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Bridges to the World The Summer 2005 Tour
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Bridges to the World The Summer 2005 Tour
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Cotlands Baby Sanctuary has been serving communities in South Africa for nearly seventy years. Founded in 1936 as a home for unwed mothers and their infants Cotlands has evolved into a home for abused, abandoned and HIV positive children from birth to nine years old. At present Cotlands, with its headquarters in Johannesburg, is now serving eight communities with home based care, counseling and training. The growing need for services in caring for AIDS orphans in South Africa is both shocking and urgent. The work of Cotlands has been evolving to best meet this crisis. The generosity, compassion, and community service model of Cotlands is assisting hundreds of children to grow up in safe and supportive family environments, while still caring for over 75 children on site in Johannesburg. They have a dedicated staff of 140 people, working to raise more funds, expand their outreach and care for those children living within their institution. You can read more about their work on their website www.cotlands.org. We at the GDCU have taken supplies (clothes, shoes, diapers, beanie babies and art supplies) and made financial donations to Cotlands for the past three years. |
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We were a little surprised at what
they requested us to do. They said that they had this old wooden "jungle gym" that was in need of repair, and that their top priority was to have it sanded and painted because the children were constantly getting slivers and cuts in their hands. |
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In this picture you can see that the paint
is all but gone, the rails are split and splintered - in the U.S., such a contraption
would surely be declared unsafe and be destroyed. However, at Cotlands, this is a primary play area for the children. More pictures of our work to restore this to a safe condition are here... |
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