Legal Aid South Africa is going to give more people to have access to legal services. To see who qualifies for legal aid the Legal Aid South Africa Means Test has now been set to cater for increases in the Consumer Price Index from this month.
- Applications for legal aid in cases must earn less than R8,700 per month.
- Applications for legal aid in civil cases where the applicant is a member of a household, you must earn less than R9,500 per month.
- If an applicant owns movable assets, it must not be worth more than R160,800.
- If an applicant owns immovable assets, it must not be worth more than R754,400.
- In criminal cases, children – minors below the age of 18 – continue to automatically qualify for legal aid and do not have to take the Means Test. If it is a civil case, the family of the child will need to take and pass the Means Test.
The amount of babies being abandoned across the Cape Flats is becoming a concern. A dead baby was found on Stellenbosch Arterial Road and Founder of Western Cape Missing Persons Unit, Candice van der Rheede, says that it feels as if human life has no value anymore. The baby was found over the weekend close to the Belhar Fire Station. Public relations officer for the Belhar community policing forum (CPF), Ismail Arnold says that Belhar and Delft need more resources in social development as they are understaffed. He urges the community to speak up if they see crimes being committed.
There are many places of safety for unwanted babies. These include :
Rainbow of Hope (Rainbow House):
Location: 49 Alice Street, Goodwood, 7460, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa 1.
Description: Rainbow of Hope, Rainbow of Hope, lovingly known as Rainbow House, operates as a place of safety for vulnerable children in Cape Town, South Africa. The home was established in October 2007, and since then has obtained its NPO (Non-Profit Organisation) and PBO (Public Benefit Organisation) status. As a safe home, Rainbow House is a sanctuary where neglected, vulnerable children receive physical, emotional and educational support and care. The name Rainbow of Hope was chosen for the proverbial “pot of gold” at the end of the Rainbow as we believe that no child crosses the threshold of Rainbow of Hope by chance. Their paths are ordained to enter our lives by a power greater than us! Here at Rainbow of Hope they are offered the opportunity for a future they would otherwise never have known. We were called to serve those who have no voice. Rainbow of Hope, a hope for the hopeless, to be part of that is PRICELESS!
Atlantic Hope:
Location: Marilyn’s flat in Cape Town.
Mission: Atlantic Hope focuses on the first 1,000 days of a baby’s life, which are crucial for their mental and emotional well-being. They prioritize developmental, physical, and emotional care, ensuring that medical needs are met. Legal proceedings related to the child’s future are conducted by social workers while the babies receive love and care in this safe haven. Marilyn May, a registered nurse and doula, founded Atlantic Hope after picking up a crying abandoned baby at a hospital. She converted her own home into a nurturing space where up to six babies can be accommodated at a time. Atlantic Hope collaborates with Social Services and Adoption Agencies to provide essential care and nurture to these tiny souls during their critical early days 12.
Description: Door of Hope collaborates with government-accredited adoption agencies, specializing in national and inter-country adoptions, unplanned pregnancies, and social services 3.
The Lighthouse Baby Shelter:
Mission: The Lighthouse Baby Shelter cares for unwanted, abandoned, and abused babies from newborns upwards. They rely solely on public generosity for finances and provide a safe haven for these vulnerable infants 4.
Keith Abrahams from Maitland is on a mission to teach children that are on the street how to swim. Abrahams has watched countless disadvantaged children drown. He is the founder of Warobile Lifesaving Aquatics Academy that opened in 2013. He says that it is named Warobile, after the two drowned pupils lost their lives at Camps Bay Beach. The name is a combination of the first names of Waroona Senosi and Qarabile Motswari. He decided to turn this into a programme where he gets disadvantaged kids and teaches them for free.
He noticed that there are a lot of children who aren’t in school or in gangster areas, so Abrahams picked them up and took them to the pool. There have been over 200 kids in the programme. He explains that he would rather teach them the skill of swimming at the Holy Cross High School, than see them drown in drugs and gangs. After the lessons the children are served a hot meal and then they are dropped off at home. This is what I would like for the children of places like Bonteheuwel and Khayelitsha too and he plans to help people across South Africa.
The Delft Technical High School will have access to a brand-new Science Teaching and Learning Centre. Students and pupils now have a modern audio-visual technology including smart boards, data projectors and a hovercam document camera. Deputy Principal Astrid Prins says she is over the moon with the new developments and expects an improvement in their results. She says that coming from a disadvantaged community, most of their pupils have been inhibited from obtaining knowledge, skills and abilities to thrive within the science and maths world. Having a science teaching and learning centre will encourage students to foster curiosity, encourage creativity and better concentration level.
