Nkosi’s Haven in Johannesburg faces closure. It was opened in honour of the late AIDS activist 11-year-old Nkosi Johnson. It is home to over 100 babies including 35 orphans as well as 28 mothers.
Co-founder Gail Johnson says donations and government funding are falling short and all those who live there could be homeless before the end of the year. “I’m freaking, I’m absolutely freaking that this has been 20 years of a hard slog and it’s my family and its children who have nowhere to go and moms who have nowhere to go. My running costs are about R480 000 a month and that’s not coming in and we are in dire straits.”
The shelter needs over a million rand to avoid closure. However, chances of a lifeline from government don’t look promising. Deputy Director-General of the Health Department Yogan Pillay says government and donors can no longer afford to fund many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) because the country is in an economic recession.
“We are in an economic recession so there’s not a lot of money and certainly as government we are also struggling to ensure that we use the money to best effect and NGOs unfortunately are struggling to generate funds not just from government but also from the private sector as well as from donors. So it’s an all-round challenge both for government and for NGOs,” says Pillay .
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