Sherwood Park Special Care Centre will start the building of their new school soon, thanks to the generosity of the community and businesses.
The centre is currently in a “customised house”, which puts a lot of constraints on providing the care needed for the 48 pupils currently attending.
As a beneficiary of the Spar Cape Town Ramadaan and Lifestyle Expo, the centre received a donation of R150 000 on Wednesday March 22.
According to Abdul Galeem Jacobs, the chairperson of the board, this initiative, which was also aired by Radio 786, allowed for more assistance towards their goal of raising R10m for their new building. So far, they have managed to raise R3m and because of this, the first phase of the building project will start soon.
Mr Jacobs said the new school will be better equipped, with more space, to provide quality care, therapy and education to children with special needs.
“The new building will be more suitable and will be housed on a 4 000 square metres plot. The community has been great in supporting us. Some learners need special metal bars to help them walk. The new building will have more space which will allow us to provide better service and therapy. The new building will have a hydrotherapy room. At the moment we have a physiotherapy bed, but it is in storage because we do not have the space for it at our current premises. We see so much potential in what we can do for our learners, without any constraints. Over all the years, what kept us going despite the challenges, are our passion and seeing the smiles on our learners’ faces,” Mr Jacobs said.
The centre, which opened its doors in 1984, provides support to special needs children and their families, as well as educational opportunities. It was established after a group of despondent parents came together who could not find admission for their children the previous five years.
The Spar Cape Town Ramadaan and Lifestyle Expo hosted more than 22 000 patrons from Friday March 3 to Sunday March 5. It also created 4 000 employment opportunities – from security, utilities, suppliers, food, and events services.