Child Welfare Place of Safety

Pietermaritzburg — the capital of KwaZulu-Natal and the administrative heart of the uMgungundlovu District — is a city whose child welfare needs are significant and whose specialist service capacity, while better than many smaller towns, remains stretched. The Child and Family Welfare Society of Pietermaritzburg (PMB Child Welfare) has been operating in this environment as a professional social welfare organisation for many decades, providing the full statutory and preventive child welfare service mandate — from emergency placement to adoption, from foster care to family reunification.

The organisation is based at 224 Hoosen Haffejee Street in central Pietermaritzburg and is contactable at +27 33 342 8971. Its work is organised into six clearly defined service streams:

Services

Prevention and Early Intervention The entry point for most families and children. Services include first-time counselling; emergency placement of vulnerable children in temporary safe care; psychosocial support to children and their families; therapeutic group work programmes for children and caregivers; and prevention, education, and awareness programmes in the broader community. This is the programme most directly relevant to GBV survivors: a woman fleeing abuse with children, or in need of emergency placement for her children while she stabilises, may enter PMB Child Welfare through this door.

Foster Care Services Formal placement of children with related or unrelated foster families, supported by dedicated social workers providing ongoing psychosocial support to the child, the foster parent, and the natural parent. This service is critical for GBV survivors whose children cannot be cared for during the crisis period — rather than children being placed in an institution, foster care creates a family environment.

Adoption Services Professional adoption services including: counselling for birth mothers (including those considering relinquishment after an unplanned pregnancy, including in the context of sexual violence); screening of prospective adoptive parents; family and non-family adoption placements; origin tracing; and post-adoption support.

Family Reunification Services For children already placed in foster care or CYCCs, the Society works actively with biological families to address the underlying circumstances — including GBV situations — that led to placement, with the explicit goal of returning children to their families within the shortest possible time. This is not just a bureaucratic process; it is supported family work.

Services to Children Placed at Child and Youth Care Centres Children requiring structured environments and specialised treatment are placed at CYCCs. The Society's social workers monitor these placements, visiting regularly and advocating for the child's needs within the CYCC programme.

Ekhaya Lethemba Community Home "Ekhaya Lethemba" — isiZulu for "Home of Hope" — is the Society's own emergency safe care facility for children from birth to 6 years of age. Children are accommodated for 8 to 12 weeks while the social work team investigates their family circumstances and develops a permanency plan — deciding on the best long-term placement. Child Care Workers provide for the basic physical needs of the children. This facility is particularly relevant for GBV survivors who arrive at a shelter with infants or very young children and need to arrange temporary safe care.

Relevance to GBV Survivors

PMB Child Welfare's services intersect directly with GBV survivors' needs at several points. Emergency placement of children while a survivor accesses shelter; ongoing social work support for children who have witnessed or experienced abuse; foster care and family reunification during and after the shelter period; and birth mother counselling for women who have become pregnant as a result of rape or coercive relationships are all services that GBV survivors in Pietermaritzburg may need. PMB Child Welfare is the appropriate referral for any of these situations.

Child and Family Welfare Society of Pietermaritzburg: 224 Hoosen Haffejee Street, Pietermaritzburg, KZN, 3201. Phone: +27 33 342 8971. Email: admindata@pmbchildwelfare.co.za. Website: pmbchildwelfare.co.za.