Today, Children of the Dawn is registered in South Africa as a Non-Profit Organisation (No: 021-164 NPO) and as a Public Benefit Organisation (No: 930 001 736). Among other things, this means that donations made by South African individuals or companies are tax-deductible.
A sister organisation was opened in France in December 2003 under the name “Les Enfants de l’Aurore (France)” with the same mission as Children of the Dawn. Both organisations work hand in hand to support rural South African children in dire need.
From its inception to the beginning of 2006, Children of the Dawn operated on a structure run totally by volunteers. In April 2006, Children of the Dawn professionalised the organisation. Today we employ 3 staff members and work with a further 54 caregivers on stipends. Over 850 children are registered on our programme and we reached a total of 3500 adults and children on a daily basis. We now wish to deepen our programmes and to strengthen the level of services delivered to the children. 86% of donations made by donors are directly spent on supporting the sponsored children.
Each rural community implementing Children of the Dawn’s model is thoroughly monitored through financial and activity reports, field visits, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation.
Children of the Dawn presently comprises of about 300 members, mainly consisting of individual South African or foreign sponsors.
Children of the Dawn is managed by:
- The Council of Children of the Dawn, an elected structure who oversees the work of the organisation and defines its strategy. Currently, the Council members are: Magali MALHERBE (National Project Manager), Puleng MDIYA (Qwaqwa – Representative of Caregivers), Morné DU PLESSIS (Treasurer), Vincent PHAKATHI (Ermelo – Representative of Children), Olga MESHOE (Secretary), Annah MABUZA (Mangweni – Representative of Caregivers) and Binkie NDHLOVU (Matatiele – Representative of Children)
- A Management Committee, an elected sctructure who handles day-to-day decisions. Currently, the Management Committee comprises Magali MALHERBE (National Project Manager), Morné DU PLESSIS (Treasurer), and Olga MESHOE (Secretary)