I pen these words in awe and admiration of the resilience presented by the Board, staff and all stakeholders involved in the life of St Monica's Children's Home. The prevalence of the Covid 19 pandemic brought about numerous changes in the way we do business. As a non-profit organisation whose mission is to provide a safe environment for children placed in our institution through residential care and developmental programmes with the goal of eventual reunification with their families and/or communities, it is humbling to witness the level at which different sectors within the organisation pull together to fulfil this mission.

The Home prioritised quality care to the children in terms of their health, emotional, physical, educational and other needs which were evident through reports received from the Director, social worker, staff and children on a monthly basis at our Board meetings.  It was both encouraging and heart-warming to observe our little children aged 6 and 7 and our youth giving feedback at our Board meetings of their gratitude to the board and our staff acknowledging that they were well cared for despite the Covid pandemic and that they tried to adhere to the rules of social distancing and realised that St. Monica's provided them with a safe environment.

In line with the current demands brought the technological advancement as well as compliance to record-keeping regulations, we engaged the services of a company 4Front Computing to safely store all the information of our children, donors, funders on a server as opposed to perusing a file for children's details, reports and document online. This system is managed externally and has proven to be extremely helpful to the social work sector.

A special word of gratitude is extended to staff for their unwavering commitment to their work. The ever-changing lockdown regulations compelled staff to come up with creative ways to accommodate the needs of the children, keep them engaged at all times and ensure they do not fall behind with their schoolwork. Adherence to lockdown regulations and continuous education of the children about Covid19 and its protocols assisted in curbing the spread of the virus among the children; as such, no infections were recorded in this current year. 

Our Board members met in a smaller executive team and in a broader committee once a month on a Zoom platform and dealt with matters affecting the Home as presented by the various sectors of the Home including childrens'  matters, staffing, safety, maintenance and repairs. It has been yet another successful year for St Monica's Children's Home, which did not go by without any challenges. Although we sailed some stormy waters during the past year, we were in a position to overcome these through the wisdom and input of efficient times. My sincere thanks go to the Board for their continued support, commitment and adaptation to the changes brought forth by our current environment.

We are extremely saddened by the departure of our Treasurer Mr Cottrell.  Mr Cottrell is one of the longest-serving members on the Board who at all times demonstrated a high level of humility, professionalism and dedication to our Home. He carried the interest of the children at heart and contributed beyond his role as a Treasurer. We wish him well in his future endeavours. 

We thank all our funders for their commitment and continued support and confidence they have in St Monica's Children's Home. In the season of uncertainty and drastic decline in the economy, it is pleasing to announce that St Monica's Children's Home continued to receive funding from its standing funders. Not forgetting the random acts of kindness from the different spheres of the community especially during the period of unrest in our province. This would have not been possible without the efforts of the Director who works tirelessly in compiling and presenting funding proposals to potential funders. 

St. Monica's also came to the fore in assisting neighbouring non-profits and communities with perishable goods when we had a surplus especially over the Christmas 2020 season when many families were destitute. These communities were overwhelmed by our support and we simply live by the saying "pay it forward". 

We welcome new Bishop's appointees to the Board, i.e. Revd. N. Ngcobo, Revd. V. Hammond, Revd. A. Manning and Revd. Dr. Buthelezi and look forward to serving this community together. 

By the grace of God, we are able to say that the Home is fairly sustainable currently and we are blessed to have such a good and dedicated team at St Monica's Home.

Zachariah 4:6: ".... Not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit, says the Lord". May we continue to walk and serve in the Lord's Spirit. 

Your servant in Christ