The Rainbow House

Tonight we had a quest speaker Alison Alexander, who runs Rainbow House: a home for youth that have been taken out of a dangerous living situation.  The Rainbow House is home to twelve children who have been victim to abuse in the townships and removed from parents by court order.  Rainbow house was founded in 2007 by Alison, who also grew up a township where she began working with at risk youth at the age of sixteen.  As Alison grew up it was not encouraged for young women to continue their education.  Alison described herself as ‘rebellious’ and went on the graduate from high school and college.  Later in life, she moved to another township, which had the highest rates of incest, rape, substance abuse and overall neglect.  She reminded us that she made a conscious decision to move to that specific township in order to create change.  She was known as a safe house when she moved into the township and took in children suffering from abuse.  Alison told of how she only sees the townships as a result of Apartheid, nothing more, and especially not a home.  The townships that I have seen thus far are clusters of shelters made of scraps of metal and cardboard in very close proximity.  Alison explains that a majority of the extreme poverty townships are made up of only one room, where children are exposed to absolutely everything at a very young age including sex.  When the children become as early as eight years old they begin to experiment with sex because it is what they have been exposed too.  This results in young teenage girls becoming pregnant and repeating the poverty cycle. 

The children that Alison houses at Rainbow house attend private school that Alison pays for from non-government funding.  Alison does not send them to government funded schools because she does not believe in what the South African government is doing.  Classes for public schools can be up to fifty children in one class and social workers main goal is to restore the children to their townships.  Alison hates the idea that children will be returned to the townships, where she believes a majority of the obstacles arise from.

Alison’s story was truly inspiring.  She found her passion so early in life and chose to follow her dreams.  Obstacles faced her along the way but her dream of recovering from apartheid and ending abuse pushed her forward to make a difference in numerous children’s lives.