Crisis Centre Facilities

Resident Children

Potter’s Village started its existence to rescue babies who had no other chance of survival. Today up to 18 babies can be given a home on the site. Babies are given provision to thrive in a family unit with children of different ages and a house mother to care for them all.

Children are brought to the child crisis centre for several reasons;

· Death of their mother

· Abandonment

· A mother too mentally ill to provide safe care

Potter’s Village cares for these little ones until they are ready to be reunited with their families or can be placed in foster care. 

It is the intention of Potter’s Village to be a stepping stone to support these children and their families at often devastating times.  It provides short term residential care for these vulnerable children to enable them to grow and develop whilst, where possible, maintaining family contact. 

Community Support

When the children are between 6 months to I year old (depending on circumstances) they return to their own extended family, where that is possible, or are fostered in the local community and Potter’s Village will continue to support them.

Often the family still needs financial support to care for these babies and this is given depending on circumstance, most often by way of a monthly child support allowance. 

Short-term financial support, or food aid, is also given to families in crisis due to an unstable situation, often health-related.

In recent years these families have been encouraged to save some of their money as part of an Income Generating Savings Scheme.  This scheme then helps to buy them an animal (chickens, goat or pig) to help the family support the child long term.  The staff of Potter’s Village find and buy good quality animals and then do home visits to ensure adequate care for them.

This scheme has proved very effective and many families have become self-sufficient, no longer needing financial support.