Heroes and heroines of Helping Hands
IT HAS been said that real superheroes don’t wear masks and caps. They are just ordinary people doing extraordinary things to make life better for others.
When a group from Helping Hands 786 visited a children’s cottage at Natal Settlers Memorial Homes last July to paint and renovate a room, they ended up doing more than they originally set out to do.
They ended up painting five rooms instead of one, and to this day they continue to work with staff and children at the home to brighten their lives.
“When we arrived, we found 41 children between the ages of 4 and 16 with cerebral palsy lying on their beds surrounded by colourless walls, but they lit up when they saw us. This touched our hearts,” said the organisation’s founder, Hawa Bibi Amod.
“Our organisation aims to get kids what they want regardless of their circumstances. This year alone, we want to enrol at least five of them into a special needs school,” she said.
“We also don’t want to see these children lying on their beds any longer. We want them to go outside and enjoy the fresh air. We want to see them do activities, even throw a ball.”
From painting the rooms, the organisation, which is in the process of being registered as an NPO, recently found a sponsor to donate much-needed wheelchairs.
Through the World Memon Organisation and Jama’atun Nisa, they secured 60 wheelchairs, 15 of which were delivered to the home and are being put to good use.
The World Memon Organisation, said Amod, had also donated 82 special bibs and pairs of socks.
It is also funding the modification of the home’s vehicle to ensure it is wheelchair-friendly.
“They have also organised physiotherapy for the children,” said Amod, who added that Helping Hands 786 worked as an intermediary between the home and benefactors.
She added that a good Samaritan, who preferred not to be identified, would build a play area for the children this year.
It will have specially modified swings that the children would be able to play on.
Helping Hands 786’s public relations officer Aneesa Vawda said all the children needed was recognition and love.
When POST visited the home last week, the children beamed at seeing new faces.
One child held my hand and looked as if she wanted to say “hello” but was unable to.
All she could do was smile instead.
Then her excitement grew when she saw the camera.
If she could she would have surely struck a supermodel pose.
Sister Simon Swarts, who works at the home, said the little girl, aged 7, arrived at their premises with her mother in August.
The mom, she said, a domestic worker, lived in KwaMashu and was one of the few parents who visited their children.
Swarts said the mother’s employers refused to allow her to take her daughter to work and because they lived next to a tavern, she feared for her safety when she was not at home.
“She used to carry her daughter on her back and the child became heavier as she got older,” said Swarts.
Only a handful of parents visit their children, she said.
Ninety-five percent don’t because they say they can’t afford to visit because of financial constraints.
The children survive on donations and their disability grants go towards their upkeep, staff wages and buying food and clothing.
Vawda said that even though the children’s medical and basic needs are met, they needed more.
“They need diapers and new mattresses as the ones they have are stained with urine. These children would also love to go on an excursion, but there is no money for that.”
“We therefore appeal to community members and university students to visit the home and spend quality time with the children, who love seeing new people.”
Slondile Zungu, 26, a caregiver from uMlazi, went to the home as a cleaner and was employed at the childrens’ cottages.
She became attached to the children and wanted to do more.
Zungu then decided to enrol for a nursing auxiliary course and says she has never regretted her decision.
“When I get to work every day at 6am, they know it’s bath time,” she said, adding that the job was demanding but it made her sleep well at night.
“We feed them and play activities with them. They like playing catch with a ball and their favourite activity is dancing. These children love the sound of music and will surely enjoy having a music room after the painting and revamping is completed.”
Anyone interested in donating to the home can contact Hawa Bibi Amod on 082 825 3932 or Anessa Vawda on 078 667 9231.