About Us
GET TO KNOW KNOWUS BETTER
Resthaven Ministries started in 1972 from the boot of a car serving soup to the less fortunate of the Southern Suburbs of Johannesburg South. In 1979 it was established as a non-profit-organisation, adhering to all requirements specified by our government. It was further registered and as a Public Benefit Organisation in terms of Section 18A of the Income Tax Act, 1962 on 24 July 2006, thereby ensuring that donors are able to claim their donations against their taxable income.
Mrs Val Saunders and her daughter Faith Steward established a centre where poor people in Rosettenville (South of Johannesburg) could seek help from the ravages of hunger and proverty. This was caused by mass migration of rural villagers into Johannesburg seeking a better life. However a promise of a better life was non-existent.
Informal settlements grew around Johannesburg and the mining towns that were at the heart of South Africa’s financial and economic power. Historically most of the mineworkers came from rural towns and villages who lived in men’s only hostels. Their wives maintained family structures in their villages with their husbands making annual trips back home. This gave rise to sexual promiscuity , spreading of STDs and other related illnesses. In the early years of the 1980s there was an emergence of HIV/AIDS with very little knowledge of its cause and effect.
Mrs Saunders identified children who were orphaned (maternal) due to this disease and conducted much research into its cause and treatment of this epidemic. With the little that was known about its deadly outcome Mrs Saunders established David House as a home for HIV/AIDS orphans and abandoned children with a hope of finding out how best to manage the problem.
As more became known of this epidemic better treatment was prescribed and to meet the challenge of increasing costs required fundraising drives. Appeals for financial assistance were initiated, and sent to corporates and small businesses which until today , continues to support the organisation. The amounts required greatly increased as the number of patients were rising. However the introduction of ARVs have helped patients to live normal lives with a strict regimen of medication.
Over the years, we have established a home for HIV/AIDS orphans and abandoned children and a home for senior citizens.
There are many needs in the community today. The poor need housing, the hungry need food, senior citizens need care and AIDS infected and affected babies, children and adults need medical care and they all need love. Being a ministry, Resthaven has a special calling to provide for the widows and orphans.
Resthaven operates with the sole purpose of looking after the lives of the needy and poverty-stricken and making a difference.
Resthaven was set up to provide accommodation for vulnerable children and senior citizens.
Resthaven’s objective is to “Find a need and meet it, and to find a hurt and heal it” and we are very active in the community with a number of projects directly influencing many lives.
