Happy Home for Children with Disabilities

Globeriders Cape2Cape have decided, with the support of our patron, Ms Joy Sebenzile P Matsebula, to utilise this opportunity to raise funds for the Happy Home for Children with Disabilities.

It is a multi-purpose centre which provides an early childhood development programme for pre-school disabled children, a day care centre and offers regular workshops for the parents of disabled children on different aspects of caring for disabled children. The centre caters for 68 villages and more than 2 000 people. The centre was established with the help of the former president of South Africa, Dr Nelson Mandela, who assisted the centre in finding sponsors, and officially opened the centre.

The Home is situated near the town of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, the second poorest province in South Africa - a largely rural, remote and impoverished area. The centre is a community initiative and was established in 1990 by parents of children with disabilities. The parents were concerned by the lack of facilities for their disabled children who were not able to attend regular schools.

Disabled children from this area rarely survived beyond childhood and the high mortality rate was caused by poor living conditions, a lack of knowledge on how to care for disabled children among parents, financial hardship, a lack of supervision, a high incidence of accidents like burning and drowning, the high incidence of divorce and stigmas and myths attached to disabled children in traditional beliefs.

Many parents of disabled children are single mothers, as giving birth to a disabled child is considered in the traditional belief system to be a punishment from the ancestors. Both the mother and child and therefore stigmatised by this belief, and are often left by the father to fend for themselves. This leaves the mother in a difficult position both financially and socially. Due to being ostracised by the community, being the sole carer for a disabled child and immense financial pressure, a high incidence of abuse of disabled children occurs.

The Happy Home for Children with Disabilities renders an indispensable service to one of the most impoverished communities in South Africa. Without the centre, the children currently benefiting from it would be underfed, uncared for, uneducated and ostracised by their own people, and possibly their own parents.

For these reasons, Globeriders Cape2Cape has decided to adopt this worthy charity and we humbly ask all those following our adventure to feel free to contribute to this organisation by any means possible.

Name : Globeriders Cape2cape Trust

Bank : Nedbank

Acc No: 1213065585

Branch : 121317 (Newton Park, Port Elizabeth, SA)

Sort Code : NEDSZAJJ

Type: Current Account

Please put your name and surname as a referenece when you deposit and don't forget to send us an email as well with all your details.

On our return to South Africa, we will present all the money to the DICAG Centre.

CONTACT DETAILS for the DICAG Centre:

Contact Person : Vivian Vuyelwa Duma (Manager)

Telephone Numbers : 27 (47)5322348 or Cell: 0721863082

Fax Number : 27 (47)5311797

Address : PO Box 1368 , Mthatha

895 Errol Spring Avenue

Southernwood, Mthatha,

South Africa ,5099

Email: vuyelwaduma@telkomsa.net / vduma@ntingatuc.co.za

Thanks for your consideration !!