Vineyard Houses is an initiative that provides supported and supervised community-based foster care for children in need through a network of small family homes. We believe that living in a small family unit with a dedicated foster mother or parents and no more than six children is the next best place for children who can’t be cared for by their own biological families.

Our children grow up in their home communities and culture, where their home language is spoken. They have a foster family to support and care for them, and we hope that one day they will either be reunited with their biological families or, failing that, that we have provided them with the necessary grounding to lead happy, successful lives. As of 2008, Vineyard Houses manages four homes in the Stellenbosch area.

The Vineyard Houses model of care provides a nurturing, viable and cost-effective alternative to institutionalised child care and can be implemented in any community setting. Working with local faith- and community-based organisations empowers our homes to care for children in need from their communities, whilst we at Vineyard Houses supply the experience, expertise and resources that enable them to do so.

The children we care for are legally placed in our care through the children’s court. Foster care can be short-term (during a crisis) or long-term (where there is no family left to care for the children). We are a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO), providing homes for children in need in a family environment within their local communities.