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Remembering Sophia Jardim: Barberton’s earth angel

Sophia was more than just a mother and community figure. She was a beacon of unconditional love whose life mission was to serve those most in need, especially children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

Sophia Jardim was very involved with the community and always took care of those less fortunate. Insert: A much younger Sophia.

Sophia was more than just a mother and community figure. She was a beacon of unconditional love whose life mission was to serve those most in need, especially children living with or affected by HIV/AIDS. Her story is one of resilience, selflessness, and unyielding faith in humanity.

Sophia Jardim in later years.

Born on June 19, 1953 in the Rustenburg district, Sophia was one of six siblings and matriculated from Frankie Meyer High School in Thabazimbi. She later moved to Johannesburg, where she worked in the banking sector at Nedbank. She married and raised four children, Shawn, Danny, Benildy, and Jean-Louis.

The marriage, unfortunately, ended in divorce. She relocated to Barberton after suffering a life-altering car accident to recover in the peaceful surrounds of the Lowveld. That move would mark the beginning of her profound impact on the region.

Sophia quickly immersed herself in community work. She joined the Lion’s Club, taught arts and crafts at the SANTA TB Hospital, gave sewing lessons at the Cripple Care Centre in Emjindini, and made weekly visits to the geriatric ward at Barberton Hospital. Despite limited resources, she raised her family in a modest railway house and supplemented their income by teaching pottery at Barberton Technical College and Barberton Mines.

Sophia Jardim with her children Danny, Benildy, Jean-Louis and Shawn (bottom left) with her adopted daughter, Katie who she raised from 3-weeks old and with Katie’s daughter, Jasmine.

Sophia’s dream extended beyond survival. She longed to care for vulnerable children, particularly those abandoned or orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. In 1994, after her youngest son matriculated, she reached out to a hospital social worker and was introduced to Nkosinphile Kunene, an 18-month-old HIV-positive boy who had been in hospital since birth.

Without hesitation, Sophia welcomed him into her home, unknowingly planting the seed for what would become the Jardim House.

What began with one child quickly became a calling. Dozens of children, many born with HIV, found refuge, love, and healing under Sophia’s roof. Some lost their battles and were laid to rest in the Barberton cemetery. Others defied the odds, grew into healthy adults, and still carry Sophia’s lessons in their hearts.

Sophia and her daughter Benildy ran Jardim House with the help of donations such as food, nappies, and clothing, often arriving from friends and supporters as far as Europe and the United States. One of those international friends, Stuart Jensen, and the American organisation Seeds of Light, helped Sophia realise her dream of expanding her care onto a farm in Low’s Creek.

In 2002, Sophia moved to the farm with her son, Jean-Louis, and established Esperado Children’s Haven. Over the years, more than 170 children were placed in her care by social services. These were children who had nowhere else to go.

Everyone in Low’s Creek knew that if you needed help whether it was food, warmth, or simply a kind word, Sophia’s door was always open. Her community outreach extended far beyond her official duties. She was lovingly known as “Mommy,” “Gogo,” “Ouma,” or simply “Friend.”

Even in the face of immense personal setbacks, including the destruction of her home by fire in November 2002 and a heart attack in 2008 after several children were removed due to administrative failures by social services, Sophia never stopped giving.

She often said, “Moenie bekommer nie, my kind. Môre skyn die son en dan bring ouma jam tertjies.” (Don’t worry, my child. Tomorrow the sun will shine and granny will bring jam tarts.) ‘That quiet reassurance became her trademark,” Jean-Louis said.

Sophia leaves behind a loving family: her four children, grandchildren Riley, Darcy, Kegan, Kyle, Thandi, Daniel, Donovan, Cassandra, Benyumin, and Raphael, as well as great-grandchildren Christopher, Macayla, Monique, and Bryan.

Sophia’s son Danny Jardim with Kegan and Kyle and her daughter Benildy with sons Daniel and Donovan and daughter Cassandra.

Her legacy stretches far beyond bloodlines. Every child she took in, every life she touched, is part of a vast, unseen family, hundreds strong.

On the morning of June 20, Sophia sent her usual early-morning messages to her children around 05:00. “By 08:20, she was gone. A lung virus had taken its toll on her heart, and despite efforts to get her urgent medical help, our Earth Angel passed away peacefully,” Jean-Louis said.

Sophia Jardim with Miriam, one of the children she adopted and cared for, who sadly passed away from AIDS and (right) with her daughter, Benildy.

“She was our mother, our Gogo, our light. She saw no difference between the children she gave birth to and the children sent to her by God to love.”

In remembering Sophia Jardim, we celebrate a life that gave so much. A woman who lived not for herself, but for others. Her heart, house, and hands were always full, and Barberton is forever grateful.