Butterfly Palliative Home is a children’s hospice providing holistic palliative care to vulnerable children in South Africa.
Founded in rural KZN, we currently have two in-patient children’s hospices and home-based care teams.
25/04/2026
During the night little boy S went to be with Jesus. We will sure miss this little guy’s friendly demeanour and fighting spirit. Condolences to his family and all the staff who cared for him so lovingly at our Empangeni Butterfly.
We rejoice in knowing that he had a pain-free and very peaceful passing surrounded by those who love him and the comfort items that brought him joy. This is the heart of palliative care and we are honoured to be a part of these sacred moments.
Bye-bye boy-boy🩵🩵🩵
24/04/2026
This week we welcomed the sweetest little boy with a very serious brain cancer. He is finding so much joy in using the tablet and books that make sounds absolutely fascinate him.
Thank you to each and every person that helps us take care of these beautiful, fragile children. Seeing comfort and even moments of joy during times of crises makes it all worth it🙌🏻
24/04/2026
Man, I love it when Josh-josh plops himself down in front of the beautiful floral mural at our Empangeni children's hospice. It makes for the most beautiful and happy photos! 😍📸
Love you, big boy!
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23/04/2026
💖 GREAT NEWS: Our 50% OFF sale is EXTENDED! 💖
Did you miss out on the incredible deals this past Saturday, or maybe you just need one more browse to find that perfect treasure? We are extending our charity shop sale here at The Thrift!
Get 50% OFF almost everything in store, including:
Every single item purchased helps support our non-profit CHILDREN'S HOSPICE, as we provide specialised care for vulnerable children with palliative needs.
Note: The 50% sale does NOT include Cultivate Coffee items. BUT feel free to grab yourself a delicious drink or enjoy some downtime in our peaceful outdoor space while you browse. ☕️🌿
📍 Find us at:
1 Eland Crescent
Nyala Park
Empangeni
⏰ Our hours:
Monday to Friday: 7am to 5pm
Saturday: 8am to 1pm
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22/04/2026
Our older kiddies here at Butterfly Home do not fit into baby nappies. Buying adult and teen nappies is VERY expensive for a non-profit. We need your help to keep the bigger bums comfy and protect their dignity (typing this while the song “I like big butts and I cannot lie” plays in my head🙈🙈🙈)!
Here is some of the BIG BUM nappy brands that we use...
How to Donate Nappies:
DROP-OFF: Nappy donations can be dropped off directly at...
Butterfly Home Empangeni
1 Eland Crescent
Empangeni
South Africa
3880
SHOP & DELIVERY: You can also purchase them online via Sixty60, Takealot.com, or DisChem and have them delivered directly to our home!
If you are unable to donate physical nappies, monetary donations are also incredibly welcome to help us cover bulk purchases...
PAYPAL: paypal.me/butterflyph
BANK: Butterfly Palliative Home
FNB Cheque Account
Acc No: 62857825742
Branch: 250069
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ
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22/04/2026
🎶 We like BIG BUMS and we cannot lie! 🎶🍑
And we need a little help keeping them cozy and comfortable!
As you know, our Butterflies come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. This means that a lot of our “big kids” have outgrown standard baby and toddler nappies. They need teen or small adult nappies, which are, unfortunately, MUCH more expensive.
Keeping our bigger bums clean, dry, and dignified is quite a significant monthly expense, and we are hoping our amazing community can lend a hand!
Can you help us cover our “Bigger Bum” fund? We would be incredibly grateful for donations of:
How to Donate Nappies:
DROP-OFF: Nappy donations can be dropped off directly at...
Butterfly Home Empangeni
1 Eland Crescent
Empangeni
South Africa
3880
SHOP & DELIVERY: You can also purchase them online via Sixty60, Takealot.com, or DisChem and have them delivered directly to our home!
If you are unable to donate physical nappies, monetary donations are also incredibly welcome to help us cover bulk purchases...
PAYPAL: paypal.me/butterflyph
BANK: Butterfly Palliative Home
FNB Cheque Account
Acc No: 62857825742
Branch: 250069
Swift Code: FIRNZAJJ
🦋🦋🦋
21/04/2026
Friends, we need your help to keep the lights on💡💡💡
With the recent influx of children with life-limiting conditions needing our help, we are burning through very limited resources fast. Even though the need is overwhelming, we don’t want to leave any child without the love and care that they deserve.
Currently, our biggest need is our electricity bill due to the excessive heat we’ve been experiencing in Zululand.
You can help us keep the lights and fans on by making a contribution to cover electricity🙏🏻🙏🏼🙏🏿
21/04/2026
While our heart at Butterfly Home is often focused on orphaned and vulnerable children, we have found a very special kind of blessing in the inclusion of our Family Suite here at our children's hospice in Empangeni.
There is a very special kind of quiet joy filling our Family Suite at the moment, as we host little Sandile and his wonderful family.
The Family Suite is a private, peaceful space where a child with life-limiting conditions can stay alongside their parent. It allows families to remain together during their most difficult and heartbreaking days, while receiving the specialised, expert support their child needs.
Our goal is to walk alongside these families on this vulnerable journey, lifting the burden of care so they can focus on what matters most. We strive to celebrate and facilitate those quiet, sacred moments of love and togetherness, ensuring that even in the hardest times, there is space for beauty, comfort, and connection.
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20/04/2026
Watching our little ones taking a snooze is honestly the best medicine for a blue Monday. Their peaceful faces, relaxed in dreamland, make me feel all gooey and warm inside. 🥹🫠
Here are Sam and Lulu having a little afternoon nap. Just look at those beautiful rosebud lips! Soooooo cute!
We hope you can take a little bit of this quiet peace and gentle energy with you through the rest of your week. 🤗
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17/04/2026
The heart of our journey 🦋
"On this (palliative care) journey, you need to allow your heart to shatter over and over and over again. There is so much love on this journey, and so much hurt, all wrapped up in this beautiful tapestry called life." — Tarryn Bell, co-founder & Butterfly Mama.
Tarryn’s words beautifully capture the deep love and vulnerability that fills our children's hospice every day. It is an honour to walk this path, holding space for both the joy and the heartbreak, and finding the beauty of life in every single thread of the tapestry.
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17/04/2026
The crazy sale is on! Pop into The Thrift at Butterfly Home Empangeni tomorrow for 50% discount on all times (excluding Cultivate Coffee Co.).
We have a stunning array of books, plants, clothes, shoes, jewellery, homeware and stylish décor items🎉
ALL proceeds go towards caring for our Butterfly children🦋🦋🦋
16/04/2026
We would like to introduce everyone to our newest Butterfly who flew all the way from Johannesburg - baby B🦋
You are welcome, safe and we promise to love you always🥰
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Nestled on top of the picturesque mountain community of Ingwavuma, South Africa, is a very special place called Butterfly Palliative Home. Here we care for orphaned and abandoned babies from all over South Africa who need a family and special medical care due to life-limiting conditions. All of these little ones have a story to share. Their stories are mostly heartbreaking, filled with sad memories and many visits to the hospital. But they all have one thing in common: they are survivors - they are little warriors - and they now call BPH their home...
It all started in January 2018 when our founders, Christoff and Tarryn Bell, received a phone call about an abandoned baby boy from Soweto who needed a home. This tiny person happened to be discovered by a jogger out on his morning run who heard a noise and found a tiny baby discarded in the bushes. At the time baby Si was thought to have Down Syndrome and was estimated to be about six months old. Cold, dehydrated and emaciated, little Si was rushed to a nearby hospital to receive emergency medical treatment.
The Bells adopted their son Joshua, who has Down Syndrome, in 2015 and the hope was that they might be interested in adopting another little guy with the same diagnosis. Christoff Bell, a medical doctor at Mosvold Hospital, and his wife Tarryn, a social worker, were running a Christian non-profit called Izandla ZeAfrika at the time. It soon came to light that baby Si’s condition was much more serious than anticipated and he was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 or “Edwards Syndrome”, a condition which is widely regarded as not being compatible with life. Baby Si was in bad shape and not given long to live.
The Bells could not shake the feeling that they were called to help this little one as well as others like him. After much deliberation and prayer they decided to take Si into Foster Care and opened Butterfly Home for babies with palliative needs. The little home was started as a project under Izandla ZeAfrika and started with four home-based caregivers who were trained to look after children with special needs. A week after Si arrived at Butterfly home the next butterfly was placed, and soon after that another one. The little ones kept coming and the home grew and grew. Si began to flourish and was quickly surrounded by five brothers and sisters.
Today Butterfly Palliative Home is a registered Non-Profit Company and in the process obtaining full Hospice status. We are growing from strength to strength, with the help of amazing sponsors and volunteers and a team of twelve staff members ensure that our children receive only the best care.
