Im Rahmen unserer aktuellen Südafrika-Reise haben wir erneut das Options Care Center in George besucht – eine Einrichtung, die wir als Stiftung seit über 20 Jahren begleiten und unterstützen. Für uns ist dieser Ort zu einem wichtigen Teil unserer Stiftungsarbeit geworden, und jeder Besuch zeigt uns aufs Neue, wie viel hier bewirkt wird.

Ein sicherer Ort für junge Menschen in Krisen
Monatlich wenden sich rund 70 junge Menschen an das Options Care Center. Viele von ihnen befinden sich in schwierigen Lebenssituationen: ungeplante Schwangerschaften, Schulabbrüche, familiäre Probleme oder fehlende Perspektiven prägen ihren Alltag.
Was wir hier erleben, beeindruckt uns sehr: Ein engagiertes Team aus 13 Mitarbeitenden und rund 30 ehrenamtlichen Helferinnen und Helfern begegnet jedem Einzelnen mit Offenheit, Respekt und echter Anteilnahme. Oft ist der erste und wichtigste Schritt, zuzuhören und Vertrauen aufzubauen.

Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe – neue Perspektiven schaffen
Besonders wichtig ist uns der nachhaltige Ansatz der Einrichtung. Teenagermütter werden dabei unterstützt, ihre Schulbildung fortzusetzen. Schulabbrecher erhalten individuelle Förderung und Hilfe bei der beruflichen Orientierung. Trainings stärken Selbstvertrauen und soziale Kompetenzen. Ein beeindruckendes Beispiel ist das Programm „Learn to Earn“. Hier erwerben die Teilnehmenden praktische Fähigkeiten und verdienen erstmals eigenes Geld. Die Frauengruppe der „Cardies“ gestaltet beispielsweise in sorgfältiger Handarbeit wunderschöne Grußkarten, die verkauft werden. Zu sehen, mit welchem Stolz und welcher Freude die Frauen ihre eigenen Einkünfte erzielen, hat uns tief bewegt.
Während unseres Besuchs durften wir auch selbst mithelfen, Lebensmittelpakete für Bedürftige zu packen. Dabei entstanden viele persönliche Begegnungen, die uns lange in Erinnerung bleiben werden.

Mentoren geben Halt und Orientierung
Ein weiterer wichtiger Schwerpunkt ist die Arbeit mit jungen Männern. In Gesprächen mit erfahrenen Mentoren erhalten sie Unterstützung, Orientierung und Ermutigung. Viele von ihnen sind ohne Vater aufgewachsen und erleben hier erstmals verlässliche Begleitung.
Für uns war es sehr beeindruckend zu sehen, wie offen und vertrauensvoll diese Gespräche geführt werden und wie viel positive Veränderung dadurch möglich wird.

Hoffnung für Kinder im Township
Ein besonders bewegender Moment war unser Besuch im „Kids-Stop“, einer Partnereinrichtung im Township. Hier finden täglich bis zu 120 Kinder eine warme Mahlzeit, Unterstützung beim Lernen und vor allem einen sicheren Ort. Trotz einfachster Bedingungen erleben wir hier eine Atmosphäre voller Engagement, Fürsorge und Hoffnung.

Dankbarkeit und Verantwortung
Unsere langjährige Verbindung zum Options Care Center ist für uns weit mehr als eine Förderung – sie ist eine Partnerschaft, die von Vertrauen, gemeinsamen Werten und persönlicher Verbundenheit geprägt ist.

Dieser Besuch hat uns erneut gezeigt, wie wichtig unsere Unterstützung ist und wie viel sie bewirken kann. Wir sind dankbar, Teil dieser Arbeit zu sein, und werden uns auch weiterhin mit voller Überzeugung dafür einsetzen, jungen Menschen in Südafrika neue Perspektiven und Hoffnung für ihre Zukunft zu ermöglichen.

Dear Stefan, Burk Stiftung and friends,
Hallo for 2026! We are so thankful for your partnership with us during 2025 and want to acknowledge your gift of R58 680.60 on the 5th of November. It really made a difference and we thank you for your generosity! Here is a summary of how you have helped us:
Food parcels are a tremendous encouragement and every month we give them to our neediest clients who are vulnerable, either because of a pregnancy and not having income or because of health issues from being HIV+ and also not having sufficient income. What a difference these food parcels made!
Your support helped buy supplies for the card workshop, and taxi and food costs for our pregnant clients and for the support groups.
“Shine”, the “Youth Group” and the “Support Group” all benefitted. We saw lots of growth in the group members as they attended workshops and had lots of discussions leading to positive decisions and experienced community. The feedback at the end of 2025 was very positive and we see the great value support groups have for our clients!
We have spent quite a bit of your contribution on the practical running costs of Options. Salaries, fuel for the car, security cost, municipal costs, stationary, photocopies, internet (Hexabyte), electricity and our hand towels/Sanitary bin are all important to the smooth running of Options and we are very thankful to you for your generosity. With our added new buildings costs have increased and your support strengthens us.
We look forward to seeing you soon (Stefan, Petra, Frank and Julta)!
What a joy it will be to have you visit us in George.
May 2026 be a wonderful year
Love from
Laurie & the Options Team

Dear Stefan and Burk Stiftung,
Thank you so very much for your generous gift of R61 197.76 in July. We were so appreciative of your contribution and it helped us so much to be able to use it for running costs for Options. We are grateful for the many ways this donation has assisted us in reaching out to youth and families facing a pregnancy, HIV, or related types of crises.
Attached is the reconciliation of how we have spent this money and brief comments will follow:

CLIENT CARE
Food parcels are always helpful and we usually buy 10 food parcels a month for the neediest clients, especially those who are pregnant and have little income or who are without any income. Both in August and September we purchased and gave all ten food parcels.

AMACICI JEWELLERY
Some of our women have found part time jobs but all four are still creating beautiful jewellery and we are selling it with their help. The women are also attending “Learn to Earn” and this project equips them for skills to manage their lives better. We have found this to be very helpful in terms of empowering them more effectively while they earn through making and selling jewellery.

CARD WORKSHOP
Seven women are making cards and their cards continue to be beautiful! We are thankful that orders are still coming in. We have purchased the cardboard with border printing for the workshop. Sandy, our new leader for the project, is doing well.

PREGNANCY/HIV COUNSELLING
Options continues to offer counselling for youth and adults facing a pregnancy or an HIV crisis. During July, August and September we saw 233 new people and we spent time with 161 clients in follow-up counselling. Our clients reside all over our city and we offer taxi money for those who are far along in their pregnancies or who are especially needy.

SHINE
Shine is the group for single moms from ages 20 – 35. Weekly the group meets starting with a snack and the opportunity to connect with each other for support. They discuss relevant topics, do Bible Studies, and share their hearts with each other.
Some of these moms are part of Learn to Earn which enables them to search for work or start an income generating small business.

YOUTH CARE
Our Youth Group has grown so much and in July we connected with 110 young people. They meet at Kidstop on Friday afternoons and have great fun, yummy snacks, and intense conversations about important topics. We discovered that some were using the taxi money for unhealthy substances so currently (as of mid-August) we are only supplying the snack. Some of the teenagers are also involved in Learn to Earn and can access tutoring in extra maths to help get their grades up. As part of Youth for Christ we believe in caring for the whole person and that includes their school work if they need support!

SUPPORT GROUP
This group is going so well and weekly average from 17 to 19 people. The group is very open and recently they allowed a group of visitors from Australia to stay with them for their whole group meeting. They are open and willing to share their stories. We assisted their group by buying snacks and giving them taxi money

OTHER
We have used your contribution to purchase electricity, to help pay salaries in June and August, to pay our monthly account for our security system, to purchase stationary and make photo copies, to assist with the George Municipality expenses, to purchase internet and fuel (for the car!) and to pay our overheads for our internet services. All of these expenses help Option run more smoothly.
Thank you for making a huge difference for Options! We are grateful for all the support you give financially so that we can serve people in crisis.
Submitted by Laurie Edwall (Director)

August 2025

Dear Stefan & BKS,

Greetings from Options!

One amazing milestone for us is the dedication of our new building (next door to the first one) and experiencing the benefits of more space and how all the renovations in both buildings help our vision and mission happen more effectively! The buildings together give us a place to see hope arise in those who walk through our doors. We are grateful for every gift and donation and discount that has made this possible.

And we are very grateful for every gift and monthly donation that continues to cover our running costs. These contributions have not been used for the building! They make a huge difference in terms of our salaries, direct ministry expenses and all of the payments that are needed for us to function well. Your support enables us to continue reaching & supporting youth and families in crisis.

Recently I had to pop into the grocery store to buy a few things and the young lady at the till saw my Options name tag and then proceeded to tell me her story! She had visited us about two years ago, not wanting to be pregnant. After spending time with a counsellor, she decided to continue her pregnancy, and she then accessed the pre-natal classes and ongoing counselling support we offer. One of her pressures was not having work and we could both see that now she has work! Her son is a year and seven months and she said to me several times that she was so glad she came to Options and that she loves her son so much and she’s doing well now.

Through your giving you are making a difference with us!

With great appreciation

Laurie & everyone at Options.