LITTLE EDEN was started by a 49 year old housewife and mother of six. Domitilla Rota Hyams (1918-2011) knew nothing about social work and had no money or government backing. But she was a brave and determined person with an unshakable faith in God’s divine purpose.
With the help of a group of friends, advice from experts in the field and a R10 donation from her husband, Danny, LITTLE EDEN opened its doors to the first three little girls in 1967.
Initially, it was simply a day care facility, operating in the Edenvale Methodist church hall. By the second year, there were 23 children and a nursing sister supervisor and LITTLE EDEN had taken occupation of an old house awaiting demolition in Kempton Park.
Then Domitilla promised the dying mother of one of the children that she would look after the child for the rest of her life – and the need for permanent residential care was born. Over the next few years, the organisation was forced to move several times until in 1974 we were finally able to start building the present permanent home in Edenglen on land donated by the municipality.
In 1970 a 43ha farm in Bapsfontein was acquired, but owing to lack of funds, over a decade would pass before the Elvira Rota Village (named after Domitilla’s mother) was finally built.
Today, LITTLE EDEN is a benchmark non-profit organisation accommodating 300 children and adults with profound intellectual disability in two specialized residential care facilities.
We encourage the community to see our ‘angels’ through our eyes – to recognize each as a whole complete being created by God – with a mind, a body, a spirit and a soul – and the right to be treated with dignity, kindness and respect.
