Nkosi's Haven Village

Nkosi Johnson

Nkosi’s Haven is the dream project of Nkosi Johnson, to whom in 2005, the International Children's Peace Prize was posthumously dedicated. Nkosi's Haven was founded in 1999 by Gail Johnson, the foster mother of Nkosi. Nkosi’s Haven and the expansion, Nkosi’s Haven Village, are safe havens for mothers with aids and their children. The project was set up specifically to ensure that mothers with aids do not have to leave their children with an orphanage, as still often happens when their lives enter the final phase. The project is dedicated to Nkosi’s biological mother, who had to give up the care for Nkosi because of her illness.

Helping children and mothers in South Africa

The organisation began with care of mothers and children in two houses in central Johannesburg. The children at Nkosi's Haven receive full care. They also receive a good education, from kindergarten through to high school. The role of the mother in the care for her child(ren) is guaranteed and is as big as she is able to handle. There are also possibilities for the mothers to train themselves, for example in making handicrafts, in order to obtain an income.

Nkosi’s Haven Village

Following the success of the first two houses built at the Haven, Nkosi’s Haven was extended with Nkosi’s Haven Village, where the mothers and children can live in small houses. In cooperation with Het Weeshuis der Hervormden and Wilde Ganzen several facilities were built. The village comprises of 17 houses and can accommodate 100 mothers and 183 children. In the main building of the Village there is a large communal kitchen where the mothers meet to cook for the children.