People often ask how children arrive to our care at Acres of Love. We are registered and licensed with the South African government to offer long-term care to children who have been orphaned and/or abandoned. Each child is unique, and so are their stories. Infant abandonment is a critical issue in South Africa today […]

With joyful hearts we share that our Garret McGann Malibongwe Forever Home is officially open in Cape Town! This newest Acres of Love Forever Home will allow us to rescue six more children who have been orphaned or abandoned in South Africa. They will be welcomed into a family home with loving house parents and the […]

  As we relish the last few days of 2017 with our Forever Families, we look back on the year with gratitude. Thank you for coming alongside our work to rescue children and create families. This year we continued to provide the very best medical, emotional, educational, and nutritional care for each child at Acres […]

On August 9, 1956, women of all races in South Africa marched together, many with children on their backs, against unjust laws of oppression. Today’s National Holiday commemorates their strength, bravery, and courage and we celebrate the women here at Acres of Love who spend each day defending the rights of South Africa’s most vulnerable […]

As our children get older, we’re excited to explore opportunities for them to use their gifts to bless others. We started a new tutoring program this term with our upper secondary and university students. They travel to local Acres of Love Forever Family Homes to help our younger students with after-school homework, study prep, and […]

Sometimes we have weeks to prepare for a child. Other times, a judge requests immediate and emergency placement within a few hours. Either way, our entire team steps up to welcome each child to our care with love and attention to detail. Yesterday we received an emergency placement for an infant boy, Mangaliso (name changed […]

When we talk with people, we find that they often assume Acres of Love is an orphanage. While we are a registered Child and Youth Care Centre and NPO in South Africa, “orphanage” is not a term that best describes our model of care.  While institutions offer survival, we seek to rescue children and create […]

People often ask us about the process of receiving children to our care. Most of the time, government social workers contact us about specific children in need of placement. Some children are abandoned in fields, on street corners, or at shebeens in informal settlements. Others are left at police stations or hospitals. Because there are 3 […]

When we opened our Cape Town Region 800 miles from our existing Forever Families, we knew that we would need passionate local leadership to successfully launch our Forever Home model of care. Our HR Director since 2008, Carmin Harty quickly expanded her role to include our Cape Town Operations as well. This region is now […]

Each year, Acres of Love is invited to participate in the Festival of Children at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, California. The Festival of Children is celebrating National Child Awareness Month in September and this is close to our heart. Acres of Love is passionate about providing each child in our care with the very […]

On August 4, 1998, we brought a car filled with these toddlers to our first Forever Home. We knew that there was an overwhelming need in South Africa for children who had been orphaned and our goal was to do everything for these children that we would do for our own. With a community of […]

A few months ago we were asked to participate in an episode of Turning Point. We were excited to share our work and belief that children belong in families, not institutions. It was an encouragement to work with the amazing production team who visited our Johannesburg and Cape Town families along with our US team. We’re happy to […]

Adults with special needs are extremely stigmatized in South Africa and many are institutionalized or kept away from society.  It is our desire to think outside the box, and offer a better future for the older children in our care. Over the last 18 years, we have developed a reputation for being able to offer […]

World FAS Day in South Africa continues to educate and encourage expectant mothers about the dangers of consuming alcohol while pregnant. As we continue our work both in Johannesburg and Cape Town, we are inundated by the daily reality of living with FAS. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, or FAS, affects many of our children due to […]

May 26, 2014 Acres of Love was asked to be a part of Clear Channel’s KIIS FM Community Council and two of our team members were interviewed for local radio stations about our work and children.  We are always excited to share our story with others… click here to listen to the interview!    

April 11, 2014 We’re not sure if you’ve noticed, but you see a lot of shoes on our social media posts. Our website is filled with side profiles and “behind the head” shots. Sometimes we’ll blur out the faces, show you some knees, or have a lot of distance between the camera and the children. […]

March 4, 2014 Many places of safety (the first stop in South Africa’s orphan care system) are struggling to provide the necessities for children in their care. Things like food and clean drinking water aren’t easy to provide, but services such as therapy or proper wheelchairs to offer postural support for children living with things […]

Join one of our quarterly “Connect with Acres” gatherings at our Acres of Love office in San Juan Capistrano.  We welcome anyone who would like to learn more about Acres of Love in a casual and intimate setting.  We’ll tailor the presentation of each morning to the people in attendance, and hope to engage our friends, […]