My husband qualified for a certain amount and when he signed the offer to purchase Bourke street, we were unaware of the fact that all Banks were hesitant to grant loans in the Sunnyside area. We considered the house to be an excellent little haven for all the young-mommy’s-to-be and their babies. In the end the sale of Bourke street was unable to go through as Sunnyside is a so called ‘red area, and the Banks only allow 70% loans.  Originally we wanted to buy the house as a Place of Safety for the children in our care for various reasons. The Agents selling the house in Bourke Street did not believe that the banks saw Sunnyside as a risk area, and thus do not grant loans in Sunnyside.

Saddened by the fact that we would then not be able to go through with the sale of the house in Bourke street, we set out to find a house in a house in a better area. it did not take long to find such a house for a price we could afford in Muckleneuk where we qualified for a 100% loan. We signed the papers.  More problems with the letting Agents arised we were unable to pay our rent that last month in Bourke street, due to the financial commitments with the new house in Mucklneneuk. We had no financial support from any of the other occupants, at the time we were not registered, and had no financial support or sponsorship other than my husband and my own income.  To ensure a constant cashflow we continued with Aromatherapy and waxing from one of the artfully painted rooms in the Bourke street house, Sunnyside.

The Estate Agent was furious. She was already thinking we were fraud’s - Not only did the sale not go through, now we also did not make rent. The Estate Agents, felt that we moved in under false pretenses.She started showing new potential buyers to the house without making appointments prior to her arrival. She also did not knock and simply walked into the house showing people around. The first time this happened she walked int a room where a girl was busy with a leg wax on a professional cycler (a male).

The agent then left the house, went back to the office, notified the owner that we are busy with illegal activities. He phoned the police, and on further investigation, they must have found I was the same woman from Queen Wilhelmina, arrested only a few months earlier for supposedly running a brothel. That night we received a surprise visit from, what seemed to be the entire Sunnyside police squad. The ‘raid’ attracted great attention, flashing lights, many cars, vans, the dog unit and even the drug squad. The children closed in one room, all of them crying because of the noise.  The search was totally unexpected, still nothing was found, no drugs, not even a condom. When I asked what the raid was about, the Captain said: "I simple routine check, that's all, the court ordered this search and the report will be given through to the court”.

The next day we found a sponsor willing to raise the funds to buy the Bourke street house for the young mothers. However, the sponsors soon withdrew their support when they phoned the Estate Agents office and the General manager informed them that she wanted us out because “there was a lot of naked men lying around”.  I am sure she said it to cover her own grounds but she neglected to say that there were also a lot of kids running around. 

The truth is that she did see half-naked people, but only one at a time, as we only had one therapy room. She came around unannounced every time without an appointment, but not once when she burst into the therapy room with hardly a knock did she find the therapist inappropriately dressed, or engaged in indecent activities. My clients and patients are undressed for therapy as I (and any other therapist) would find it impossible to perform a body wax or aroma therapy while the subject is fully dressed.  To reverse the affect of the insinuation, and hopefully recover the lost sponsors and donors, we requested a written apology – and got it, or sort of anyway.  The aim was not to cause any humiliation to any one business or person but to provide for the children in our care to the best of our ability.

However, the damage was done, and the sponsors withdrew.