Jakaranda Children’s Home:
Keeping 300 children fed, clothed, and dreaming big
Listen to the podcast
Audio Title: Jacaranda Children’s Home: Keeping 300 children fed, clothed, and dreaming big
Description: If you think running a small startup is tough, try keeping 30 separate “mini–startups” afloat on a single property, each with its own balance sheet for food, stationery, hygiene products and more.
If you think running a small startup is tough, try keeping 30 separate “mini–startups” afloat on a single property, each with its own balance sheet for food, stationery, hygiene products and more.
Welcome to Jakaranda Children’s Home, where Head of Finances Ian van Zyl and CEO Charlene Grobler have turned a faith‑driven calling into a lean, mean caregiving machine.
Nestled under real jacaranda trees, this sprawling campus of 30 facebrick homes is home to 300 vulnerable children, most of whom are placed here by court order.
There are boys’ homes and girls’ homes, each capped at 12 youngsters and house parents. A teen relaxation lounge (complete with beanbags and gorilla painting) sits in the back of the reception hall.
Down in the kitchen, every supply – from R4 million worth of annual groceries to 60 bottles each of shampoo and conditioner – is meticulously logged in each house’s own “ledger.” The reception area is a homely place, with potted greenery and uplifting door plaques (such as “Dream Team” on the staff office).
Ian van Zyl: Crunching Numbers with Kingdom‑Sized Faith
When a social‑worker friend tipped off Ian about an opening in Louis Botha Children’s Home’s finances, he leapt at the chance, then promptly found himself running the financials for both homes by 2020.
Cue Covid‑19, budget cuts, and Ian learning that you can’t feed kids on goodwill alone.
“Bread doesn’t fill the tank”
– Ian van Zyl
Last year, government funding—once promised in full—was slashed in half when the Social Development budget plummeted from R11 billion to R5.5 billion.
To keep afloat, the home needs approximately R2.5 million monthly: salaries (6% of the budget), daily fuel to shuttle 300 kids to 27 different schools (R27000 per house, per year), and water and electricity for 30 homes plus the office.
The home also does not receive donations from big corporations because they do not reach a level one or two BEE score, and therefore, big companies do not want to donate to the home, as it holds no benefit for them.
“A lot of people give us a lot of stuff, and we can’t always use all of it. So then we pay it forward to other homes or organisations that need it.”
Charlene Grobler: From Social Worker to CEO
Charlene’s journey began in 2006 with a last‑minute interview that made her nearly miss her flight, only for both to work out in divine timing. It was the “Best holiday ever,” she laughs.
“I always knew I would work with children…God put it on my heart to work with children.”
Over the years, she has climbed the organisation’s ranks. “I never thought I’d enjoy the business end of things…But I really enjoy working out systems and plans to make things better.”
“It’s not a fun time that we are in now…we were supposed to receive our funding on the first of April - we still haven’t received it.”
– Charlene Grobler
When she stepped into the CEO role during lockdown, her first question was: “What do we even own?” The answer sparked projects that have saved the home millions: a veggie garden, rainwater storage tanks, and solar panels (batteries still pending). She also installed Wi‑Fi in each house—her mother faxing printed schoolwork around just wouldn’t cut it in 2021.
Yet Charlene’s proudest innovations are intangible: a culture of not being the victim.
DJ Sparks is the kind of success story that sticks with a person; once sleeping rough on the streets, he arrived at Jakaranda Children’s Home unable to swim, much less ride a bike—skills the home’s team taught him alongside the life lessons of responsibility and faith.
Today, DJ splits his week between an IT role and running two thriving training ventures: a scuba‑diving school and a swim academy in Mamelodi.
“He was never a victim,” Charlene Grobler marvels. She recounted a story from one holiday, just before a short boat ride;
“Tannie, why were your eyes closed?”
She replied that she was praying for everyone’s safety on the boat ride.
“But, Tannie, you can’t do that – you aren’t in church.”
She explained to him that one could talk to God at any time and wherever you were.
The next day, he came up to her with eyes shining. “Tannie, guess what I did? I prayed!”
How You Can Power the Next Chapter
Between government underfunding, BEE score blind spots (most residents are Afrikaans‑speaking Caucasians), and zero big‑corporate donations, Jakaranda runs leaner than a missionary on a fast. Yet Ian and Charlene refuse to put out the “Closed for Business” sign.
“You can’t come here for the salary…You come here because it’s a calling.”
– Loanda Gouvs (House Mother of House 8)
At the centre of it all is a belief that these children aren’t just recipients of care—they’re future entrepreneurs, parents, leaders.
Jakaranda needs R2.5 million every month to keep doors open, meals on the table, and dreams alive. Your monthly gift fuels salaries, school transport, utilities, and seed capital for that next water‑harvesting tank or solar battery bank.
If you’ve ever felt called to invest in Kingdom‑minded entrepreneurship, here’s your chance: help Ian keep the books balanced and Charlene build systems that endure. Because in this place, every rand counts toward a child’s brighter future.
Ready to make an impact?
Teagan specialises in Copywriting, Public Relations, Social Media Marketing and Blogging. Teagan uncovers the deeper “why” behind every venture. She believes that every person and project has a unique story, and nothing excites her more than transforming these narratives into compelling content that demands to be shared with the world.
Subscribe to our Blog list
recent articles
GET IN TOUCH
CONNECT WITH LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE
Fio Head Office
63 Saal Street, Zwavelpoort,
Pretoria