Easter or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, described in the New Testament as having occurred on the third day after his burial following his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary. At PCH we take pride in celebrating such holidays which are meaningful. The children remembered Jesus on the cross by the final words he spoke and reminded us of them as well as their significance. This day started with the opening prayer as well as the purpose of the day. After the program it was time for the Easter -egg hunt, where the children were divided into 4 teams and the hunt began. The children were all winners and they got to keep all the Easter eggs collected as a team.

Pietermaritzburg Children Home
On the 1^st of April 1991, Mary Cook Children’s Home changed its name to Pietermaritzburg Children’s Home. At the same time Pietermaritzburg Child and Family Welfare Society ceded the Children’s Home operation known as Hilltops and Mildred Ward, to Pietermaritzburg Children’s Home.
Today, Pietermaritzburg Children’s Home remains at 45 Teak Road in Woodlands- Pietermaritzburg. It continues to provide residential care for 80 orphaned or vulnerable Children from all walks of life who have been placed in our care by the children’s court.
The vision that Miss Mary Elizabeth Cook had, continues to live on. Her work was not in vain and hence we celebrate her life and PCH for achieving 135 years of continued childcare services.

#Humble beginnings
#135 years of Grace

Find out more by visiting our Website
We will continue the journey in the May Newsletter 2021…
Don’t miss it.

Did you know that Before Family Day, South Africans enjoy the Good Friday holiday and both Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday to make a 4-day weekend. It was typical in South Africa to take a day off of work after Easter. This day, which is also known as Easter Monday, was renamed as Family Day in 1995. This extra day off for the holiday was meant to give families more quality time together and to allow them to go on vacations with loved ones.
The Children hosted a program teaching each other about the importance of family. Some know PCH as the only family they had and they showed gratitude for the love and care they receive from the staff as well as their peers.

2L- drinking water
2L- cooking
2 L- daily hygiene (washing of hands)
15 L-for 2 minutes shower
17L- for dishes & laundry
12 L- for flushes of toilet (less with 6L or smaller cisterns)

Young leaders stressed that by adhering to the above, you can make sure that everybody in South Africa has sufficient water. Sadly the same cannot be said by people who reside in the deep rural areas, who are still fighting for pure water and sanitation and are still subjected to share water from the rivers with livestock.

On behalf of all children, we are very grateful for all the covid-19 protocols in place to keep us safe during the Pandemic. Its really hard not seeing your peers like we used to but we understand that this is for our own good. We also express our greatest gratitude to the Management for the supplements which we receive daily such as multivitamins, ginger and honey. At this point only 1 cottage at a time is allowed to spend time outside on the ground to avoid any risks. Thank you for everything you continue to do for us.

(extract from presentations at our recent Board meeting)
Miss C.

Garden day

Gardening is the practice of growing and cultivating plants as part of horticulture.  Horticulture is the art of cultivating plants in gardens to produce food and medicinal ingredients, or for comfort and ornamental purposes. Gardening has become part of our recreational activity and this means that once or twice in a week, children from different units take turns in ensuring that the garden is taken care of. On this specific day the Unit 1 junior girls watered the garden situated near the office and the Unit 3 senior boys were tackling the main garden. The children’s participation was outstanding. This year we managed to grow our very own chilies, Onions, beetroot, brinjal and tomatoes. We have already started harvesting chilies and its all thanks to the children and to You, our donor for your seedlings donations.

Freedom Day is a public holiday in South Africa celebrated on the 27th of April. It celebrates freedom and commemorates the first post- apartheid elections held on that day in 1994. The elections were the first non-racial national elections where everyone of voting age over 18 from any race group, including foreign citizens  permanently residing in South Africa, were allowed to vote.
At PCH we take pride in commemorating such days because we believe that the history is an important part of our lives. The children did not hold back on making this day special. Each Unit took turns educating one another on the events leading up to this through Song, Dance and Drama.

Child and Youth Care Month may the month of May extra Special, where we will be celebrating the great work that CYCWs do for children. It starts of with the first week in May celebrating International Child and Youth Care Week and concludes with Child Protection Week.

This initiative partners with over 138  beneficiaries to ensure that children are receiving a nutritious meal daily. Add Hope raises money through customer donations added at the till or on the Add Hope website, as well as donating a percentage of KFC profits as its own Corporate social responsibility.
This is how it works:
When buying a meal you simply Add R2 for Add Hope to your bill…
Donations are also made by KFC…All that donations goes to the KFC Social Responsibility Trust…who then allocates to suitable applicants
(This Campaign feeds nutritious meals to over 120 000 children every day in South Africa, and PCH is one of their beneficiaries)

Your R2 really does go a long way, and reaches us
to serve our children on a daily basis, so don’t hesitate to make your R2 pledge today!

A reminder that our DONATE button on the website is now effective.
Yes, as a Donor you can make a cash donation in your own time, at your leisure.
Kindly visit our website on www.pch.org.za and select any amount you wish to donate.
You can use any Visa Debit or Mastercard for both Cheque and Credit Card options.
Your banking details remain confidential and that information will NOT be available to any one besides your yourself.
So please do feel free to support us through this easy and safe method of donating!

Its easy: all you have to do is go to any participating BP, Engen or Caltex garage, fill up and notify the attendant of Litres for Education, providing them with our unique number #509 …..and 10c  per litre goes towards PCH. The wonderful thing is that
you DON’T pay an extra cent more.
Just remember to say the next time you are filling up – Litres for Education #509.