To be a safety parent for six years can be rewarding but also heartbreaking and Ursula Peters from Tafelsig says she would not be able to do this without the help of her husband Gavin and God.
“The past six years the Department of Social Development places abused and neglected children in our safety care at my ECD Mini Footsteps Kindergarten and it serves as a safety home,” Peters says.
According to her, the children she takes in become family members and she still has ties with all her children of the past.
“When you meet the child the first time, the saddest part is that you can see the background of that child. The lack of love and attention is obvious and in most cases there is no happy ending for the child as most of them land in foster homes after leaving my care. Some are placed under the guardianship of a parent, sibling or other family member, but it is not always happy-ever-after,” she says.
“To be a safety parent is very challenging and you have to find a balance between smothering the child with love and attention or feeling sorry for the child.
“One of my children took care of her other siblings as a nine-year-old and I had to explain that it is okay to be a child and I’ll be the parent. Others were wearing the same clothes for days, refused to sleep in a bed, due to what happened with the child on or in a bed if the child was sexually abused. There really is a fine line to tread on,” she says.
Sometimes it takes patience and a waiting game for a child to open up and as soon as the child opens up, you’ve crossed the barrier, Peters says.
“When the child arrives here, it is only with two sets of clothing and I have to provide everything. I am thankful for Washiela Harris, my ward councillor, who assists and helps when I contact her. Most of the time I am doing everything on my own. I’ve seen the Ellen Pakkies story, Trane van ’n Moeder or Kinners vannie Ses firsthand in Mitchell’s Plain when children are put into my care. When they arrive here they are broken children but they leave as normal children,” Peters says.
Besides being a safety parent, she also runs soup kitchens in Tafelsig and is now focussing on the end of year event on Friday 9 December at Legacy Events in Schaapkraal.
“Through the year we hosted various community events to make a difference in our community. We will be hosting 200 seniors and 70 children in Schaapkraal with a lunch, singing of Christmas Carols and the Nativity play,” says Peters.
- For more information contact Ursula Peters on 061 957 1825.
