HOMELESS, BUT HOPEFUL
- Sherilyn Shares - Tom Ro Haven for Equines & Children
- 4 days ago
- 4 min read
What does it mean if we do not secure the land we so desperately need & how you can help.
What Happens If Tom Ro Haven Has Nowhere to Go?
There are moments in the life of any rescue when the question is no longer about growth, expansion, or future dreams. It becomes much simpler. Much more frightening.
Will we survive?
Right now, Tom Ro Haven stands at that crossroad.
If we do not secure land - permanent, safe, protected land - Tom Ro Haven will dissolve. And if that happens, it will not just be the end of an organisation. It will be the end of safety for the horses and so many individuals who depend on us.
Sounds scary, right? But what does that mean?
These Horses Who Have Nowhere Else!
Most of our current rescue horses cannot simply be “rehomed.”
They are not easily homed horses. They are not commercial horses. They are not horses someone takes on lightly. Most are:
Old.
"Broken" from years of neglect.
Physically compromised.
Emotionally scarred.
Unrideable.
Unwanted.
Many were pulled from starvation cases. Some from severe abuse. Some from areas most people are too afraid to enter. What they have endured is nothing short of rotten, but more so what we have afforded them is miraculous.
If Tom Ro Haven disappears, these horses do not get another chance.
They face one outcome: euthanasia.
After surviving cruelty. After surviving abandonment. After finally learning what safety feels like.
We cannot allow their story to end like that.
Fourteen Years - For What?
Fourteen years.
Fourteen years of back-breaking work. Fourteen years of sleepless nights. Fourteen years of financial strain. Fourteen years of choosing the animals and children over comfort. Over holidays. Over security. Over time, even personal health.
Fourteen years of:
Skipping meals to pay feed bills.
Cold showers to preserve limited power.
Using personal funds when donations fell short.
Selling personal items, sometimes family heirlooms.
Mitigating threats from gangsters & individuals who profit from suffering.
Risking safety to enter dangerous areas to remove abused equines.
Protesting & lobbying.
Standing in courtrooms.
Standing in fields where animals were too weak to stand on their own.
Sleeping in a containter to ensure an ailing horse has 24 hour supervision.
Laying flowers over lifeless horses who lost their fight with us but left surrounded by love & knowing safety.
Fourteen years of sacrifice by family members who accepted less time, less stability, and constant uncertainty - because the mission mattered.
If we do not secure a place of safety, the land we so desperately need, what was it for?
Was it all just temporary mercy?
Was it all just a pause before the inevitable?
We cannot accept that.
Children & Vulnerable Individuals Who Will Lose Their Safe Place!
Tom Ro Haven is not only about horses.
It is about children who arrive carrying trauma of their own. Individuals who find solace in our safe space.
Those who feel unseen. Those who struggle with fear, instability, and neglect. Those who find connection not through words, but through the quiet presence of a rescued horse who understands pain.
For many of our outreach recipients, Tom Ro Haven is;
Their calm.
Their consistency.
Their place of belonging.
Their therapy without stigma.
Their proof that broken does not mean worthless.
If we close, that disappears.
There is no waiting list of sanctuaries for these individuals. There is no replacement program ready to absorb them.
They lose their refuge. They lose hope. Our closure could have deeply unsettling and far-reaching consequences for their future.
We Are So Close.
What makes this even harder is this:
We are close.
Close to stability. Close to changing legislation. Close to building something permanent that cannot be uprooted by circumstance again. Close to so many of the goals we set years ago and are only now seeing the relentless work & perseverance payoff now.
But “close” is not enough without people stepping forward!
Without land. Without backing. Without someone saying: We will not let this end.
If No One Steps Up?
If no one steps up, here is what happens:
The horses are dispersed - those who can be placed.
The unplaceable face euthanasia.
Outreach stops.
Children lose their sanctuary.
Fourteen years of trust in vulnerable communities vanishes.
The fight against neglect in some of the most difficult areas weakens.
And perhaps worst of all - the message sent is that rescue work, no matter how relentless or sincere, is temporary.
That safety is conditional.
That even the most determined fight can be erased.
This Cannot Be For Nothing.
The sleepless nights. The health consequences. The finance burden. The family sacrifices. The threats. The fear. The bruises, sweat & tears. The endless resilience.
It cannot be for nothing.
Tom Ro Haven is more than a location. It is a lifeline.
Once it dissolves, rebuilding this level of trust, infrastructure, community presence, and rescue capacity will not be possible. Not quickly. Possibly not ever.
All we have fought for, and continue to fight for, just disappears.
And the ones who suffer are the voiceless.
We Are Asking - No, Begging!
We need land.
We need someone who sees the value in what has been built and refuses to let it collapse. We need:
A land donor.
A benefactor.
A partnership.
A miracle.
A united community that understands what is at stake.
We need to build a horse care unit, a rehabilitation center, a center for off-the-track thoroughbreds, and a treatment center for veterinary care. These don't exist in most areas & without us, won't!
If you have land. If you know someone who does. If you have influence. If you have the means to assist.
Now is the moment. Your moment!
Because once Tom Ro Haven closes, there is no undoing it.
And we cannot let fourteen years of relentless, courageous, life-saving work become a story that ends with: “They tried.”
We are still fighting. We are still standing. We are pushing and believing.
But we cannot do this alone. We need everyone to jump in with us & make this happen.
Please help us secure land.
Please help us protect the horses.
Please help us continue our invaluable work for vulnerable individuals.
Please help us keep doing what NO ONE else is doing in the greater Western Cape region.
Please do not let this be for nothing.
If you cannot give, please share. You never know; a single share may be our saving grace.
DONATE NOW:
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