Thembani Special Day Care Centre
Bedford Township, South Africa Thembani Special Day Care Centre was established in the early 1990's when a minister's wife felt something needed to be done about the many children with mental and physical handicaps in Bedford. Thembani was originally under the auspices of the Port Elizabeth (PE) Mental Health Board, but because of financial constraints the PE Mental Health Board decided that all rural centers should go independent. The Management Committee members of Thembani submitted the organization's new constitution and application to the Directorate for Non-profit Organizations in July 2008. On August 1 the center started to run solo, which is difficult yet exciting. The day care center is currently situated in a small house on the premises of the congregational church in the small rural town of Bedford. This church is one of the South African churches in the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA). UCCSA is one of Global Ministries strongest partners, one with whom Global Ministries has walked for many years. Bedford has a large disadvantaged population with most people dependent on state pensions either for old age or disability. Children are often left with grandparents or distant family members while their parents look for employment in larger towns and cities. The grandparents are often disadvantaged and the burden of a child is heavy and, if the degree of disability is severe, care of the child can be a physical strain. The issues faced by disabled people in the area are caused not only by the impairment but also by the infrastructure and the way society is organized in general. Disabled people are excluded and segregated because of badly designed environments, inaccessible public transportation, and discriminatory attitudes and practices. Thembani Special Day Care Centre has developed a two year strategic plan for the transition from government administration to non-profit status. Funding from the town has been enough to maintain services but is not enough to make improvements and enhance the programs. Thembani's main goal is to provide a day care and stimulation program to children with mental and/or multiple disabilities with the aim of promoting self reliance. The center provides a caring, supportive environment that encourages the growth and development of the whole child. Parents, caregivers, and sponsors are important and are always welcome at the center. Societal reactions in South Africa to disability differ a lot; however, quite often families may be ashamed of the disabled child. Families may abuse or neglect the child, and female children with disabilities are especially vulnerable to sexual abuse because they are often unable to report it. Other families of the disabled may become overprotective, not allowing the child to reach his or her full potential. Thembani seeks opportunities to integrate the children with other children in the community to overcome and alleviate some of the ignorance that exists about disabled children. In cases where the families cannot send the child to the center on a daily basis, Thembani plans to provide a home-based care service to children with disabilities living in the community who cannot access special schooling. They will also include them in any special outings and activities. Eventually, Thembani will look at the larger municipality and start with a pilot project to assess the needs of the adjacent community. Thembani would like to work with the families of children with disabilities living in disadvantaged areas, with the focus on enhancing quality of life and improved coping with children's special needs. To enable Thembani to provide home-based care, they would need to develop a service delivery center. They also plan to provide training to empower the caregivers and to create flexitime work opportunities in handicrafts or garden projects. This will enable them not only to earn some money but to acquire skills to improve their daily living in a very flexible and supportive environment. Training programs through the Department of Labor are too structured and rigid for women who are so marginalized and who need more empathy and personalized support and training. Thembani is based on the belief that every single person has capabilities, abilities, and gifts. Living a full life depends on whether those capabilities can be used, abilities expressed, and gifts given. If they are, the person will be valued, feel powerful and connected to the people around them. At the same time the community around the person will become stronger because of the contribution the person is making. Current needs for Thembani Special Day Care Centre include:
Long term, Thembani hopes to acquire or build a new building as a training/handicraft facility on the rented land with a clause that Thembani could rent it for the next ten years at a very low/no rental. The land is next to the main road. Another alternative would be the purchase of an open plot for the building of the new facility. Thembani Special Day Care Centre has estimated costs for several of the expressed needs. Estimates include:
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