared himself so much to the kids, so desperate for a family, that they started referring to him as Daddy. This is how “our children” think of Salvation Army…

Elizabeth* came to Joseph Baynes Children’s home in Pietermaritzburg as an orphan of just two years old. A happy and cheery child, she always excelled at school and it was no surprise when she passed matric last year with a university entrance. She is now at Pretoria University doing a three-year degree in Creative Arts.…

There’s a saying that’s attributed to some long-ago movie star “Old age is not for sissies!” Yet, in this day and age the challenges that face the young, who’ve come through massively disadvantaged backgrounds, are terror-filled. Nobody understands these more than The Salvation Army who have nurtured many such young people throughout their lives. Our…

Passionate and enthusiastic, Lt. Owen believes everyone is born with hope and a need to make a difference, sadly this hope is too often crippled in life by lack of opportunity. The Salvation Army has an excellent reputation for giving our children the kind of caring and attention that makes them excel. Of course, this…

There is no worse crime than gender-based violence and human trafficking. The Salvation Army is shouldering responsibility of rebuilding lives at our facility at Beth Shan in Pretoria. The stories are so horrific it even takes guts to read them. The victims, especially of domestic abuse, come to us broken, dehumanised and their fight back…

In White City, Jabavu, in the heart of Soweto is a gem of love and happiness known as the Bridgman Crèche. It caters for 50 toddlers aged from one to five years. Each weekday it’s alive with the excited babble of the learners who are divided into three classes – for one to two year…