Our vision
Caring, safe, resilient communities where children can grow to their full potential supported by safe, thriving adults.
Our mission
To deliver practical care and comprehensive support to vulnerable children and their caregivers, encompassing:
​Family Advocacy: Championing the right of every child to a loving and nurturing family environment.
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Child Participation: Promoting the importance of listening to the voice of the child in all matters affecting them, and helping children to find safe, appropriate ways to speak up in their contexts.
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Therapeutic Family Care: Modelling and supporting alternative care solutions that prioritize the emotional and psychological well-being of children.
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Psychosocial Development: Facilitating training and education for children, youth, caregivers, and community adults to promote emotional intelligence, emotional regulation, and well-being.
Trauma-Informed Practice: Promoting and modelling approaches to parenting, education, and programs that acknowledge and address the impact of trauma on children's lives.
Collaborative Partnerships: Working closely with organizations and churches to address the holistic needs of children and promote a just and compassionate response.
Capacity Building: Assisting under-resourced community-based organizations to access essential resources and support vulnerable children.
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Food security: Championing the right of access to sustainable food sources, supporting household and community food gardens.
About our name
Mercy Aids began as a practical, compassionate response to the HIV/AIDS crisis affecting South Africa's children in the early 2000s. Thankfully, HIV is now a chronic, manageable disease so no longer our focus.
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Our name is, and always has been, a play on words which reflected both that initial focus and the broader, long-term vision.
Because - MERCY....aids
When we work psychosocially with vulnerable children or adults we often stress the importance of their name. We ask them about it: who gave you your name, what does it mean, how do you feel about it, and so on. A name tells a story, a person's story, our story.
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Here are some dictionary definitions of the parts of our name.
[mercy]
noun
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an act of kindness, compassion, or favour​
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the disposition to be compassionate
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compassionate treatment of those in distress​​​
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the feeling that motivates compassion​
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alleviation of distress; showing great kindness toward the distressed​
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on a human level, mercy is the benevolent or compassionate treatment of someone suffering or in need.
[aids]
noun
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the act of helping someone
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help, typically of a practical nature
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help given
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help or support, or something that provides it
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​verb
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​to help or furnish with help, support, or relief.
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to provide with what is useful or necessary in achieving an end
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to give assistance
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help, assist, or support (someone or something) in the achievement of something.
Our tagline practical compassion motivated by love captures our intention from the start. The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS (a virus H.I.V and a syndrome A.I.D.S) was a big motivator at the beginning of our work, but it was always about helping children, families, and communities thrive. That HIV is now a manageable chronic disease is well worth celebrating.
As Maya Angelou so eloquently put it, "You can't really know where you are going until you know where you have been." This quote resonates with our journey and informs our commitment to serving those in need.