Get real or die trying

I finally got to bed after midnight last night. It was just one of those crazy days. I met up with a guy about two weeks ago who wanted to know if I can assist in securing foster care for two children. I tried to help as much as I could, but I realised that what he needed wasn't as basic as just that. I found out that two kids have become pawns in the hands of a child welfare organization called Cafda. They decided that it would be more "beneficial" tothe kids to be placed in an institution rather than in the care of their own families or even foster care. Its absolutely dispicable that this center has been unwilling or unable to adequately adress such an important issue and they have been going about this totally unprofessionally and without any regard for the wellbeing of the children. I am totally appalled at this state of affairs. But that isnt even the half of the story, I know of 3 other cases that I personally handled where I had to fight with them into the middle of the night to have 3 young children released into my care. A young boy was sexually molested and sodomised by his cousins and they are still to come to remove this child, after 3 years, I just got in there and removed him myself. A grandmother who had to wait 2 years for the kids to be legally placed into her care so she can apply for social grants, while she has been looking after these kids for th epast 17 years. And she is yet to have that case finalised. I have dealt with one too many cases of young people who have come out of the child "care" system of this country, where they have been abused, sexually molested and just plain neglected by the very people who are paid "caregivers". I am disgusted that Cafda has refused to accept any legal opinion by any other entity that these kids would be better off at a home where they can be cared for by a loving family rather than in an institution. I am just so appalled that these kids have become a toy to "social workers" with personal agenda's against people. It hurts me that these kids have been staying in a so-called "place of safety" where they are exposed to various threats on a daily basis. They are neglected and suffer abuse of a psychological nature. Its about time that somebody says the things that needs to be said. Our kids find themselves on streets because the very people who need to look after them are failing intheir most basic God given duty. I cry each night knowing that as I tuck into my food and get into my warm bed, there is a child out there who is hungry and sleeps under cardboard. I cannot fathom for one second how we can consider ourselves a civilised country while our children are treated like animals.
Ryan is starting out there tonight, lets make some time to go out and join him one of these nights or days, even if just for a few hours and get up close and personal and look into the hardened eyes for these "glue koppies", as we call them. And see that a child on a street, is still, JUST A CHILD. And lets realised once more, that its not the pain of the few, but the silence of the many that keeps them there.

http://www.pdy.co.za/