The Nest Baby Haven is on its way
A Soft Landing for the Tiniest Lives
In the heart of Greyton, something gentle is taking shape.
Who We Are
About The Nest
Born from a deep belief that the first year of life matters profoundly, The Nest Baby Haven will provide short-term, high-quality residential care for vulnerable infants in their first year of life, a year that shapes everything that follows.
We believe that babies do not just need shelter.
At its most basic level, a baby is learning whether the world is safe.
Our mission is simple and profound: To give the tiniest lives the strongest possible beginning.
Our vision is a small, nurturing home where each baby is known, held, soothed, spoken to, and loved. Where trauma is met with tenderness and instability is replaced with predictable, gentle care.
This is where healing begins.
This is where hope is held.
This is where new beginnings take root.
The Nest is not an institution.
It is a home.
The Problem
- The first year of life should be a time of protection and bonding. For some babies, it unfolds in the shadow of crisis, poverty, or instability.
- Around 3,500 babies are unsafely abandoned in South Africa each year, and two out of every three do not survive.
- Specialised, immediate care for vulnerable newborns is limited and often overwhelmed.
- In early infancy, waiting is not neutral. Every day matters.
Our Solution
- The Nest Baby Haven is a small, specialised home designed specifically for babies in their first year of life.
- We provide immediate, stabilising care for infants who cannot safely remain in their family environment while long-term plans are determined.
- Care is delivered 24 hours a day in a home-like setting, with small numbers to ensure individual attention.
- Our approach is trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate, and closely coordinated with medical professionals and social services.
- This is not emergency shelter. It is structured, intentional early care.
Every gift becomes part of a baby’s day
Shop the Day at The Nest
From the first morning feed to the quiet reassurance of the night watch, care at The Nest is built from many small, steady moments.
Help Me Grow
Developmental toys and stimulation equipment. Tiny muscles. Growing brains.
Hold Me for a Month
Sponsor a baby’s daily essentials for a full month. Feeding. Hygiene. Comfort. Care.
Room to Regulate
Low-stimulation nursery spaces designed for calm. Soft light. Quiet rhythm. Predictable care.
Voices Behind The Nest
Messages from Our Founder & Community
A Message from Our Founder - Marli Hoffman
The Nest did not begin as a project. It began as a longing.
As a child, I would tell my mother that I wanted children, that I wanted to adopt, and that I wanted a home where children could always find safety.
Life brought motherhood to me in more than one way. I carried one of my sons, and I adopted the other. Neither of my children shares my blood. Both share my heart.
Motherhood has taught me how profoundly the first year shapes everything that follows. The sleepless nights. The steady rhythms. The repetition of feeding, holding and soothing. It is in those quiet, ordinary moments that a child learns whether the world is safe.
I have come to believe that families are formed not only by biology, but by love, intention and the light we choose to offer one another. The Nest is an extension of that belief.
The Nest was created from a simple conviction: that vulnerable infants deserve that same steadiness, especially in their earliest days. It is built from love, yes, but also from responsibility. From the belief that community shapes outcomes. From the understanding that early care changes futures.
Beginnings matter. And when we choose to hold them with care, we shape more than a child’s future. We shape the kind of world they grow into.
A Message from Our Donor - Toine Knipping
“It takes a village to raise a child”.
This proverb, found across several African cultures, reminds us that raising a child has always been a shared responsibility. No child thrives in isolation. To raise a child requires the collective care, protection and involvement of many. That support cannot begin early enough.
The Nest invites the Greyton community to become part of that village.
Qualified and committed volunteers can assist with feeding and holding babies on a regular basis, offering the warmth and consistency that extended family members so naturally provide. Given the vulnerability of the infants in our care, volunteers must be screened, trained and willing to commit to a consistent schedule.
There are many other ways to contribute. Community members can assist with property maintenance, garden care, shopping, administrative support and practical errands. Businesses can help by raising awareness of donation opportunities or by incorporating small contribution initiatives into their offerings. Individuals may choose to organise fundraising events in support of the Nest’s work.
If an entire community provides for and interacts positively with its most vulnerable infants, those children grow within a culture of safety and belonging.
Our longer term vision is to develop The Nest into a model of high quality, community supported infant care that can be strengthened, refined and, over time, replicated in other communities facing similar needs.
Each year in South Africa, thousands of babies are abandoned or relinquished shortly after birth. Not all are fortunate enough to find safe and nurturing early care. We believe that through thoughtful structures, community engagement and early intervention, better alternatives can exist.
A baby surrender facility at The Nest is currently under consideration. While not an ideal solution, such a measure could help prevent unsafe abandonment and offer vulnerable newborns a safer beginning.
Together, we can build a community that chooses protection, dignity and possibility for every child.
Questions & Answers
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few common questions about The Nest Baby Haven. If you can’t find what you need, please reach out — we’d love to hear from you.
Stories of Hope
Stories & Impact
The Nest is still in its early days, but its story has already begun.
As The Nest opens its doors, this space will hold stories of babies who found stability, of caregivers who gave their whole hearts, of a community that chose to show up.
Because impact is not always loud.
Sustainability & Support
Heritage Haven
A Home That Holds More Than Guests
In Greyton, homes carry stories.
Heritage Haven is the first.
Currently under careful renovation, Heritage Haven will become a beautifully restored village home available for short stays. But it is more than accommodation.
Every stay at Heritage Haven will directly support The Nest Baby Haven.
When guests spend time in Greyton, their stay becomes part of something larger. The revenue generated contributes toward nappies, formula, caregiver salaries, medical care and the steady, daily work of holding vulnerable infants.
But this is only the beginning.
As these properties grow in value and revenue, a portion of income will be directed toward building an endowment fund, creating a stable, independent financial foundation that protects The Nest for decades to come.
This is sustainability by design.
A haven for those who visit.
A haven for the most vulnerable.
One home strengthening another.
