In 2025, Abraham Kriel Children’s Home celebrates its 123rd anniversary. Since 1902, it has served as a safe haven for neglected and vulnerable children – made possible by the life calling of one man.

Origins

Rev Abraham Paul Kriel was born on 1 March 1850 in Franschhoek – the eleventh child of Margaretha Louisa and Jacobus Petrus Kriel. At the age of 30, he completed his theological studies and entered into ministry.

The first children’s home

After the Anglo-Boer War and the 1918 flu pandemic, many children were left orphaned. In 1902, Rev Kriel founded a children’s home in Langlaagte, Johannesburg. He refused to allow the children to be labelled as “orphans” and thus established the first recognised children’s home in South Africa.

Expansion

By 1956, Langlaagte could no longer accommodate the growing number of children. Eighty children were transported in a cattle truck to Potchefstroom, where they initially stayed in tents. During this time, four houses, a hall, and staff accommodation were built.

Nylstroom Children’s Home

The Dutch Reformed Church of Nylstroom responded to the call. The municipality donated 20 hectares of land, construction began in 1958, and by 1959 the first children moved in.

The organisation was officially registered as a non-profit organisation on 13 March 2002, and on 18 January 2017, it registered its new name.

Thanks to Rev Kriel’s vision and compassion, thousands of children in need have been cared for until adulthood and given a chance at a better life.