THE CHAELI CAMPAIGN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S REPORT
8th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
11 September 2012
It gives me great pleasure to report on the activities of The Chaeli Campaign for the period April 2011 to
March 2012. The Chaeli Campaign has continued to focus its services in the Western Cape. Our assistive
devices programme assists children across South Africa. The youth leadership programme has been further
developed in Bloemfontein and Kimberley. We continue our support of a group of sixteen families in
Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe and look forward to growing these relationships within our borders and across Africa.
PROGRAMMES
The Chaeli Campaign runs eight programmes in support of children and young adults with disabilities:
1. VOCATION & REHABILITATION
Sebezaphones
After a trial period in 2011, the Chaeli Campaign was chosen to be the preferred supplier of the
sebezaphone – an enhanced teaching aid for learners. The materials are sourced by the project co-ordinator
and the young adults assemble them with the assistance of their caregivers. The assembling has been
broken into steps that enable all abilities to participate in some way. It has become a social enterprise project
in that production can be done in the communities where the caregivers, once trained, have an opportunity to
support themselves while working from home and also to involve their children. A percentage of the revenue
is kept by the Chaeli Campaign to be reinvested in their therapeutic projects. So far 800 units have been sold
and our young adults from Retreat/Lavender Hill and their families have been primarily involved. Although
the verbal feedback from educators indicates that these phones, in conjunction with appropriate teacher
training, are aiding learners, the Dept. of Education and other potential sponsors are waiting for the final
results of the research into the efficacy of these sebezaphones. It is hoped that once the project takes off we
will be able to involve our other families in Masi and Mitchells Plain.
Craft Workshops
These started out initially in 2010 in Plumstead with the aim of developing social, cognitive and motor skills in
a non-threatening environment. It has grown from 7 young adults to over 30 that have participated.. Their
caregivers also benefit as well through the interaction with each other and learning new skills, some of which
can be transferred to other activities. Transport still limits access to participation and the goal in 2013 is to
reach out into other communities where these workshops can be run. So far workshops are being run in
parallel in Lavender Hill again this year and the goal is to start running them in Mitchells Plain in 2013.
Once a year communities from Masi and Crossroads are invited to participate and the collaborative work by
the crafters has been made into beautiful wall-hangings for the sponsors
The craft manual with an attached facilitator guide is an on-going thing and will be finished before the end of
the year. A teacher/master craft box containing all the materials for a year’s worth of craft activities has been
costed and assembled and it is hoped that sponsorship for this (and the manual) and for a cheaper box for
each crafter can be found.
Vocational Rehabilitation/Supported Employment
There has been on average 9 young adults participating in this programme with 4 actively employed in the
OLM, the remainder working part-time at the cottage (on the crafts or Sebezaphone project) or as volunteers
elsewhere. The goal for them all is to eventually be actively working part-time everyday with monitoring at
intervals by the supervising occupational therapist. There have been requests by several other young adults
to be on the programme but for the moment my time is limited. There is a growing demand for the disenabled to be in the workforce but they need training and regular mentoring. Another benefit of the craft
workshops is that it has promoted/raised awareness about The Chaeli Campaign, and attracted more people
through word of mouth, and helped facilitate inclusion between all those involved.
Chaeli Kitchen
The kitchen at Chaeli Cottage was very busy during the 12 months in question. Outside catering orders
have increased and the feedback has been positive. Participants involved in the Vocation Programme assist
in the kitchen and coffee shop
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2. THERAPIES
Sivuyile Residential Home
The therapy team continued to support the 80 residents with disabilities at Sivuyile residential care unit, a
relationship which started in 2008. Our focus during this year moved from training groups of carers, to
training individual carers in the use of the obstacle course/ play and sensory rooms for the group of residents
that they are responsible for. This allowed for a more tailored stimulation programme for each resident and
problem solving around issues specific to each group. Once we had done this with each carer we instituted
what we have called ‘Group ward rounds’. This is a mini ward round which includes the carer, medical staff,
therapists and the new facility manager. The idea behind this was to get input from everyone regarding the
residents in each group and try to come up with a combined goal for each individual resident that we could
work on as a team. It was also an opportunity to revise why the stimulation groups the carers run each day
are important and discuss the do’s and don’ts of running the groups. From this a checklist can be drawn up
which can be used by Sivuyile to ‘audit’ the groups and in this way encourage carers to maintain standards.
Early Childhood Development poster
We managed to finalise this wonderful resource in September, the culmination of 3 years work. The poster
depicts the development of communication , fine motor and gross motor skills along a simultaneous timeline
so that it can be used to identify delays in a specific area. This can help parents understand where their
children may need support and if there is a marked delay the importance of early assessment and
intervention. The poster is accompanied by a flip file which elaborates on the poster, giving more detail on
each stage of development and information as to how parents can assist their children in preparing for the
skills they will need at school.
Individual clients
We continue to support individual children and adults on request at both Sivuyile Home and at Chaeli
Cottage, with Outreach and ECD Programmes being run in Masipumelele and Crossroads.
Sivuyile Residential Facility caters for approximately 80 residents with varying physical and mental abilities
and who range in age from young children to the elderly. The carers were pleased with the certificates
awarded to acknowledge their new skills. Work with individual residents and staff focused on improving the
resident's independence in self-care, encouraging the correct and regular use of assistive devices and
providing support by discussing challenging issues as they arise.
The Chaeli Campaign's outreach clinic for children in Masiphumele has been running since 2009, recently
with an Occupational Therapist and a Community Worker. We offer therapeutic sessions at a local
community centre "The Pink House", at schools / creches and at the homes of children with a diagnosed
disability and those noted to have developmental delay in one or more area. We have advertised our
services over the years and now receive referrals from creches, the primary school, the special care centre,
the local clinic and through word of mouth in the community. Our school readiness groups are offered to
between 20 and 40 children at a time and take place over approximately 4 weeks per school / creche. We
worked with the 80 Grade R children at Ukhanyo Primary School and Phumlani Educare Centre, as well as
with younger children at Peacock, Ithemba and Silvia's creche. We also offered extra support at Ukhanyo
Primary School in the form of additional groups for the 20 Grade R children who were struggling and held a
workshop over three weeks for the Grade R parents so that they are better equipped to assist their children
prepare for Grade 1. Much of our input is aimed at supporting the parents and teachers so that they can feel
confident in assisting the children in a meaningful and sustainable way in their everyday interactions, which
is so much more beneficial that our intermittent contact.
1. Sivuyile 1 (Children) and Sivuyile 2 (Adults)
As part of our carer training programme I worked with individual carers and their groups in the Play Room,
to apply activities to their specific groups. Results have been variable, with some carers struggling to grasp
how they can use play, and others optimising their wards’ interactive communication abilities…and having a
lot of fun!
Intensive individual therapies included:
- oromotor therapy with one child with his very resistant tongue protrusion problem
- conventional speech therapy with 2 children with a clear potential for more speech
- exploring AAC strategies for higher functioning, non-verbal children.
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Feeding is arguably the biggest challenge among the carers’ daily tasks but our current ‘survival’ standards
are not good enough for the long term. We will proceed very carefully to balance best practice in terms of
training therapeutic feeding techniques and maintaining carers’ coping levels.
Individualised lap tray messages were designed, printed and then laminated to most of the lap trays of
those residents who are non-verbal. Positive feedback indicated that these were valuable for new carers and
visitors to get to know and start conversations with non-verbal children and adults.
Wristbands continued to be distributed and with training, there were several success stories of reduced
drooling. The logistics of getting them washed in the system and back to residents remains a challenge.
Support for Teacher Reny and the assistants in Umthi Special Care Centre (where some of the Sivuyile
1 children spend school hours) during 2011, goals and themed activities aimed at increasing non-verbal
communication opportunities were practiced.
2. Masiphumele ECD project (Pink House)
Joined Rose and Bukiwe on two mornings to assess or follow up children for whom they had specifically
requested assistance with communication. Contact was made with the doctor who runs a general paediatric
OPD at False Bay Hospital, for a quicker route to hearing/developmental assessments.
3. Sinethemba Special Care Centre (Masiphumele)
Before the end of our involvement here, I spent one more session there to assist with guidelines on
encouraging meaningful communication for some of the most challenging children.
4. Therapists’ continuing professional development and writing project
A new project, with multiple goals, is the therapists’ journal club and writing project.
At the end of 2011, our regular journal club was successfully registered for CPD points with the HPCSA. This
promises to:
(a) get our work published to raise the professional credibility of the Chaeli Campaign therapy team
(Stop Press: our first article has been accepted and is due to be published on line shortly)
(b) ultimately attract funding through research
(c) earn free CPD points (usually a pricey endeavour)
Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the Chaeli Campaign (Zelda, Ann!) for allowing me
to work so flexibly during the period when I had my back operation and subsequent rehab!
3. WHEELS ARE BIG DEALS – ASSISTIVE DEVICES
25 Recipients benefited from this programme with assistance ranging from receiving motorised wheelchairs
to ongoing support of supplemented feeding.
4. INCLUSIVE EDUCATION:
ECD FOCUS:
This programme focuses on children in informal and formal preschools in Lower Crossroads/Phillipi and
Masiphumelele and also assists teachers in school readiness. We have also addressed parents on how to
assist their children to be school ready. As a response to parent requests, we see children individually with
their parents in the afternoons or in a group at a mainstream school.
Preschool groups:
This is our third year (2012) of being in the community of Lower Cross Roads/Phillippi. The community has
now heard of our work and we are being invited to schools to offer our programs. We have worked in
informal Preschools of Babalwa and Three Sisters, Vukani, Masivuke and Qhamani Preschools as well as
Masivuke which has two preschool classes. We do 4 sessions in a preschool with the children (between 2832 children in each group) and then discuss children who are showing difficulty (how the teacher can help
the child; who the teacher can refer the child to). The teachers then facilitate the parent groups. We are also
going to work through the teacher forums in future.
Parent groups:
We do a 3 two hour program with the parents to discuss their role in preparing their children for grade one.
These are fun sessions where the parents test their skills for their own school readiness. At the end of the
program, each parent is presented with a box of stationary so as to assist their child in the tasks we have
taught them.
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Individual and School group work:
Children who are struggling with reading and writing and numeracy are referred to us through the parents.
We discuss the child with the parents and then we either see the child individually in Beautiful Gate (Lower
Crossroads) with the parents or in a small group of 8 children at Masivuke (Phillippi East). We are going to
be working with the parents of this group of children and we are designing a program for parents who can’t
read or write Xhosa to assist their children who have to learn in their mother tongue. We also see children
who are residing in Beautiful Gate who present problems at school. This program is expanding and we
presently reach 180 children a year and their parents.
Formal Schooling Focus:
Barriers to Learning Curriculum for mainstream primary schools
A series of lessons has been prepared to raise awareness in mainstream schools( in both learners and
teachers) of different barriers to learning. There are 28 different barriers. The lessons are made up of 3
definite sections
an information component
creating an accepting environment-learners are presented with information to help them understand
the barrier
peer- to- peer solution finding-the learners are presented with situations in which they look for
answers.
The lessons are structured to be both fun and informative and contain all the information which the teacher
needs to present to the learners. This makes it a hassle free experience for the teachers with no added
preparation. In 2012 this programme was rolled out in 2 schools: Square Hill Primary School and Steenberg
Primary School. The process began with a staff workshop to present the programme to the teachers. A total
of 1730 children and 59 teachers have been exposed to the lessons. We conducted a pre-questionnaire and
will do the same questionnaire at the end of the year to obtain results of knowledge gained and attitudes.
5. PAY-IT-FORWARD AMBASSADORS PROGRAMME
Cape Town comprises 3 chapters of Ambassadors: Chaeli Cottage, Lavender Hill, Khayelitsha.
The Ambassadors Programme in Bloemfontein and Kimberley continues to grow from strength to strength
under the guidance of Yvette le Roux and Fatima Ajimudin. These 80 ambassadors come from 30 schools in
3 provinces.
7. ARTS & CULTURE
Art and Poetry Competition
This competition generated 250 pieces of art and 150 poems with entries being received from KZN, Eastern
Cape and Gauteng. From beyond our borders we received entries from Kuwait and Zimbabwe. Rob Vember
accepted the invitation to help with the judging of the poetry and Carmen Brander, a practising fine artist,
came on board as the art chief judge. A picture rail, made from steal cabling, has been installed in the Chaeli
Cottage coffee shop to permanently display of artwork in a more professional way. One Life: Mind, Body and
Soul has been a great theme for 2011 and the works are testimony to this. The 2012 competition was
launched in November 2011 and the theme for the competition was ‘Beauty –full’. The deadline for entries
was given for May 2012.
Hope in Motion Book
These books have been published and printed and are now ready for distribution. We have used these
books for promotional material, advocacy purposes as well as a resource for anybody who works in
education
Short Story Competition
A compilation of the 2010 short story competition finalists has been put together and is ready to be printed.
The 2012 competition was launched at the end of 2011 with the theme: ‘Hope’. The closing date for the
competition was set for May 2012.
A – Z Book of Inclusion
The writing continues on this book. The format of the book has been established and the structure has been
worked out. The book is ready to go to design, layout and typesetting.
Play: In the Wings
The play writing stretched over the months of April, May and June. Rehearsals took place for the month of
September and the show was at On Broadway in Long St on the 3 – 8 October 2011. The play aims to
engage people with what life is like with a disability, showing that living with a disability is not always easy,
but it isn’t impossible either. People are people no matter what… a wheelchair doesn’t change that!
In the Wings is a play about purpose; about living and negotiating the everyday stuff; it’s a play about
dreams and obstacles that get in the way of the realisation of those dreams. While this production is aligned
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with the Chaeli Campaign and has its roots in advocacy, it nonetheless functions in its own right as a
powerful piece of theatre that will move and inspire audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Educational Theatre and Stories of Hope Videos
Michael Beckurts (one of our ambassadors) story of hope is now complete. Chaeli’s story of hope is very
near completion and should be complete within the week.
Dance Residency
The Chaeli Campaign commissioned Remix Dance Company to facilitate a Dance Residency with Astra
School and Wynberg Boys High School: 13 learners from Astra and 5 learners from WBHS; 2 volunteers at
Astra; and 6 Remix Dance Company members.
The aim is to allow different bodies the opportunity to inspire through physical performance. The Dance
Residency is an opportunity for learners/participants from two different schools to develop creativity and
performance craft through integrated dance work. But more than that, the Dance Residency allows
participants to grow emotionally, physically and spiritually. The performance was a group ensemble with all
of the participants. The process took place at both Astra School and Wynberg. The theme of the Residency
was ‘IMAGINE’ and this shaped the process.
9. AFRICAN ODYSSEY
We continue our friendship with and support of Hope In Motion, Chinhoyi (Zimbabwe) and celebrate with
them the registration of their organisation in 2011 (after 4 years of hard work). We continue to seek ways in
which we can facilitate the awareness of the positive role people with disabilities have to make in their
communities in other parts of Africa.
Programme Impact
Through our various programmes we can measure the following impact created over the 1 st eight years of
our existence:
 We have provided over 300 assistive devices;
 Our services impact the lives of approximately 3000 children and their families each year
 We have provided services in 7 provinces of South Africa, and support ‘Hope In Motion” in Chinhoyi,
Zimbabwe;
 We have spoken at more than 100 mainstream schools and shared our story of hope with more
than 70 000 able-bodied children and 400 teachers;
 Our therapists have provided physiotherapy to over 500 children and imparted specialist knowledge
to over 100 caregivers. This would have impacted 500 families in multiple communities;
 Through various publications and television programmes our story of hope will have been
read/viewed by approximately 10 million people.
FUNDING, FUNDRAISING AND FINANCES
We wish to acknowledge the support of the following individuals and organisations that have supported us in
the past year (financial year end: March 2012):
Funder
Fuchs Foundation
Allan & Gill Gray Trust
L&S Chiappini Charitable Trust
Laing Golf Day
Norton Ramsay Foundation
JET Lee Will Trust
Pandrol
EG Woods Will Trust
Woodbridge Trust
St Margaret’s Church
Dov Katz
Consol Glass
Hudaco
Anonymous
Anglo American Chairman’s Fund
Amount
R100 000
R200 000
R5 000
R20 000
R5 000
R8 300
R2 000
R2 500
R20 000
R25 000
R5 000
R500
R360
R20 000
R5 000
R11 500
R80 000
5
Lewis Stores
Rand Trust
Nico Kruger
MacSteel
Rondebosch Boys Prep
Scrum
The Foschini Group
Joan St Leger Lindbergh Trust
Wise Trust
Sisterhood Temple Israel
Proloss
Aquarian Church
Nikon
BP Rabinowitz
Lotto: Arts & Culture
Lotto: Sports
Lotto: Charities
Telkom Charity Cup Foundation
MTN Foundation
Shell / 5FM
Pedal Power
Inbal CC
In Memory of Andrew Carries
Investec Private Trust
SABC Mobile
R3 000
R10 000
R5 000
R1 500
R16 035.15
R5 000
R50 000
R25 000
R20 000
R3 500
R4 000
R1 500
R4 000
Coolpix S5100 Camera
R720
R1 589 500
R200 317
R246 000
R90 000
R60 000
R100 000
Funding iro new handcycle
R5 000
R35 000
R20 000
R11 481,81
Other
Description
Pledge Partner and sms line
My School/My Village
Checkers Xmas Wrapping Initiative
School donations:
St Cyprians
St George’s Grammar School
Square Hill Primary
St Andrews
Eureka Primary School
Argus Cycle Tour
Crankhandle Club
Golf Day
Cavendish Charity Book Sale
Mandela Day
Honey Jewellery
Bid or Buy
The One Society Initiative: Iron Man
Ambassadors:
- Keegan Blaine
- Beandrie (Grey College)
- Beandri (Sand du Plessis School)
- Beandri (Martie du Plessis School)
- Beandri:
Amount
R94 050
R2 809,54
R1 480
R1 000
R2 500
R922
R2 500
R2 200
R1 000
R2 170
R460,30
R355 000
R15 400
R78 000
R11 619
R9 285
R2 755
R5 102,50
R76 000
R5 000
R500
R1 726
R2 078
R2 410
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Pledge Partners & Chaeli Riders:
Thank you to the many pledge partners who donate a monthly sum in support of the work taking place at
Chaeli Cottage in the Therapy Centre and through the Vocation and Rehabilitation programme – your
ongoing support is greatly appreciated. A special thank you to all Chaeli Riders who provide funds for various
projects and individuals through their time on the road in the Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tour – this is our
single largest fundraiser each year.
ADVOCACY PROGRAMME
Newsletters
A quarterly newsletter which includes a Story of Hope (often written by a mother of a child who has an
impairment), information about various conditions/impairments, Chaeli Campiagn activities and other news
that is relevant to the disability sector. These newsletters are distributed in Xhosa in Crossroads, Phillipi,
Khayelitsha, Masiphumelele. English versions are distributed in Masiphumelele and the Southern Suburbs
and an Afrikaans version is distributed in Ocean View. 10 000 newsletters are distributed each quarter in this
way.
Parent Support Groups
Growth and support of parents from parent experiences stemming from the sharing of information is very
productive and helpful. Regular parent support groups happen in Lower Crossroads, Masiphumelele and in
the Southern Suburbs from Chaeli Cottage.
Partnerships
Our grateful appreciation to the following organisations and individuals who share our vision of inclusion and
generously support and partner us in various ways:
Eric Atmore & The Centre For Early Childhood Development
King James Advertising : Mnemonic & RSVP
Bergvliet Sports Association
Kevan Edwards: Music Innovation
IT Outlook
Louise Van Rhyn & Symphonia
Beautiful Gate
Protea Sub Council
MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE
A heartfelt thank you to the members of our Management Committee for the time and caring that goes into
overseeing the work that we do through The Chaeli Campaign. We truly appreciate your advice, support and
expertise.
STAFF & ADMIN
Staff
During the period we employed an admin assistant to help with the sports club and its administration as well
as to attend the various meetings that were held. This was a part time position. A resignation created an
administration vacancy and it was decided to combine the sports admin and CC admin position into one
post. Our staff complement at the end of the period was 9 and we welcomed the following new members of
staff: Debbie Cape, Victoria Dlomo.
Website
Our website was completely revised as what we had was difficult to maintain and required constant
assistance from King James just to make minor text changes. After a considerable period of waiting, the new
site was launched in November 2011. Overall a much improved web presence has been created.
SMS support line
This project continued to remain static and despite many attempts at marketing this at functions and on radio
slots we seem unable to garner support in this area.
Thank you to all our staff for their hours of dedicated service to providing quality programmes to our
differently-abled children, their families and communities. Our thanks are extended to:
Speech therapist: Martha Geiger
Occupational therapists: Diana Phillips, Cath Pitt & Rosemary Luger
Physiotherapist: Ann Bullen
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Rehabilitation Facilitator: Alti Gentrivier
Community Workers: Bukiwe Mkhuba (Masiphumelele), Olwethu Nqevu (Lower Crossroads), Victoria Dlomo
Catering & Functions Co-ordinator: Zelda Adriaans
Inclusive Education Facilitators: Debbie Prudhomme
Events Co-Ordinator: Melanie Scrooby
Administration & Events Co-ordinator: Debbie Cape
Arts & Culture Co-ordinator: Jared Kruger
Office Manager: Russell Mycroft
Financial Manager: Diane Terry
Chief Executive Officer: Zelda Mycroft
HIGHLIGHTS 2011/2012
Thank you to our patron, Rob Vember, for your ongoing support of The Chaeli Campaign!
Growing the CSRC has been a special delight, providing sporting and social opportunities for young people
with disabilities to interact and have fun with their peers and their family members.
The further growth of our Ambassadors programme in Kimberley and Bloemfontein is entrenching our belief
that young leaders need to be empowered and encouraged to be active citizens from a young age.
The Chaeli Riders continue to grow an awareness of the Chaeli Campaign brand and is a key annual
fundraiser.
FRIENDS OF THE CHAELI CAMPAIGN
In 2006 we created a mechanism to recognise people who go beyond the call of duty in supporting the work
of our organisation. Our grateful appreciation to Craig Sieben and Michelle Johns who have been
acknowledged as Friends of The Chaeli Campaign in this past year.
SPECIAL THANKS
Thanks to our special staff at The Chaeli Campaign for going beyond the call of duty in making a difference
in the lives of our children and their families. Thanks to the staff management team of Russell and Diane for
the never-ending debate about the way forward and for providing checks and balances and a platform for
negotiation and creativity within the staffing structure. Thank you to our Management Committee members
for their time and support of the work that we do – your experience, interest and guidance is greatly
appreciated.
We’d like to pay special tribute to our recipients and their families for the way in which they allow us to
partner them in their journey of hope. At this time we’d like to pay tribute to and celebrate the lives of Ryan
Spagnoletti, one of our recipients, and Andrew Carris (a member of our Management Committee) who
passed away this past year. Our journey with each was different, but equally rewarding and we truly
appreciate being invited into their lives.
We look forward to normalising society through creating acknowledgement of the role that our children with
disabilities have to make to the well-being of all citizens by providing us with unique opportunities to grow as
active, caring and giving members of our community.
ZELDA MYCROFT
Chief Executive Officer
11 September 2012
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