In the Pipeline

Thusanani Johannesburg is growing at a fast rate. So fast we are beginning to split at the seams!

We have five therapists squashed into one office trying to schedule not just their time at the computers, but also having to schedule their times at the desks they are sharing. It is beginning to border on the ridiculous and bizarre.

At the therapy end of matters it is not any less hectic. We have three therapy rooms to share and between running the assessments of the babies in one and the treatment of groups of toddlers in the other two there is little margin for error. Having no waiting room for the care givers ( they sit in the passage leading to reception desk) and only one toilet makes for interesting mornings, especially on a Tuesday.

Don't get us wrong. We are grateful for what we have and we are happy to give the service. We are overjoyed at our results. But we need more space here in Johannesburg. It is time to start looking out for a "wing of our own" here in the CMI building. The one challenge around that would be the cost of the refurbishment of that "wing".

Oh dear, I can feel a serious fundraising campaign coming on........

Training for PE?

We are inundated with requests for training in the PE area. This is after my visit there in July and the questionnaire I sent to the Children's Homes in and around PE. It would seem that this area of South Africa is under resourced as far as opportunities are concerned as well as being a long distance from areas with expertise.

Thusanani would dearly like to help by supplying a once off training course for

• Care Givers working with Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC)
• Volunteers interested in becoming involved in the field
• Professionals interested in upskilling their expertise. This would include the professionals like Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists, Physio Therapists and ECD Educators.

Anybody who can help? We have estimated that it would cost us R20,000 to train 60 people: that would be 30 Care Givers, 20 Volunteers and 10 Professionals.

But......if we could train such a core group of people in PE. . . . .there will be a major impact on service delivery and Developmental Delay in the group of OVC can be prevented to a large extent.

I am holding thumbs. So is PE.

Have a great long weekend!

Heleen