Our Charities

The charity welcomes all the family, giving them a break together or time to themselves in a comfortable, home-from-home atmosphere. It is a place of love and understanding, of fun, laughter and friendship - where they can have a full night's sleep and "recharge their batteries".

Martin House's facilities include nine specialist children's bedrooms, eight family rooms for parents and siblings, six bedrooms in an adjoining unit for teenagers and young adults, spacious sitting rooms, playrooms, multi-sensory room, Jacuzzi, library and a music room.

The six-acre landscaped gardens have been designed for the enjoyment of the children and families during their stay in Martin House and incorporate a range of interesting equipment together with wheelchair swings, roundabout and adventure trail.

Although the care the charity provides is free to their families, Martin House has little access to public funds and relies almost entirely on charitable donations. Without the generosity and help of it's supporters, the charity would not be able to continue to provide the much-needed special care to the children and their families.

Founded in 1936, Cotlands was originally created as a care centre for unwed mothers and their infants, and over the years has evolved into an organisation offering shelter for abused, abandoned, HIV-positive, orphaned and terminally ill children from birth to fourteen years of age, as well as community based services to vulnerable children in five provinces of South Africa.

In partnership with other NGO’s, local government and the private sector, Cotlands is committed to filling the medico-socio-economic gaps in communities by providing a range of services that will ensure the provision of food security, reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, create jobs and foster self sustainability. To achieve this, Cotlands has ensured that all outreach projects include food garden initiatives, income generating projects and educational components. headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, their activities have reflected the changing needs of our society and they have increased both the quality and quantity of services they provide. In the early 1990’s, Cotlands identified an urgent need to care for children directly impacted by HIV/AIDS. This focus included the establishment of a paediatric AIDS hospice, the first of its kind in South Africa at that time (1996), offering specialised paediatric palliative care 24 hours a day.

At present, Cotlands is servicing five regions (Johannesburg South and Soweto in Gauteng, Hlabisa in KwaZulu/Natal, East London in Eastern Cape, Helderberg in the Western Cape and Lydenburg in Mpumalanga) - impacting more than 2 000 families either directly (through Home Based Care and residential care) or indirectly (via outreach, training, capacity building and counselling).

Cotlands provides the full continuum of care to vulnerable children, with services ranging from home based care of HIV-positive children through to end stage palliative care for children with AIDS. Emphasis is placed on supporting the child and their family in the community through various outreach programmes, which include Home Based Care, orphan care, counselling services, and nutrition. The residential component is only used in emergency situations for acute, chronic and terminally ill children who cannot be cared for at home or children who have been orphaned or abandoned.