Facilities

Montgomery Heights has a range of facilities, to give their children the best possible education and living environment.

Here is some more information about the facilities on offer to the children:

Land

The home is situated on 35 acres of land, some of which is used for a large vegetable garden and maize production to help towards the children’s meals. All of the staff and their families reside on the property too and each staff member has a small portion of land allocated upon which to grow their own food crops.

Accommodation

There are four separate houses for the resident children. Three of these function as family units with live-in house-parents, one for children of approx. 4 – 7 years, one for the older boys and one for the older girls. Each of these houses has a family lounge where the children are able to enjoy indoor games and watch DVDs. The fourth house is a special baby unit providing places for up to 12 abandoned and HIV+ babies and toddlers up to the age of 3 - 4 years. The children in this unit are cared for by staff who work a shift system under the management and guidance of our resident nurse. All four housing units interact and work together to form one cohesive family unit at the home.

Health & Nutrition

2 cooks prepare meals for the children and care staff in the communal kitchen and dining room during the week. However at weekends and on public holidays the children help their houseparents to prepare meals in their respective homes. There is a small clinic on site to provide for the medical needs of the children and staff. Fiona, the resident nurse, also liaises with local health authorities and specialists to provide on-going appropriate health care.

Education

The children attend an on-site preschool class after which they move on to a local government primary school and then secondary school. After completing their secondary school education, depending upon their academic ability, the older children are then able to pursue either higher academic studies or practical skills training courses at different educational institutions.

The Primary school children are driven 7km to school each morning and walk back via a ‘short cut’ of about 5km across the fields each afternoon. Pictured: The primary school attended by the Montgomery children

Secondary school children walk 9km each way to the nearest High school situated at the bottom of a very steep hill. However, MH is currently working together with the local community to build a new secondary school a just a few hundred meters away from the home. It is hoped that this school will open in January 2019.