Our Home

Changing Lives Ministries usually has between 18 to 23 children in our care. Some of our children have been with us since infancy and others for most of their life. We have several groups of siblings. Since 2008 our children have called The Village of Joy 'home'. The Village of Joy is located just outside Johannesburg, South Africa in a semi-rural setting.

We are in danger of losing our home if we can't raise the money to buy the property. Please see our Get Involved section for ways in which you can help.

At Changing Lives Ministries we know our work is important. Everyday we see our staff and volunteers making a difference in the lives of our kids. We like to keep it simple. That being said our strategy of providing economically sustainable Foster Care incorporates several key elements.

• Utilizing a unique Foster Home concept with limited capacity for our children.
• Individualized and coordinated Care Plans implemented for each foster child to ensure individual talents are cultivated and struggles are faced head-on to help create a future filled with hope.
• A teamwork methodology to meeting the needs of our children, incorporating a multi-disciplinary approach.
• Responsibility, Accountability and Fiscal Transparency allows sponsors and donors to give with confidence.
• Maximizing the contribution of volunteers from all walks of life to bring personalized expertise, skills, time, & resources which make a difference in the lives of individual children.

What Makes our Foster Care Different

In the past, government managed homes, have housed hundreds of children in large institutions cared for en-mass by staff on shifts i.e. orphanages. The Village of Joy is NOT like this at all! We are not an orphanage! We are a Home for Children, a peaceful place for children to heal from the neglect and pain they have experienced before reaching our doors. A place where they are given professional care to deal with the physical results of neglect and offered a chance to get a quality education in order to break the cycle of poverty. CLM has specifically limited its capacity according to our means so that each child can receive individual care. Our small staff lives on the premises in CLM provided housing. We seek long-term placements so the children have time to adjust and thrive in the healthy environment and siblings are always placed together with us.

Since we emulate life in a family home, children placed with us reach adulthood equipped with basic life skills such as household chores, simple food preparation, caring for younger children especially their siblings etc which makes transition as adults into the world easier. The children are brought up with love, care and discipline. Animals are an integral part of their lives at the village, including cats, chickens, ducks and rabbits. Our team actively care for children in a way which allows them to develop their unique potential. The hands-on, full time mothering which Milly Jarvis provides makes our house a true home.

For more information on how we ensure our children receive quality care or to discover ways to get involved please contact us at info (at) clmsa [punkt] org or +27 (0) 82 854 5853. We’d love to hear from you!!

Our Dream for the Future

As a part of our Sustainability Plan we would like to transition into what the South African Government calls Cluster Foster Care. Sub-dividing the Village of Joy, into 6 small homes, filled with a maximum of 6 children each, and overseen by House Parents or a House Mother. The existing structures at the Village of Joy is well suited to be adapted into this arrangement. This would allow us to care for a total of 42 children. Additionally this would create more time for Milly, freeing her from some of her duties so she can spend more time with the children.

We have the goal of achieving complete financial sustainability as an organization. We are currently developing plans for a component of Eco Tourism on the natural 17 hectors of bush surrounding The Village of Joy. Included in this plan are fixtures of Economic development, skills training, job creation, community participation and education.