His Hands Care Centre was established, as a need was identified for day care for children with special
educational needs. Since the closure of the Justin Selby Centre in December 2014, there was only
one other centre able to accommodate children with severe physical and mental disabilities and this
centre was filled to capacity. As a family from a strong Christian background, we realized the need for
day-care for children with special needs, as well as the implications of loss of employment for 6
women who were the bread-winners for their own families. During the December holidays of 2014 we
thus closed our own businesses for the Festive Season and started our yearly well-deserved holiday
by creating a safe day-care environment for these special kiddies that would give parents and
caregivers peace of mind when they had to return to work in January 2015. With brooms, paint
brushes and lots of cleaning equipment, we all jumped in and with the help of some wonderful
friends opened up a centre on the 5th of January 2015 to be proud of.
The aim of His Hands Care Centre is to provide a safe day-care facility based on Christian principles
for children with severe physical and mental disabilities of all ages from the East London area, where
they will be stimulated to develop to their full potential. Currently we have 16 children with disabilities
including Cerebral Palsy (CP), Autism, Hydro-cephaly, Down’s Syndrome, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome etc.
The goals of the centre are to provide educational programs that are individualized to each child’s
specific needs, abilities and challenges. Each individual program includes input from other
professionals in town eg. Speech-Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy & Physiotherapy and
these principles are incorporated into each child’s program. It is thus not just a baby-sitting facility,
but really offers each child the opportunity to develop to their full God-given potential. We also
provide two balanced meals, as well as 2 snacks per day. Staff members are also supplied with daily
meals.
Currently we employ 7 permanent staff members – 6 caregivers and an on-site hands-on manager,
who has many years experience working with children with disabilities. Our caregivers’ skills and
knowledge are expanded through training on a continuous basis in different areas to ensure that the
children receive optimal intervention on a daily basis. The centre also aims to provide support and
information to the families and caregivers of these children, who are often left in the dark as to what
the future holds for their special kiddies – To be a beacon in the dark also for them in challenging
times. Through our fundraising efforts, we contacted many companies and individuals, who have
come aboard in amazing ways to support us in our venture.
Challenges & Projects
The centre’s costs per month amount to just under R45 000. This includes rent, water and electricity,
salaries, meals etc. Currently our main source of income is from school fees – R1800/month/child –
and we currently have 16 children enrolled.
It must however be noted that many of the children cannot afford the school fees and are thus
paying a reduced fee, ranging from R600 to R1400 a month. The actual income from school fees is
thus significantly lower. We aim to raise funds from other avenues as well, as we cannot and will not
show a child away due to parent’s financial challenges.
This thus leaves a clear short-fall in our monthly costs. To cover these costs, we have the following
programs/processes in motion:
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Application for Funding/Grants from Dept Social Development
Application to National Lottery for funding of Projects
We have also approached many companies and individuals for monthly donations of food to
enable us to feed our staff and children daily
To ensure a safe and educational environment for our children in which to develop, we have the
following BIG projects –
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Playground: Play is an essential part of development and we thus need to supply the children
with an opportunity to play in a safe and appropriate play area. Despite upgrades done to
this area, we still need to include Astroturf to cover the paving, as many of our children crawl
(costs estimated at R50 000)
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Fencing: As we share the premises with a second tenant, we need fencing erected between
the two businesses, to ensure safety of our children. A temporary structure has been erected
while funding is being sought (estimated costs R 15 000)
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Transportation: As we envision swimming and horse riding therapy for our children, we need
suitable transportation for the children from the centre to these activities (estimated costs
R390 000)
Fundraising events 2015 –
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Golf day - This was held in March, where 76 players came together to have fun and
raise funds at the same time. There was also an auction with items including
weekends away and signed memorabilia from Ernie Els and Gary Player.
Music Festival at the Guild theater on the 23rd and 24th of April with Humble Man and
Mistree
Flea Market and Fun walk in Kidds Beach in November
Planned Fundraising events for 2016 –
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February Cupcake month
March Raffle
Fun Walk
Golf day
Flea market and fun day
Accolades
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Overall winner of the Mercedes Benz Forgood Inspiration Awards 2015
Local Dispatch Hero’s of the Community Finalists
Once again we would like to thank you for being part of this amazing journey we have embarked on!
Never would we have thought last year when we opened our doors for the first time that we would’ve
achieved all we have thus far. And none of this would be possible without the support and generosity
of people like you! You have truly made a difference in the lives of these children & without the
support you have given us we wouldn’t have been able to provide them the “home” they had in 2015.
Our prayer is that we can continue to provide a safe home for our special angels – because every
child deserves to have the opportunity to learn.
May 2016 hold an abundance of blessing in for you & your business!
Warm Regards,
The His Hands Family
Portfolio of Needs for His Hands Centre for Children with Special
Needs
General needs:
Hand Rails on the side of the walls to assist children in walking
Hand railing by outside ramp
Hospital bed for Changing area (able to lower for easy transfer from
wheelchairs)
Gifts for staff members and children for birthdays
Printing paper
Veggie seedlings to start our own veggie garden
Printer Ink
Stationary for office use
Photo copier
Colour printer with affordable ink
Toilet Paper
Air Freshener
Cleaning products
Sheets and Pillows for resting time
Cot size mattresses for resting time
Cell phone to be used for communication with parents
Airtime to be used for communication with parents
Shelter from front gate to front door for rainy days
Fencing
New sand for our sandpit
Our own property with a garden
Shelter for children to eat outside
Astro turf to cover play area
Wheelchair friendly Transport to take our children on outings, as well as
swimming and horse riding sessions
Financial contributions in the form of cash donations
“Sponsor a child”
“Sponsor a meal”
Child-care needs:
Nappies sizes 3 to adult size small
Aqua Cream
Airwick Air fresheners with refills
Surgical Gloves
Kitchen needs:
Toaster
Cutlery
Toys Needs:
Soft toys
Toy Animals
Educational Toys
Specialised hammock swing for disabled children
Pegboard puzzles
Books
Food needs:
Milk
Sugar
Rooibos Tea
Custard
Wet wipes
Nappy Cream
Hand sanitizer
Urn
Mixing Bowls
Toy Cars
Sensory Toys
Plastic pool
Sandpit toys
Craft items
Yoghurt
Coffee
Butter
Rice
Pasta
Jelly
Chicken
Samp
Cheese Curls
Lays Lightly Salted chips
Bread
Bovril
Fruit
Instant Pudding
Mince
Veggies
Marshmellows
Marie Biscuits
Peanut Butter
Jam
Therapy Equipment:
Standing frames for therapy
Walking frames
Rocking Horse walker
Alternative Communication (AAC) Systems (details on request)
Wheelchairs sponsorships for individuals with needs
Time & Services Needs:
First Aid training for staff
Repair of fridges
Repair of donated Big-screen TV
Repair access gate
Repair Security system
Move of security CCTV system to Office
Volunteers: Cleaning centre weekly
Cleaning centre yard
Cleaning toys weekly
Reading stories
Assisting with craft
Play outside with the children
Assisting with outings
Assist with feeding time daily