Articles

Our 35th anniversary celebrations on 5th September at the Johannesburg Zoo and on 19th September at the National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria were a great success. The events were well organized and enjoyed by everybody. A lot of awareness was created and we felt part of a huge family caring for one another. Thank you to each and every one who helped to make a success of the day. A treasure hunt was held at both events where a map and questions were handed to children and their families. The children returned with their answers and all received gifts (books, toys, stationery and sweetie packets). It took Corne and Theuns Langenhoven hours to wrap all the gifts in the evenings before our events - thank you for all the hard work Theuns and Corne.
The SABC did some filming at the Pretoria event, and Christel Raubenheimer from the radio station RSG also did an interview with Theuns and me, which they broadcast during the week. Wilma and Elcie from Q-Photo Jakaranda took pictures of all our affected members, which they developed and handed out to them. Thank you to the photographer Delice de Jager, who took pictures for us at the event. Affected members had also printed their hands on a canvas, which we wanted to auction. The Johannesburg Zoo waived the entrance fees as well as the charge for the venue "The Tree of Light". A special thank you to Mrs Louise Gordon and Ms Leesel van Louw from the Johannesburg Zoo for their kindness. Thank you, too, to Mr Craig Allenby and Mrs Angeline Cronje from The National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria, who waived the entrance fees and cost of the event for us. A great thank you goes to Mrs Leonie van Heerden for all her help with the function. Leonie arranges functions at the Zoo, and we are very grateful for all her assistance. She arranged for the bikers from Mid Evil Motorcycle Club, for canvas and watercolour paint donated by Pierrots, and for music by various performers who entertained us on the day. (For any wedding and other functions in the Pretoria area, you can contact Leonie van Heerden on cellphone number 082 553 5092.) The bikers who supported our event were very friendly and I was taken for a ride on one of the Harley Davidson's. I had never been on a motorbike before and enjoyed the ride. . We were very fortunate and blessed to receive sponsorship by the following companies and would like to extent our gratitude to all. Sponsors who made donations to us for the events are as follows: ABI Soft Drink, SAB (Johannesburg and Pretoria), Africa for Ice, Amka SA, Cadbury South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Candy Andy, City Watch International (Mr Thomas Zilk - donation of 15 wrist watches), Clover SA, Empire Stationery & Toys, Estee Lauder (donation of 3 gift sets), Exclusive Books, Formula Kitchens, JB Butchery (Bethal), Nashua North, Kulfi Ice Cream Manufacturers (Pty) Ltd, Paarman Foods, Independat Cash & Carry (Thembisa), Sandwich Baron (Illovo), Makro (Strubens Valley), Pick & Pay, Shoprite Checkers. Adv Jan Ferreira, Mr H van Rensburg, Mr L Reddy, Mr E Kaka. Pupils from the Trinity House High School participated in volunteer work and helped us at the Johannesburg Zoo with various tasks. Many thanks for all your hard work! I would like to thank all the members and their families who attended our events. Some of our members drove from afar to share the day with us. I have spoken to many of you over the years and it was great to meet all of you in person.
Pieter Joubert
Vice-Chairman, Gauteng