Special school in desperate need
THE Covid-19 pandemic is keeping young special needs pupils out of the classroom as many of their parents who lost their jobs are now unable to pay school fees.
This has subsequently resulted in the retrenchment of staff members at The L.U.C.C.A Support and Care Centre in Randburg, Johannesburg, as the facility struggles to keep its doors open.
The Johannesburg special needs school has started a public fundraising campaign in order to remain sustainable and operational.
“L.U.C.C.A does not receive any grants or subsidisations from the government,” the centre’s founder Alison Moschetta said.
“Due to Covid, our current income will not allow for our school to remain sustainable, and many children are not getting the intervention they require.”
Moschetta, who started the school back in 2014 after her own personal struggles to find a school for her son, Lucca, who has rare genetic terminal deletion, the loss of the end of a chromosome, hopes to raise up to half a million rand which she says will go towards funding some of the pupils’ education at the centre as well as towards their operational costs.
“We are hoping to raise enough funds to keep our doors open until the end of this year, around R500 000, but help does not need to be in the form of cash, it can be donations of consumables and even stationery.”
Prior to the pandemic, The L.U.C.C.A Support and Care Centre was home to 67 children with conditions ranging from autism, Down syndrome, undiagnosed syndromes, cerebral palsy, blindness, sensory integration difficulties and developmental delays.
“But 34 of them couldn’t return after their parents were financially affected by the pandemic. The school had to lay off 18 staff members and hasn’t been able to pay its rent.”
If the school is continuously unable to operate functionally and even more special needs pupils are forced to drop out, Moschetta believes it will be an injustice to the years of progress they have made over the past seven years – the centre has been home for about 100 children since it was opened.
“L.U.C.C.A has managed to open its doors to children who would not necessarily be accepted into other environments and we have managed to create a loving, safe and flexible environment for many children that have attended the school over the years.”
But those who are unable to attend because their parents simply cannot afford it are now not only without a school but are also unable to get adequate care.
“The daily challenges faced by parents of special needs children vary as every single child is different, even sanitation unit of valuable resources.
During the Adjustment budget tabled on March 30, R30 million was allocated for infrastructure purposes relating to water reticulation and electricity. It is now alleged that none of this capital is being made available towards sanitation,” said Cronje.
The DA said on two occasions they requested meetings with the municipal manager Victor Makona, if they have the same diagnosis. The challenges can be from simply trying to have bath time, a toilet routine, feeding, swallowing, suctioning tracheostomies, giving him ten days in advance to prepare and twice Makona cancelled the meetings, citing health issues or other commitments.
“The municipality is in contravention of the National Water Management Act, the National Environmental Management
Act, which states that unlawfully and intentionally or negligently commit any act or omission which detrimentally affects or is PEG feeding and behavioural management, never mind the massive financial strain on these parents to pay for therapy, school fees and everything likely to detrimentally affect the environment, Section 24 of the Constitution and the Municipal Systems Act for failing to provide municipal services,” said Cronje.
Residents who spoke with Saturday Star said they were at their wits’ end.
“To tell you the truth, we are gatvol here in Geelhoutpark and surrounding areas. To be without water on a daily basis is ridiculous. else that their child might need on a daily basis.”
Each task and daily routine that these special needs children require needs to be thoughtfully broken up, modelled and facilitated for them to promote independence while preserving and expanding on their self-confidence.
“These skills need to be supported by visual, auditory and concrete resources to facilitate each step of the skill until completion as many of the children are non-verbal.”
Moshetta says that this is exactly what the centre provides and is a huge gap in these children’s lives when they don’t receive it.
“Time and patience, a secure and adapted environment as well as many hands are needed for the teaching of even the most basic of skills as well as academics, using the abled parts of the child and accommodating their disabilities.”
Now, in order for the 34 pupils to return to school, the L.U.C.C.A centre launched the See the ABLE, not the LABEL campaign, to raise funds.
“Although the campaign has generated just over R13 000 in two months, it still falls short of covering the annual fee for a single child’s education and therapy, which costs R120 000.”
The centre, has, however, been fortunate enough to secure the services of local internet fibre company Vuma, which provides digital connectivity to the school.
"We're blown away by the work the L.U.C.C.A school is doing, and the number of young lives impacted by Alison’s vision,” Taylor Kwong, CSI Manager at Vuma, said.
“By providing abundant and seamless connectivity to the school, we’re making an important difference to the daily experiences of the learners and their dedicated teachers – not only enabling the children with uninterrupted learning, but we’re also empowering them and their families by creating opportunities that give them a place in the world, like any other child.”
¡ Visit luccaspecialkids.co.za to sponsor a child, volunteer, or donate essential goods and resources to help contribute to the school’s running expenses and give every child an opportunity to reach for the extraordinary.
We cannot clean our homes and wash ourselves. Sometimes the water goes off at 19H00 and only goes back on at 06H00. This has been going on since August last year.
“At times it drives us insane. If I had money, I would install a 1000Lt tank and pumps which cost around R5 500. I am a pensioner and simply don’t have the money,” said one resident.
A stay-at-home mother said she was fed up with the poor services they receive in the area.
“I had a sick child and we went without water for a whole week. We call the municipality but nobody answers and they read our messages but don’t reply. I also had a broken water pipe and it took a week and half before they came to fix it.
“I am so despondent. We pay but we don’t get the services. We have a right to have water,” said the woman.
Cronje said: “Usually in an election year, the ANC usually ups its game but this time around, they just don’t care. We are seeing the polar opposite in terms of services promised.”
Saturday Star sent media queries to Makona, spokesperson for the Rustenberg Municipality David Magae and the unit manager for sanitation, Ziyanda Mokone.
In a written reply, Magae said: “This is to confirm that I have received your email and I will respond to it. Monday's can be a bit crazy but accept my apology for not acknowledging i.,”
Mokone, in a one-line reply, said: “We do not have water crisis,” despite several questions posed to her.
No response was received from the Rustenburg Municipality at the time of publication, despite several messages to Makona, Magae and Mokone.