About Cotlands

Cotland HeadquatersCotlands is a long-serving South African 'non-profit' agency that continues to meet the ever-changing needs of children impacted by HIV/AIDS in our country.

 

South Africa has been identified as the country with the greatest number of HIV/AIDS-infected people in the world. Recent reports reveal that more than five million South Africans are currently living with the impact of HIV/AIDS, while some of Cotlands’ programme focus areas (e.g. Cotlands' Hlabisa Home Base Care project) have estimated infection rates of more than 40% of the total population.

 

While this information is not new, the impact of these figures is becoming clearer to our communities, our government and the global community in which we live.

 

'AIDS orphans' (children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS related death of their parents), 'child-headed households' (homes managed by elder siblings often as young as 11) and similar terms are now commonplace in South Africa, yet support for these individuals is still lagging behind growing awareness of the challenges we face.

 

Our Proud History

Founded in 1936, Cotlands was originally created as a care centre for unwed mothers and their infants, and over the years has evolved into a shelter for abused, abandoned, HIV positive, orphaned and terminally ill children from birth to fourteen years of age.

 

With headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, our activities have reflected the changing needs of our society and we have increased both the quality and quantity of services we provide.  In the early 1990’s, Cotlands identified an urgent need to care for children directly impacted by HIV/AIDS. This focus included the establishment of a paediatric AIDS hospice, the first of its kind in South Africa at that time (1996), offering specialised paediatric palliative care 24 hours a day. 

 

At present, Cotlands is servicing eight communities (Johannesburg South, Soweto, Alexandra, and Thembisa in Gauteng, Hlabisa in KwaZulu/Natal, East London in Eastern Cape, Helderberg in the Western Cape and Lydenburg in Mpumalanga) ¾ impacting more than 2 000 families either directly (through home based care and residential care) or indirectly (via outreach, training, capacity building and counselling). 

 

Care now extends through the whole continuum – from identifying vulnerable children in the community to end stage hospice care for children dying of AIDS.  Expanded services include home based care, community development and capacity-building services in the field of HIV/AIDS on a national basis.  Cotlands presently offers the following services: 

 

Cotlands Residential Care Programmes

  • Sanctuary (Gauteng & Western Cape)
  • Place of safety (Gauteng & Western Cape)
  • Hospices (Gauteng & Western Cape)
  • Children’s Home (Gauteng & Western Cape)
  • ECDC (Gauteng & Western Cape)
  • Professional Foster Care

 

Cotlands Outreach Programmes

  • Home Based Care (Gauteng, Western Cape & KwaZulu Natal)
  • Chris Hani Baragwanath Counselling Project (Gauteng)
  • Nutrition Project (Eastern Cape)
  • Orphan Care (Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal)
  • ECDC (Gauteng, EC, KZN and Mpumalanga)
  • Food Gardens (Gauteng, Westen Cape, KwaZulu Natal & Eastern Cape)
  • Support Groups (Gauteng,KwaZulu Natal & Eastern Cape)
  • Income Generation(Gauteng,KwaZulu Natal & Eastern Cape)

 

 

Organisational Objective

To provide exceptional models of care to children by empowering their families and communities with skills, knowledge, values and attitudes that will improve their quality of life.  

 

Secondary Objectives

 

  • To address the needs of vulnerable children through a variety of specialised interventions, ranging from outreach programmes to end stage palliative care.
  • To form partnerships with other NGO’s, local government and the private sector to fill the service delivery gaps in various communities by providing a range of services that will ensure the care and development of young children, provide food security, reverse the spread of HIV and AIDS, create jobs and promote self sustainability in poorer communities.
  • To take into consideration Government’s priorities for the region when evaluating existing services and establishing new services.
  • To identify current services available to vulnerable children in the areas Cotlands operates or plans to operate, to avoid unnecessary duplication, and to establish how best Cotlands knowledge, skills and resources can be utilised to address these needs.