How Serenity Foundation began...

Guy Kirkpatrick graduated from university last year. Following that he went to Kayamandi Township, Stellenbosch, South Africa at the end of 2008, to work as a volunteer English teacher. During his time there, he was able to experience and see the problems that were continuing to afflict the population of the township, in particular the number of children living on the streets and fending for themselves.

During conversations with local residents, Guy discovered the true extent of this problem, and the self perpetuating cycle that it has created. Due to the current lack of any homeless children’s shelter in Kayamandi, these children are often starving and/or abused, and there is a high rate of mortality among them. However, those that do survive, grow up without any ambition or ability to look to their future, beyond the source of the next meal. As a result they often end up selling their bodies to gain enough money to sustain themselves, and due to the lack of practice of safe sex, often end up with infections such as HIV/AIDS and also giving birth to many children whom they have no way of supporting.

This lead Guy to decide that he must do something to help these children, and the immediate problem that needed solving was to develop a place to house these children so that they would not need to fend for themselves. Therefore, he got in touch with Mvuyo McDonald Ndzala (Donald), a local resident who shared his vision, and they resolved to set up this project.