A safe haven for abused women and children in Cape Town
1 in 4 women suffer abuse at the hands of the person they love the most: their partner. Children never have a say in these matters. Abuse doesn’t stick to certain profiles: it happens all around us. The fact is that abuse is a pattern that is rooted in deeply seated psychological issues that take years of help to resolve. And that is if you’re lucky enough to make it that far…
Where do victims of domestic violence turn when they have nowhere else to go? When friends and family have exhausted their resources to help, and have given up trying? When you are running for your life, what choices do you have?
Anyone can
make a difference
WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO:
Huis Jabes is a non-profit shelter for victims of domestic violence, situated in the northern suburbs of Cape Town. It is a temporary home (up to three months) for survivors of extreme abuse with literally nowhere else to turn. The house was founded in 2008 by Adri Klindt and provides all the basic comforts of home in a secure, safe environment. Here inhabitants can recover, receive guidance and the necessary therapies and medical care, as well as help to be rehabilitated and start their lives over with a job and a place to stay. The house accommodates up to 18 mothers and children at a time.
There are three self-catering flatlets (to give a soft start to moms and kids who are getting ready to face the world on their own) and four bedrooms inside the main house. Operations are supervised full time by Adri and her daughter Annemi, as well as the inhouse social worker and daytime house “Mother”.
This initiative has helped more than 1874 people to rebuild their lives. 825 who have lived in the home itself. Huis Jabes (a registered non-profit organization under Article 18 (A)) is a beneficiary of the SOS Trust (a community based charitable trust) and relies on funding from the Trust. Trustees are Adri Klindt, Francois Laurence and Riaan de Lange. Together they supply strategic and legal aid to the home.
Mission & Vision
Our mission is to help victims heal through caring for every aspect of their beings: psychological, physical and spiritual. We take care of everything, so they can take care of themselves.
We believe that broken people don’t deserve broken things, and strive to receive every newcomer to Huis Jabes with a comfortable and private bedroom with clean new bedding, towels and clothes to wear. Many of our inhabitants have to flee in the dark of night with nothing but the clothes they and their children are wearing.
We provide the loving care, guidance, counselling and medical attention needed to encourage victims to heal and become self-sufficient.
Our vision is to become financially self-sustainable through the committed help of donors. To purchase our own house for the care of victims, and to branch out beyond the Western Cape.
