Elandi Locher – Manager House-o-Orange South Africa

Elandi was born in Cape Town, South Africa and lives in Melkbosstrand, Cape Town, South Africa, a stone’s throw from our South African office.

Elandi joined the House-o-Orange team in 2016 and fell in love with what the company has to offer to young individuals, seeking adventure. Elandi completed her studies in Business Management and has a passion for all things business related.

Elandi works as the manager of our South African office, where she makes sure that the South African office is always up to par in regard to what is expected of an outbound agency. She focuses on expanding the current programs HOO has to offer, as well as creating new programs to add to the long list of program possibilities for South African and Namibian nationalities.

Elandi has been happily married since the beginning of 2018 and shares a beautiful son with her husband. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, meeting new people as well as travelling. She can be described as determined, motivated and open.
Elandi is fully bilingual in both English and Afrikaans.

Elandi can be reached at: manager@house-o-orange.co.za

Stephanie Oosthuizen – Program Manager

Stephanie was born in Cape Town, South Africa but grew up in a beautiful small town called Clanwilliam in the Western Cape. She currently stays on a farm about 20 minutes away from our office in Melkbosstrand. She is fully bilingual in Afrikaans and English and has an interest in learning the Dutch language.

Stephanie has been with House-o-Orange since March 2020, working as the Program Manager. She works hand in hand with the team to ensure all the candidates have completed files prior to submitting them into the matching pool. Stephanie will also be the one calling you once we receive your inquiry, in order to kickstart your amazing journey ahead.

Stephanie previously spent her days caring for children by working at local schools in her area. She loves sharing this passion with the Au pairs, which you can clearly when looking at her work. Stephanie is a social individual who always finds the time for a quick joke. She spends her free time on the farm caring for animals or enjoys speeding away around the local racetrack. Stephanie loves traveling and enjoys learning new skills. She would describe herself as cheerful and someone who enjoys working hard.

Stephanie can be reached at info@house-o-orange.co.za

Lindelwa Shembe – Program Assistant

Lindelwa was born and raised in Durban, South Africa. She now lives in Claremont, Cape Town, which is about 40 minutes away from our office in Melkbosstrand. Lindelwa’s native language is isiZulu however she speaks English fluently and is also proficient in seSotho as well as isiXhosa. She also has a very good understanding of Afrikaans.

Lindelwa joined the House-o-Orange team in December 2021 as the new program assistant. She works closely with the rest of the team to ensure that the candidates files are completed and ready for departure. Lindelwa will also be the one calling you once receiving your inquiry. Lindelwa was previously an Au pair in America for 2 and a-half years. She is excited to be a part of helping other candidates achieve their dreams of seeing the world.

Lindelwa is currently studying law part-time through Unisa. Lindelwa describes herself as a funny, witty and hardworking individual. Lindelwa spends her free time crocheting, baking and enjoys spending time with her mom.

Lindelwa can be reached at houseoorangersa@outlook.co.za

Ellen Heesen-Hiemstra – Director/Owner House-o-Orange

Ellen was born in Amsterdam but raised in Tokyo, Japan and Oxford, UK and currently divides her time between the Cape Town office in South Africa, our Dutch head office in The Hague, The Netherlands, our new Belgium office in Antwerp and New York city where her youngest daughter lives.
Ellen holds a degree in communication management and has a background in marketing and sales. She started House o Orange Au Pairs in 2000 in The Hague, House o Orange South Africa in 2010 and House o Orange Belgium in 2021. She is sole owner of all 3 companies.

Ellen has been happily married for 30 years and has 3 grown children. They were raised to be fully bilingual with the help of English speaking Au Pairs. She has personally hosted more than 20 Au Pairs in her own family and has a lot of experience in the field. Furthermore, she has placed thousands of Au Pairs in Belgium and the Netherlands over the last 20 years.
Apart from being with her family, Ellen loves travelling and spends a lot of time on charities. She likes to support valuable animal related causes both in South Africa and New York and often fosters doggies to prepare them for a life with a new forever family. She also really enjoys design, decorating homes, reading and watching movies and series.

Ellen speaks Dutch and English fluently, some French and very basic Japanese.

She can be reached at: ellen@house-o-orange.nl