Mater Domini 3.29

Mater Domini is run with a specifically Catholic ethos – providing a loving, caring environment that respects the sanctity of life and freedom from abuse for all human beings. We do not discriminate against residents, and will help any woman regardless of race, creed, marital or economic status, who is in an unwanted or crisis pregnancy. At Mater Domini, we provide non-judgmental counseling; and medical and spiritual support to women and their babies. We also offer access to skills training programmes, and we support them in seeking and securing employment.

The establishment of Mater Domini was was born out of the need that existed within Archdiocese of Cape Town to create an alternative to abortion for women who might have felt forced into making such a decision out of desperation.

When we talk about the nameless, faceless and voiceless victims of abortion, we have to include the mothers, who so often find themselves in helpless circumstances, with little other alternative but to make the difficult choice to end the life of their unborn child.

One such mother, is very much at the heart of the decision we took to establish the Mater Domini Home. About three years ago, the Pro Life office was approached by a pregnancy counselling centre with a request to assist a young mother with accommodation.

She had been given an ultimatum by her grandmother; either you have an abortion, or move out!

This young woman did not want to have the abortion, but without the assistance of her family or the father of the child, her choices were severely limited. In desperation she approached the crisis counselling centre, in a bid to seek assistance.

We immediately started calling around to see if there was any organisation, or religious order within the archdiocese who would be willing and able to assist us.

Phone call after phone call ended unsuccessfully.

After days of searching for a solution to this predicament, we had to contact the centre, and give them the news that we could not be of any assistance to this woman.

The reality of the situation shocked us, and with no means other than our trust in God, we took the leap of faith, and established the Mater Domini Home.

Since our opening day in September 2007, there has been no looking back.

The need for the home was immediately confirmed.

Our original premises in Pinelands was kitted out to accommodate 8 women, but was generally filled to capacity, and often packed to the rafters, with as many as 19 women and children resident at one time.

Our first baby was born in November 2007, and since then we have assisted more than 150 women and children at the home, and at last count 41 babies have been born to women at the Mater Domini Home.

As you may well imagine, most of the women who find themselves under our care, have been through turbulent times.

They suffer not only financial poverty, but by and large emotional and spiritual poverty as well.

We try to respond as Jesus calls us to when he says:
” Whatever you do unto the least of these, you do unto me. “