With excitement we have welcomed the Budal family from Norway. They arrived in Jhb on Friday 20th August , purchased a vehicle on Saturday 21st August and drove to Empangeni reaching here at 21h00 that evening. This family of 5 have uprooted from their home and made huge sacrifices simply to come and serve and work at iKhaya, for 10 months. Tormod will be working on Oilrigs on alternate months reuniting with his family back in Empangeni, every 2nd month for some rest. Jenny and her 2 daughters Helga Sofie and Svanhild will be at iKhaya and knitting in with our staff, volunteers and children, helping with the running of our home . Trygve (13) will be starting school this coming Wednesday at Felixton College to continue his education, locally.

This amazing family arrived at iKhaya Likababa on Monday morning to meet the babies and the staff and to get orientated and to see what needs attention. The very next day they arrived at 'work' and in no time at all, repaired a wooden table in the play room, assembled a trampoline, made a list of missing parts and started the huge task of sorting through our store room, in between playing with our little babe who is too young to be at school. Please pop in to meet this wonderful family, and to see the outworking of their hearts through iKhaya and our children.

My name is Ty. Well actually it's Timon but because there is another volunteer with the same name who is staying here for the same amount of time, everyone came up with this nickname for me. I'm 19 years old, I have lived in Germany my entire life and now I'm volunteering for one year at this beautiful and very precious orphanage “iKhaya LikaBaba.”

When I was in South Africa 3 years ago, I have dreamt of coming back because I have loved this place from the beginning. This dream came true when I finished school a couple of months ago and decided to take a gap year in order to be involved in a social project. Since I had good contacts with iKhaya the decision was easy to spend this year in Empangeni, and I think being here is exactly right.

Working at iKhaya LikaBaba, playing with the kids and babies and helping to make this orphanage a nice, peaceful shelter and home is very fulfilling and definitely worth being involved in! I always loved to work with kids and youth. In my church in Germany I have been part of the kid’s ministry for a very long time and for the last two years my main focus has been opening and leading the youth. These years have shaped my character and formed my spiritual life extremely! Though I have not much experience in working with
babies and toddlers, like those at iKhaya, I have always had a heart for kids and loved to be around them.

I also love music! Playing my acoustic guitar is very relaxing for me and there is really no greater joy then playing the bass in the worship team in my home-church.

I am very glad that I can combine the work with kids at iKhaya LikaBaba with being involved in worship at youth in the local church and homegroup!

Being in a foreign country, speaking a different language and doing something you have never done before is exciting and challenging every single day. But I love it!

Hi, my name is Timon Köbele, 21 years, and I come from Hessisch Oldendorf, a small town in Germany, far away, but oddly in the same time zone as South Africa. I finished school after 13
years and served an apprenticeship as an industrial merchant in a snack company for two years. After completing this I worked in the same company in the marketing department.

I decided that I wanted to go to South Africa for one year to do a social year for God by helping other people. God was so generous to me the last time! I also want to improve my English, (so please help me!) and to gain new experiences.

After searching the internet for suitable volunteer work, I arrived at this wonderful orphanage in Empangeni. Now I'm a volunteer working and staying at Ikhaya. My jobs are different each day: driving (I have had to get used to the driving on the left), office and internet work, gardening, building jobs, caring for the kids and all the other jobs left over! I like my jobs!

My hobbies are mountain biking, swimming, taking photos, visiting foreign places, meeting friends and more.

I hope this year will change my life!

Hi! I am from Canada...and I have been totally blown away from this experience at iKhaya LikaBaba. I know that I've read from previous volunteers that they did not want to leave here...but I didn't fully understand it until I arrived! :)

If you have ever contemplated volunteering and have a heart for serving and orphans, please don't hestitate to reach out to iKhaya, because I promise you that it will be a life changing experience.
I have never quite felt so much love in one place before - From the Wendy, to the staff, to the church and the other volunteers - I've gained a whole new family and I'm too sad to think about leaving. The children are absolutey adorable and I am so impressed by how well they are taken care of and also taught proper manners and to take care of themselves. Of course they are children, and they like to play a lot and have an occasional tantrum, but nonetheless, when you look into their eyes, you could never believe that anyone would want to abandon them.

I will never forget this time in my life because it has truly been a blessing and shown me how much love there can be when you serve others. Not everyone is as blessed as those in other parts of the world in terms of finances, however, here at iKhaya they are RICH in LOVE and kindness. Thank you so much to everyone here who has made me feel at home. I am so happy and joyful that words cannot express - to my new sisters and brothers, Anne, Timon, Ty, Nikki, Helga, Swan, T, Jenny, Wendy, Andrew, Brett, Leah, Jayne, Molefe, Noma, Jodie, Peter & Lesley...and so many others...I love you more than words can say. To the little children of iKhaya...I LOVE YOU!

Precious Memories:
1. Reading to the children when they are going to sleep
2. Hearing about when the children were role-playing and pretending to be volunteers (Which really showed that the volunteers really do make an impact on these children's lives
3. Seeing the children graduate to the next level in school and their Christmas pagent
4. Holding them, hugging them!!!
5. Going to an amazing church where Gods love and Spirit is so apparent and abundant
6. Meeting people who open up their homes and love unconditionally

Hi! My name is Nikki, and I come from Manchester in England. I'm 22 years old and a student at the University of Nottingham. When I'm not at University I live at home with my Mum, Dad, younger sister Jenny and my dog Sam. In my spare time I enjoy swimming and running and baking cakes!

I am currently staying with family who live in Empangeni while I volunteer at ikhaya for 6 weeks. While I'm in South Africa I will also be spending some time working at a local hospital as this is very relevant to my degree and I hope I can learn something useful!

I am really enjoying spending so much time with the children and staff at Ikhaya! However, I will be flying home in time to spend Christmas 2010 with my family.

I am from Sydney, Australia. The second of 7 children, I moved to London late 2008. After spending two wonderful years there, it was time to go back to Australia. I decided that I wanted to visit Africa on the way home. As well as doing a Safari trip, I wanted to do some volunteer work.

One of the friends I met in London was from South Africa. She put me in touch with her mum whoput me in touch with iKhaya LikaBaba. I arranged to do two weeks of Volunteer work.

I didn’t know what to expect. I turned up on my first day and met the children and Wendy, the Manager. During my time there, I was involved in many different tasks all ranging in different physical levels.

Some of the things that I did included painting the doll house, organise the office, read to the children, play games with them, arrange a store room, moving concrete and other general tasks.

It is hard on the heart to see these beautiful children who are totally innocent and have had a tough start to life. But iKhaya LikaBaba is a great facility to give them love and attention that they might not get in other ways.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at iKhaya LikaBaba. I wish that my plans allowed me to stay longer. The other volunteers that were there were also great. We got along well and I learnt a lot about their countries from them.

Once I get back to Australia, I will be closely monitoring the progress of iKhaya LikaBaba and look forward to the growth of the project in the next few years.

I spent a month volunteering at this organisation and it was one of the most memorable and valuable times in my life. The children really touched my heart and the co-ordinators and families make you feel loved and cared for. Definitely a must if you are wanting to go on a mission trip or doing something meaningful for your gap year. Read my blog: http://www.daniestriptoafrica.blogspot.com and I also have a facebook album with some photos of the babies http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2165160&l=68f6c&id=187907430