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11 July 1995
I was absolutely devastated to hear the news of the
decision to close the Day Centre at Woodside. As a working mother I have always
considered Woodside to be the only alternative to being at home with we. Like
most parents I would like the best for my child but
unlike most parents I do not
have much choice in where to send my child. I have really investigated every
avenue and
Woodside always came up tops - that is until now ! These children
cannot just be left with the neighbour or a friend, or even at
a crèche
as they need specialised treatment and there are not many people who are
prepared to look after them, Believe me
- ‑I know
I cannot bear the
thought of my son just sitting in the ward day in and day out with absolutely
nothing to stimulate him and I am
sure most of the other parents will agree with
me.
The home consists of four wards - each with 20 children. The rooms
they are confined to are approximately 30 square meter in size.
These children
require specialised treatment - each child having his or her unique handicap,
not one of them being the same. However
they also require a lot of stimulation
- more so than a normal child. By closing the Day Centre this stimulation will
be taken away
from them and they will forget all that they have ever
learned.
There is also the added threat that Woodside Sanctuary itself
might have to close its doors forever - due to lack of funds. It seems
that the
Government has made a decision to cut most of the grants to centres such as
Woodside. Don't the people in higher authority
care about
handicapped-children
I am enclosing a report that was in the Argue 30 May
1995, where a mother was forced to tie up her handicapped con while she went
to
work as she had no other alternative. The director of the Cape Mental Health
Society could only reply, in his letter to the editor
on 2 June 1995, that this
type of situation was happening because of the poor rate of subsidy by the
State. How many other children
aren't there out there whose names never get
into the papers, whose plight is as bad (or worse) than this 15 year old boy
?
There is so much talk about human rights, women's rights etc. Don't
handicapped people also have rights? Surly something more can
be done to help
these children who will never be able to help themselves! I dread to think of
what the future holds for my son!
Will I, too, have to tie him up like a dog
when Woodside finally closes its doors. Surely something can be
done!
Mrs Mette van der Merwe
[editor's note: the two articles
("Funding crisis threatens centre for handicapped" and "Tied up like a dog all
day") are unscannable.]
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