General BRANCHES

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GAUTENG BRANCH NEWS

Dear members and friends of the MDF

GAUTENG BRANCH REPORT FOR AUGUST 2011

It is my privilege to present the annual year report to the members of the Foundation. It was a year of sheer hard work. We have been informed by the Lotteries Distribution Trust Fund that our Lotto application towards the purchasing of a building was successful. The building that we wanted to buy had been sold and we had to find another place. On behalf of our branch I would like to thank the Lotteries Board for the grant received. A lot of hard work went into getting our new premises ready. All the doors have been replaced with wider doors and changes made to the bathrooms to make it wheelchair-friendly. Mr Toni Ferreira from Universal Paints donated all the paint and varnish for the house. A team of 28 people from Nedbank’s Regulatory Risk team came to paint and do repairs at the house. Nedbank donated office furniture and block carpets. Jessen Dakile Pty Ltd donated a wall-mounted bath chair for our shower. Living Textiles cc and Sulies Fabric donated fabric for curtains. Several other members donated other household goods and furniture. We want to thank each and every one for their kindness and donations received. We appreciate your interest and concern for all our affected members and families. We hope to go from strength to strength and are looking forward to all the new developments in our branch.

In January we welcomed Bulelwa Dungulu as counsellor. She has been doing a great job for us since she started and visited many of our affected members and their families. Thank you for the sterling job that you do for all our members.

On 11 September 2010 we held a support group function at the Sports Centre in Naledi, Soweto, for our affected members and their families. We transported some of our members from the East Rand and the greater Soweto. We had a braai and salads for lunch and other refreshments. Each person received a goody bag and we had gifts for the children. Tshidi Makhudu arranged for entertainment. The function was enjoyed by everybody. We would like to thank the following sponsors: Sasko, Cadbury SA (Pty) Ltd, Empire Toys & Stationery Co (Pty) Ltd, Makro Strubens Valley and Paarman Foods for their contributions towards our function.

On 27 November 2010 the Pretoria support group organised a Christmas function at the Hamilton Primary School in Pretoria. We wish to thank the principal for allowing us to make use of their school hall and facilities. It was well attended by many of our members, who were treated to games, lunch and ice cream. Each child received a goody bag filled with sweets and books. Ten children from the Tlamelang Special School travel all the way from Mafikeng to join us in our festivities. All in all it was a fun-filled day thoroughly enjoyed by all. Thank you to Jan and Dee Ferreira and other parents who were involved with the arrangements. Thank you to our sponsors, ABI, Exclusive Books, Paarman Foods, Amka (Pty) Ltd and Empire Toys & Stationery Co (Pty) Ltd.

On 27 November 2010 we had a hang gliding event at the Thermal Riders Hang Gliding Club – Aviators Paradise near Brits. A special thanks to Leanne Opperman and her family, who made all the arrangements. We also raised much-needed funds with the sponsorship of tandem glides, selling of braai packs and T-shirts. Several bands performed free of charge during the day and the event was enjoyed by everybody. Articles appeared in the Pretoria News and Beeld Newspaper. To Mike Spike from Thermal Gliders Hang Gliding Club, and staff from Aviators Paradise, thank you.
We obtained much-needed funds from donors for people in need of equipment. We are very grateful for the donations received from donors and companies as well as the amount of R10,000 that we receive on a monthly basis from our National body towards administrative and operational running costs.

Thank you to all members of the Gauteng committee for their dedication and commitment to making a success of our branch. On a national level the Gauteng branch also assisted the administrator with telephone queries and many other tasks during the past year.

We are striving to reach out to all persons affected by MD and assist with information and equipment when the need arises and funds are available.

Fundraising

We have made special appeals to companies for funding and raised funds through our fundraising efforts. We have been very fortunate to receive donations from donors and several companies. A special thank you to our regular donors, Bitrate cc, Carl & Emily Fuchs Foundation and Kirkness Charitable Trust and several others. We also received funding from the Executor Estate of Mr LR Levy. To each and every one we say thank you.

We participated in the Casual Day project on 2 September 2010 and raised funds for our branch. Pieter Joubert and Bulelwa Dungulu attended the show-and-tell function on 25 February 2011 at the Indaba Hotel. Thank you to everybody who assisted in the past and who assisted us again this year with the selling of stickers.

The University of Johannesburg of the WCCS (World Congress of Chiropractic Students) and HiTech Therapy hosted their annual golf day on 24 February at the Glenvista Country Club. Pieter Joubert attended the function. MDF Gauteng and Door of Hope Orphanage receive 10% of the profit.

Laida Peters’ son Richard, who had Duchenne MD, was a great Ferrari fan and collected miniature Ferrari cars. Laida decided to give her son’s Ferrari collection to a friend so that it could be sold or auctioned, and she donated the amount of R45,000 to our branch.

The Thomson family held a fundraiser Golf Day for Ethan Thomson at the Glenvista Golf Course and, as part of the proceeds raised, the family made a donation of R5,000 as a gesture of their thanks and appreciation for the wonderful support, help and advice that they receive from us.

Hope Promotions hosted two fundraising shows with the selling of theatre tickets to their clients. The “Burn the Floor” show was held at the JHB theatre on 16th July, and the “Rough Diamonds and Divas” show held at the Cresta Barnyard Theatre on 30th July 2011. We want to thank Monique Hollenbach for all her efforts with these two fundraisers.

Support and care

The Soweto Support Group is seeing to the needs of people affected by muscular dystrophy in their community and I would like to thank Tshidi Makhudu and Zenzele and Elaine Mabokwe for the work that they do to assist our members.

Jan Ferreira is the support group leader in Pretoria and can be contacted about Duchenne MD. Thank you for your willingness to help our affected children and families with advice and information.

We would like to thank Francois Honiball for always being willing to help members affected by Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).

Zigi Kerstholt from Alberton has started a support group for children in the East Rand area. There is always a need for support groups within the MDF structures, and members who may be willing to take part are encouraged. Thank you for your support and willingness to help our members and families. Other families are also welcome to join the group.
Equipment

Our branch has assisted 28 members with various types of equipment, which includes power wheelchairs, scooters, electric bath lifts, pressure care cushions, electric patient hoists, portable batteries, commodes, etc. One of the objectives of the Wiehahn Foundation and George Elkin Charity Trust is to improve the quality of life of individuals and for them to become independent and self-sufficient. We wish to thank them for the grants received to assist our members. Their caring, concern and support are much appreciated.

Through our intervention, the Department of Health, Gauteng has also assisted members with motorised wheelchairs. Mrs Tharina Coetzee and Pam Gibbs, occupational therapists at the Baragwanath Hospital, assisted several members. Mr Jeremy Motupa, occupational therapist at Natalspruit Hospital, assisted one of our members with a motorised wheelchair. We would like to thank them all for their efforts to assist our members.

Appreciation

Our branch would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Mrs Elinor Richards of Rosebank Accountants, who has been doing our bookkeeping, and also to Mrs Lize Daly from Walker & Daly Chartered Accountants, who have been auditing our books at no cost.

We would also like to thank Mr Simon Richards, who has attended to all our computer problems at no cost.

Reach For A Dream has fulfilled 24 of our children’s dreams in the past year and we hope you have enjoyed reading about it in the MDF magazine. A great thank-you goes to Mrs Angie Pape and her team from Johannesburg as well as Mrs Yolanda Le Grange from Pretoria for making our children’s dreams come true.

Myositis Association of America – Leanne Opperman has been invited to attend the conference and do a presentation on the Krazee 4 Kripples which she started in SA. The Vodacom Foundation has sponsored the trip for her and her mother to Las Vegas. The committee fully support her attendance. Leanne will represent MDFSA and we are looking forward to receiving feedback of the conference. We wish to thank the Vodacom Foundation for their support and making the funds available for Leanne and her mom to attend the conference.

General

We are truly grateful for all the donations made in the last year, especially by Mr AG Adam, Mr E Barnardo, Bitrate cc, Mr R Botha, Carl & Emily Fuchs Foundation, Copper Tubing Africa (Pty) Ltd, Christelike Vereeniging van Suid Afrika, Klerksdorp, De Angelis Family, Ms Esther Dippenaar, Discovery Holdings Limited, Mr O Fourie, George Elkin Charity Trust, Mr & Mrs K Henderson, Kirkness Charitable Trust, Mrs S Machet, Macsteel (Pty) Ltd, PAE (Pty) Ltd, Mr D Miles, Mponeng Mine, Nuvend Precision Engineering cc, Potchefstroom Rotary Club, Mr Keith Richmond, Mrs J van Loggerenberg, The Wiehahn Foundation and several others. Each contribution makes a difference that enables us to provide valuable support to our members.

There is always a need for more people to take part in the events of the MDF. Please contact the Gauteng office should you be able to assist us in any way. We constantly initiate projects, and volunteers are certainly most welcome.

Each and every one who has served on the Gauteng committee has made a contribution in the spirit of the MDF and it has been a pleasure to work with you. Once again, thank you to all our dedicated committee members as well as other members who are assisting us with fundraising, etc. Your unwavering commitment and support is much appreciated.

Sincerely

Theuns Langenhoven
Chairman

Skydiving - By Leanne Opperman

On 30 January 2010, exactly 70 days after our first attempt, we finally got to jump out of a perfectly fine plane! After months of planning, two cancellations, heaps of excitement and plenty of disappointment, going Krazee 4 Kripples was most definitely worth the wait!


Ive always wanted to go skydiving, and I was planning on doing so in September 2009. It was in meeting Cara (a fellow HIBM patient passing through South Africa and one heck of a woman) that I was inspired to use my sense of adventure and make a difference in the smallest of ways. The seed was planted, and with loads of help from family and friends, the concept of Krazee 4 Kripples was born! On 21 November 2009 (1st attempt) we had live bands performing, T-shirts printed sporting the logo Krazee 4 Kripples, meat to braai, and even though we didnt get to jump, everyone left having had a great time! We were proud to say that a fair amount had been raised in favor of the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of South Africa (Gauteng Branch), and that the event had turned out to be a huge hit!


Another day of rollercoaster emotions was experienced on D-Day. Waking up to yet another cloudy day, with thunderstorms predicted, we were preparing ourselves for the probability of another postponement. Nonetheless we hung around, and miraculously, out of nowhere, the heavens cleared up to reveal the most perfect shade of blue! Within minutes I was suited up and ready to go, first up in a series of five jumps in support of Krazee 4 Kripples. Of these, four of us have some form of muscular dystrophy.


Boy o boy! How does one even begin to try and describe the feeling of flying above the clouds, jumping out at 3,5 km, freefalling at a speed of 160km/h for half a minute and then gently gliding down to earth again??? It was everything and more than I ever imagined it to be! Imagine my surprise as I get to earth all hyped up on the adrenaline rush and yelling WOO HOO just to find my friends and family all wiping away tears! Hehehe such drama queens!


Next in line were Dawie and Hannetjie, then Piet and finally my sister Vickey. Each one Im sure experienced their jump in a unique way, and by looking at them as they landed, I could see the change that this experience had effected within them. The confidence it restored in some, the pride it brought back to others, these are the key elements that, together with fulfilling a dream of my own, I will be carrying with me forever.


Krazee 4 Kripples was a seed I had planted. It was nurtured and nourished by family and friends, and has blossomed into a flower that will bloom once a year for many years to come. Every year we will be hosting a different activity in which both affected and non-affected people may take part. And we are hoping that with each passing year, more and more members will come out and participate and have some fun with us!


Being disabled doesnt prevent me from doing most things normal people get to do. All I need is a little more time, a little more creativity, a little more planning and awesome people willing to assist!


So many great people contributed to the success of this event. Cara inspired me to organize an event; Rachelle came up with the coolest of graphic designs and did all the communication, as well as helped out with all the arrangements along with my Mom. My Mom seems to know everybody, and everybody seems to know my Mom! My cousin Rick arranged the bands to perform for free and the Johannesburg Skydiving Club was generous in allowing us to enjoy their facilities. A special thanks to Crazy Dave van der Merwe from Skyhigh Tandems. This awesome guy was the only tandem master I could find that was willing to assist us in jumping and without hesitation came up with a way to ensure our landings would be safe. It is thanks to individuals like Dave who dont mind going the extra mile in assisting others, that I am still able to pursue my sense of adventure! Dave You Rock!

DAWIES TANDEM SKYDIVE

Dawie Lamprecht from Mountain View Pretoria wants to thank all his sponsors, friends and family:


Thanks indeed to all my sponsors who made this once in a life time experience on Saturday the 30 January 2010 possible. Thank you all for your sponsorships and for your donations to the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of South Africa.


A special thanks to Leanne Opperman for organizing the event and all the hard work. Thank you to all my friends and family for you support and prayers.


Last but not the least thank you LORD our GOD for your blessings and protection on this special day and thank you FATHER that this event made it possible to help those in need.

MY SPONSORS

Tensile Rubber (Pty) Ltd, Tensile Rubber Extrusions (Pty) Ltd, Silicon Extrusions (Pty) Ltd, Precision Rubber Moulders (Pty) Ltd and BPC HR Solutions.

WHY SKYDIVING FOR ME?

I was diagnosed with Becker Muscular Dystrophy after completing intensive military training in 1988 in the SADF.


I decided to do something very extreme and crazy to proof to myself that Im in a position to do anything when I put my mind to it, doesnt matter how big or small it is or what your circumstances are.


Ive decided to join the MDSA and made friends with other members. Leanne Opperman from Carletonville had this dream to skydive and asked to join her. It came to my mind that this is the ideal opportunity to do something crazy and I could actually be part of a fund raising project to help the disabled in need.

MY EXPERIENCE

Its a feeling that you cant really describe to someone, all I can say is, it was an awesome experience to feel so free, especially when you freefall for the first 6000 feet at a speed of 120mph for 40 sec. Its an amazing feeling to hover like an eagle 15000 feet above mother Earth, it makes you realize how small we are and how great our FATHER in heaven is.


My muscles didnt play any roll and its fantastic that one can enjoy yourself so much without any effort at all.

MY MESSAGE

My message to all out there with similar disabilities are, get out, enjoy life as far as possible to the full, and try not to think about your disability, except and respect yourself for who you are, and make GOD part of your lifestyle and enjoy the absolute endless love from our FATHER above.
Im a great believer and I believe in GOD our LORD creator of heaven and earth and all things alive. Ive learned to make the best of my situation and I always maintained a healthy lifestyle.


I never had a bad smoking and drinking habit, and I believe that made a huge difference in my life and helped me to be a stronger human been today.


I thank GOD for every other day, and that I can experience all the wonders HE created. Amen.


With great love, joy and appreciation for life.


Take care,
Dawie Lamprecht

MY TANDEM SKYDIVE

Many thanks to ABSA Home loans who made my dream came true by sponsoring my Tandem Skydive, to Pieter Joubert for transferring his sponsorship to me, to the event organizer Leanne Opperman, to Dave and all the wonderful people that were there for me. Thanks to Dawie Lamprecht who invited me and arranged to get me to the event.


Greetings
Lyle Smook

KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH NEWS

KZN BRANCH REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2011

This year as chairman has been a year of learning. It has really taken me out of my comfort zone and pushed me into new things which have been a rewarding challenge. I have been working very closely with our National Office and our executive committee. I have had great support from Maryna, who has sadly left the Foundation, but during her short time with us she helped us at our KZN Branch to put a few systems in place that have been a great help.

Attention during this year has been on office administration, sorting out bank accounts, investment accounts, and financials. We spent a good part of the year doing home visits and aiding with equipment to our members. Heather worked closely with our community and we created a tremendous amount of awareness and captured many new families who were reaching out for help. My biggest challenge this year has been to understand the governance of the Foundation.

Some of the projects we have been working on this year

We held our telecon conference in Feb with the KZN members.
We gave out three wheelchairs in March.
We found a new family in need of support and help.
We had a committee meeting in Hillcrest at the Clifton Hill Legends Lifestyle.
Heather was sick for a while and then resigned from the MDF but after many discussions has been re-employed by the KZN Branch.
The month of May was Africa Bike Week; this was a great success and couldn’t have been done without the McKenzie family, who came down for the weekend with Heather. Together the total amount raised was just under R40 000.
In June we held another committee meeting at Ari Seirlis’s home in Gillitts. Kevin Jones resigned due to other commitments, and Ari agreed to be vice-chairman for us. Thanks to everyone.
In July we gave out another chair to Mfundo Mthembu. Two new families were helped and had home visits.
Newspaper articles were placed and many events were organised by Heather for awareness.
We approved a wheelchair which is on order for Chante Millar.
In October two schools did civvies days for us. Well done Heather for initiating this.
Clinics were attended by Heather and me, which has created great awareness and is building good relationships.
A new family was home visited and I delivered a bi pap machine for loan.
Posters have been placed around with all our information on them in different languages.

I would like to thank the committee, Theuns Langenhoven and Pieter Joubert, and of course Ari for their continuous support during this year. Heather, you have been fantastic, and thanks for your great support over the last few months.

Sincerely

Maxine Strydom
Chairman

CAPE BRANCH NEWS

16th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY FOUNDATION, CAPE BRANCH – 20 AUGUST 2011

CAPE BRANCH REPORT FOR AUGUST 2011

Report Period August 2010 to August 2011

WELCOME

A warm welcome to everyone present today.

APOLOGIES

S Kendall; D & S Lombard; C Pollock; J Arendze; H George

OVERVIEW

In spite of great financial restraints within the economy, we have held our own and maintained steady growth within our branch. We are stronger today as a structured NPO organization than ever before, both financially and as a service organization. Financially, though, it has been difficult due to Lotto not allocating any funding to us within the last two fiscal years. Our management style is extremely frugal regarding financial matters, and this has indeed been advantageous to us in running our office and keeping all our services up and running.

Our Adult Support Group has continued on a monthly basis and I thank everyone concerned in supporting the group for your continued loyal support and for the strong leadership from Sheila and Sandra.

We have continued taking out the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy children once a term or entertaining them at the office with workshops or motivational talks and/or movies.

In September last year we again took the DMD children to Grand West for Casual Day. This is, as you all know, a day of fun and games with ten pin bowling or movies for the older children. The Starz Cinema at Grand West are so helpful and take the cinema seats out of the back row of the cinema to allow the wheelchairs to fit in. The older boys really enjoyed “Going to the Movies” and our good friends Reach for a Dream kindly sponsored this outing for us. Our only expense was the goodie bags to take home to family and siblings.

We are all set to do the same again this year.

We have had four DMD parents meetings in the past year. Unfortunately we lost three of our older boys during the year – Juan, Nicholas and Wayne.

As mentioned in last year’s report, the parking in front of the building needed to be attended to. It has been improved by lowering the kerb. Unfortunately we now have a greater problem in that vagrants are sleeping in front of our building, and while we feel extremely sorry for them, they really untidy and soil the front entrance, and they sleep very late in winter and we have to wake them up to get them to move before we can begin work in the mornings.

We shall have to consider putting fencing up to prevent this from happening in future for health reasons and to secure our premises. This will have to be carefully planned to still allow easy access.

You might have noticed that we’ve had the building painted outside and we’ve also opened up another office, taking away the storeroom in front. We now have three offices for staff members.

Very importantly we have also started a second-hand clothing bank under Sheila’s guidance, which is open Tuesday and Friday mornings. This initiative is run by friends of MD recruited by Linda. We have had a marvellous opening week and we are indeed proud of Sheila’s having got this venture off the ground as a fundraising source.

Last but not least, it could not have happened without Linda’s wonderful friends who have undertaken to run the shop. A huge thank you to these kind ladies – Desiree du Plessis, Anne-Marie Stevens, Gail McNorton, Adrienne Bruwer and Gail Johnson.

STAFF MEMBERS

Our new administrator, Linda Jonker, took over the office administration on 30 August 2011. She is doing a fine job in structuring the office procedures, as I am sure you are all aware. Linda, thank you for your conscientious approach to your job and for your wonderful friendliness and willingness to assist on so many fronts.

My sincere thanks to Sheila Kendall, who continues doing wonderful work for us as caregiver, but she is so much more because she assists members with appropriate equipment as well as getting publicity for us and fundraising wherever the opportunity arises.

Wendy Moolman left to have her baby and her post has been filled by Sandra Bredell, who is doing amazing work with her keen eye at spotting gaps that need attention, and she wastes no time getting things done. She is an asset to our MD team and we wish her a long and productive stay with us.

Tommy September continues to give us his loyal support and manages our finances in a very careful and meticulous manner. My sincere thanks to him for his loyalty towards me and the Foundation, on both a branch and a national level, and for the time he so willingly gives our organization.

LOTTO FUNDING

Unfortunately our Lotto funding has dried up, as previously mentioned. Two previous applications, namely for 2008 and 2009, were not successful for various reasons, one being that in 2008 the whole of the allocation went to Gauteng to purchase a property. I am always grateful for Lotto’s past support, but the complicated manner in which our applications must now be done rather counts against us. All three branches’ applications fall under our national body. This makes the application huge and extremely complicated to administer. To this end it will be in our best interest to obtain our own NPO number, and we as a branch and our national body have decided to do this as soon as possible. Hence the agenda item for today.

EQUIPMENT BANK

We have managed to purchase three motorized wheelchairs and have also recycled six more. We have lent out a hoist and bath chairs to various people, and as always Kobus Fourie has kept all our members on the move with the repairs he does with great haste to keep everyone happy.

Our sincere thanks to Kobus for a job well done.

FUNDING

Our national body continues to fund our branch to the value of R10,000 per month. We are extremely grateful for this contribution as it goes towards much-needed office expenses.

We are fortunate to have received funding from the Department of Social Development to the sum of R72,788 per annum. We affiliate ourselves very closely with them, and this affords us opportunities to do outreach programmes for their many services within the community. Because of their part-funding for our counsellor, it is mandatory that they undertake an audit of our offices. This is a very thorough audit of everything we have and every service we provide. They enquire about our long-term planning, budgeting and even property maintenance. Personally I enjoy these visits because it means we have our house in order and on a par with other organizations. Feedback is also of supreme importance for this subsidy.

DONATIONS

To be covered under financial report.

UPCOMING BRANCH ACTIVITIES

Committee meetings continue on the second Monday of every month.

Adult Support Group meetings on the first Saturday of each month.

Thursday 8 September – MD Childrens’ outing to Grand West – all children welcome but please liaise with the Office.

Saturday 17 September – National AGM.

28,29,30 October – Tea Garden at Trovato House Wynberg. Part of Cape Society of Floral Art.

Thursday 17 October – DMD Christmas outing.

Saturday 3 December – Adult Support Group year-end function.

Monday 5 December – Final Cape Branch committee meeting for the year.

Office closure – 15 December 2011 to 4 January 2012.

OUR COMMITTEE

My sincere and grateful thanks to all of our committee members for their loyal support and for the time they so willingly give to the MD cause.

Win van der Berg
Chairperson

GAUTENG BRANCH NEWS

Dear members and friends of the MDF

GAUTENG BRANCH REPORT FOR AUGUST 2010

My term as Chairman has once again been challenging and very positive. The Gauteng branch has been very busy since our AGM in August last year. The highlight of 2009 was certainly the celebration of the Foundation’s 35th anniversary during September. We hosted two fun days for our affected members and their families at the Johannesburg Zoo and National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria. A lot of effort and hard work went into these events. Many companies sponsored us, for which we are very grateful. Thank you to everyone who helped us before and on the day of the function with the collection of cool drinks, food, making of salads, baking of cup cakes, etc. It was a great team effort and your assistance was much appreciated. Every child and all affected members who attended the function received a gift on the day. The feedback received from our members was very positive and it has become clear that there is a need for families to get together on a more regular basis.


Jaco Roets from IDASA (Independent Democratic Alliance of South Africa) arranged with the Gauteng office for a visit by some Iranians. On 8 October 2009, we welcomed a group of Iranian visitors. Pieter Joubert, Suretha Erasmus and Fatima Talia met with them at the NHLS Building in Braamfontein. They wished to share and learn from us.


Eight children from the Philip Kuschlick School were invited to a Christmas party at the New South Baptist Christian School on 21 November 2009. We wish to thank Manoo and Rani Naidoo for inviting the children. They all received presents and the school therapist thanked all involved. On 27 November 2009, the children were also invited to an outing and treat by the counsellor from the JHB Zoo. A bus was sponsored and the day was enjoyed by them all.


On 30 January 2010 − after months of planning, two cancellations and heaps of excitement − affected members could eventually do their skydiving jump at the Johannesburg Skydiving Club. A special thanks to Lee-Anne Opperman and her family who made all the arrangements. Lee-Anne also raised funds for us with the event. We also want to thank Dave van der Merwe from Skyhigh Tandems, who ensured that our members were safe.


On 20 February 2010, we had our strategy-planning meeting at the Kloofendal Nature Reserve. The meeting was held in a very positive spirit and many goals were identified for the year ahead. We also had our monthly teleconference meetings. Thank you to all members of the Gauteng committee for their dedication and commitment to making a success of our branch. Pieter Joubert obtained much-needed funds from donors for people in need of specialised equipment and attended to all activities to assist members of our branch. On a national level he has also assisted the newly appointed administrator with telephone queries and many other tasks during the past year.


On 10 and 11 March Prof Doug Biggar from Toronto, Canada, who is a researcher on the use of steroids for Duchenne/Becker boys, and Helen Posselt from Australia, who is a leading lecturer on physiotherapy for children, visited our region. A workshop was held at the JHB Hospital for doctors and physiotherapists, and parents of Duchenne/Becker boys at the Unitas Hospital in Pretoria. The workshops were well attended and a lot was learnt.


Our branch is responsible for obtaining funds from donors and, through our fundraising efforts, for assisting our members with specialised equipment. We have been very fortunate to receive a grant of R208,000 from the NLDTF for our 2007 application. We are now in the position to appoint a counsellor who can provide counselling and support to affected members and families. We are very grateful for the funding from the Lotto Board as well as the amount of R10,000 received monthly from our National body towards administrative and operational running costs.


We are striving to reach out to all persons affected by MD and assist with information and equipment when the need arises and funds are available.


Awareness


The Centurion News, Media Eastern Times and Roodepoort Record newspapers placed articles for our branch in creating awareness.


Yusuf Talia, who is affected with Duchenne MD, attended a reception and panel discussion at the Nelson Mandela Foundation on Saturday, 10 July 2010. The invitation was from 1GOAL: Education for All. Here, the leaders of civil society reflected on our progress to date and the way forward for global quality education. Yusuf represented Wits University at the event. Thank you Yusuf for the campaigning you do for all disabled persons.


Tshidi Makhudu was invited to do a talk for the SABC on disabilities, and the programme will be broadcast on National Women’s Day, 9 August 2010.


Fundraising


We have made special appeals to companies for funding towards equipment and raised much needed funds through our fundraising efforts. Pieter Joubert has once again been very successful in obtaining funds from donors to enable us to assist members with equipment to improve their quality of life. We would like to thank Pieter for all his efforts and hard work.


The SCCU held their annual golf day on 28 August 2009 at the Swartkops Golf Course. The funds raised were used to buy equipment. We would like to thank Jan Ferreira, Glynis Breytenbach and Ilse Grobler for all their efforts to raise funds for us.


We participated in the Casual Day project on 4 September 2009 and raised funds for our branch. Pieter Joubert and I attended a function during February 2010 at the Indaba Hotel. We are again participating this year and hope to sell many more stickers than last year. Thank you to all our members who have assisted in the past and who assisted us again this year with the selling of stickers.


Netcare’s North East Region hosted a charity golf day on 9 September 2009 at the Woodhill Country Club, Pretoria. At the function Pieter and I received a cheque in the amount of R109,000 from Dr Karen Prins. We wish to thank Dr Prins, Ronel Leyds and all the other parties involved for their kindness, understanding and support. These funds were used to purchase much-needed equipment for members who had been on our waiting list for quite a long time.


Support and care


The Soweto Support Group is seeing to the needs of people affected by muscular dystrophy in their community and I would like to thank Tshidi Makhudu and Zenzele and Elaine Mabokwe for the work that they do to assist our members.


Suretha Erasmus is working for the Division of Human Genetics as a genetic counsellor and is a great asset to our branch with her expertise. We would like to thank her for all her assistance and willingness to help with information and referrals to doctors and clinics.


We would once again like to thank Francois Honiball for always being willing to help members affected by Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).


On 1 May 2010, the Pretoria support group held its first function in Pretoria. The venue was the Reformed Church of Wapadrand. They had a braai and the function was well attended. Thank you to Jan and Dee Ferreira, who are the leaders of this support group. Other families are also welcome to join the group.


There is always a need for support groups within the MDF structures, and members who may be willing to take part are encouraged.


Equipment


Pieter Joubert has made various applications to trust funds and donors to assist us with funding so that we may support our members with specialised equipment. It is good to know that there are still people and companies out there who support our cause.


Our branch has assisted twenty-six members with various types of equipment, which includes customised power wheelchairs, electric bath lifts, pressure care cushions, electric patient hoists, pressure care tube mattresses, portable batteries, etc.


Through our intervention, the Department of Health, Gauteng has also assisted members with motorised wheelchairs. We would like to thank Mrs Tharina Coetzee, occupational therapist at the Baragwanath Hospital, for all her efforts to assist our members.


On 5 August, Mbuso Sibango, 11 years of age, who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, received a motorised wheelchair donated by Game at a function held by e-TV at the Monte Casino Ballroom, for which we are truly grateful. We would like to thank the National Project Organiser of Casual Day, Mrs Annelise De Jager, who made the arrangements. Rudi van Wyk went to fetch Mbuso and his mother in Rondebult, Germiston. The handover was scheduled for 21h30, after which he took them back to their house. We also wish to thank Suretha Erasmus, who represented the Gauteng branch at the function. Suretha also gave Mbuso a gift from all of us.


Appreciation


Our branch would like to extend our sincerest gratitude to Mrs Elinor Richards of Rosebank Accountants, who has been doing our bookkeeping, and also to Mrs Lize Daly from Walker & Daly Chartered Accountants, who have been auditing our books for us at no cost.


We are very grateful to the Unisa campus in Florida Park for allowing us to park the kombi at their safe and secure premises at no cost.


We would also like to thank Mr Simon Richards, who has attended to all our computer problems at no cost.


Reach For A Dream has fulfilled many of our children’s dreams in the past year and we hope you have enjoyed reading about it in the MDF magazine. A great thank you goes to Mrs Angie Pape and her team from JHB for making our children’s dreams come true.


General


We are truly grateful for all the donations made in the last year, especially by AfriSam SA (Pty) Ltd, Ampath Trust, Atlin Chemicals, Mr E Barnardo, Barrow Construction (Pty) Ltd, Adv AP Bezuidenhout, Bitrate cc, Bidvest Chairman’s Fund, Carl and Emily Fuchs Foundation, Christelike Vereeniging van Suid Afrika, Copper Tubing Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cyanre (Edms) Bpk, Fillrite cc, George Elkin Charity Trust, Hatch Africa (Pty) Ltd, Kayreed Board and Timbers, Kirsh Management Services (Pty) Ltd, Laerskool Generaal Christiaan De Wet, Nashua North, Netcare Tarriff Committee, P.A.E. (Proprietary) Ltd, Potchefstroom Rotary Club, Sasol Polymers, Mrs M Pretorius, Mr H van Rensburg, Rotary Annes Club, Mrs SK Wannenburg, Mrs J Wright and several others. Each contribution makes a difference that enables us to provide valuable support to our members.


The Lotto board is currently busy with our application for 2008 and we are awaiting their response.


There is always a need for more people to take part in the events of the MDF. Please contact the Gauteng office should you be able to assist us in any way. We constantly initiate projects, and volunteers are certainly most welcome.


Each and every one who has served on the Gauteng committee has made a contribution in the spirit of the MDF and it has been a pleasure to work with you. Once again, thank you to all our dedicated committee members as well as other members who are assisting us with fundraising, etc. Your unwavering commitment and support is much appreciated.


Sincerely
Theuns Langenhoven
Chairman

NATIONAL BRANCH NEWS

MDF NATIONAL CHAIRMAN’S REPORT – 2010
By Theuns Langenhoven

NATIONAL CHAIRMAN'S AGM REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 2010

Introduction


It is with pleasure that I present this report to the members of the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of South Africa (MDF). The year has gone by at a tremendous speed, and as I look back upon the past year and the achievements of the MDF, I realise that there is so much more that needs to be done.


The past year produced a number of challenges which took some time and effort to address, which could not have been achieved without the dedication of the administrative team and volunteer members of the MDF Executive Committee.


Administration


An important and exciting milestone was the appointment of Su Bester, the new administrator for our National office. I would like to thank Su for her tenacity in learning the ways of the Foundation and ensuring that the administrative tasks were executed with diligence. I would also like to thank Pieter Joubert from our Gauteng branch office who assisted with many tasks before and after Su’s appointment to ensure that the transition went smoothly. A special thanks to Tommy September for standing as National Treasurer.


The new banking and internet banking system, “Netbank Business”, was rolled out and fully implemented during the year. The new system ensures security and peace of mind with regard to the various payments made per month for our fundraising partners, Crossbow Marketing. This did not go without hiccups, and we want to thank Crossbow for their patience in this regard.


During March 2010 the National office almost had a complete shutdown due to stolen Telkom cables in the vicinity. I want to thank Pieter Joubert for allowing Su to work from the Gauteng office for the whole period, enabling Su to do the work of the National office.


All narrative reports (current and backlog) related to the non-profit organisation (NPO) status were submitted to the Department of Social Development, and confirmation was received from the Department of our NPO status for the 2010 year.


We re-applied to The South African Revenue Service for registration under Section 18(a) of the Income Tax Act, and we received confirmation of this registration, which will enable the National office and all the branches to issue tax exemption certificates to all donors.


Strategic Planning Session


A very successful strategic planning session was held in January 2010. Ari Seirlis, National Director of QASA, was the guest speaker and shared many ideas to consider for our organization.


The committee members agreed upon a detailed business plan and this forms the basis of a roll-out plan, currently underway to increase the effectiveness of the Foundation, awareness of MD and general improvement of the interaction with our members.


Fundraising


Crossbow Marketing

The main source of income for the National office of the MDF is generated by Roy Harding and his dedicated team at Crossbow Marketing. They form an instrumental part of the MDF’s strategy and ability to survive and provide the service we are providing. Without their contribution we would be unable to continue providing a service and support structures to families of affected members.


Roy is in the process of creating new children’s books and CD's to market, and we are very excited to see the final product, which will form the basis of the fundraising effort on behalf of the MDF. The year planner, marketed by them, is still very popular and continues to yield very good returns for the MDF.


We would like to thank Roy and his team for their contribution to the Foundation and we hope that we will continue to have a long relationship with them.


National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund (NLDTF)


We would like to thank the NLDTF for the grant received for the 2007 application. The following grants were received towards the branches:


Cape - R506 000
Gauteng - R208 800
KZN - R263 500
Total - R978 900


The 2008 application is currently being processed, and we are hoping to finalise this with them soon.


Private donors


We would like to thank each and every person or company who has donated, either in time or in money, to the Foundation. We are humbled by the generosity of so many people and hope that, through diligent and responsible implementation of the funding, we will be able to satisfy donors that funding is used correctly, and hopefully be able to secure future donations.


Financials


The audited financial statements of the MDF were presented to the AGM and approved. We would like to thank Nicolette Engels of Lemique Consulting for doing the bookkeeping of the National office, as well as the auditor, Jan Cronjé, of the auditing firm Jooste Cronje Chartered Accountants.


National office activities


National Grant to Branches


The National office was in a position to make a grant of R10 000 every month to each branch towards administrative and operational running costs. This source of income to the branches is intended to lighten the load on the branches to empower and enable them to give support to the affected members where required. The National office acknowledges that this contribution covers a small part of the funding required by the branches to do the good work they are doing, and we would like to thank every branch committee member for their hard work and effort to raise the funding required to deliver the service to the members of the MDF.


Magazine


The National MDF is required to produce and distribute three magazines per annum. With the help of the contributing advertisers, we managed to keep the cost as low as possible, which assisted us to focus on the quality of the magazine. As we celebrated the MDF’s 35th anniversary, it was decided to produce the magazine in colour. We received positive response from our readers, which led to this decision. We would also like to thank Keith Richmond for his ongoing service in editing every issue of our magazine; we appreciate his willingness to give of his time to assist us.


Caring for Children with MD Booklet


The aim of this booklet is to tell people about the kind of help they can get, and the professionals they will come into contact with, when they have a child with muscular dystrophy. The booklet was compiled by the late Ilse Langenhoven of the Gauteng branch. We had these books printed for distribution at clinics and doctors’ rooms and for parents in all provinces.


Website


MegaWeb, our internet supplier, is currently working on a new website for the Foundation. We hope that the new website will be more user-friendly, with much more information and interactive features.


MDF’s 35th Anniversary


The highlight of 2009 was certainly the celebration of the Foundation’s 35th anniversary during September 2009. The Gauteng branch hosted two fun days for our affected members and their families at the Johannesburg Zoo and National Zoological Gardens in Pretoria. A lot of effort and hard work went into these events and a lot of awareness was created.


Parent Project


We were very fortunate this year to have had representatives from overseas visiting us in Cape Town, Durban and Gauteng. The input by Prof Doug Biggar from Canada on Duchenne and Helen Posselt from Australia on physiotherapy for Duchenne boys was very enlightening. All three branches hosted workshops and meetings attended by members, doctors and interested parties in the medical arena as part of a national roadshow, in creating awareness and facilitating knowledge transfer. The workshops were received very well and planning for a follow-up visit is underway.


We funded two of our members, Colin McKenzie and Jan Ferreira, to attend the USA Parent Project Conference in Denver, Colorado, during June 2010.Both Colin and Jan made presentations and distributed valuable information and knowledge they gained at the conference. The MDF regards this annual event as an important item on the calendar to ensure that we stay abreast of latest trends and research in the field of Duchenne and Becker dystrophy.


Africa Bike Week


Africa Bike Week is the biggest Harley-Davidson motorcycle ride-out in South Africa and provides a platform for all the Harley-Owners Group (HOG) members to meet and interact with riders as well as other HOG members from all over the country.


The MDF, for a second year, attended the Africa Bike Week at Margate. This week was hosted by the Harley-Davidson Club and the organisers have allowed the MDF to participate in the festivities for fundraising and awareness. We were allowed to set up two stalls this year where we sold merchandise and fast food and created awareness. I would like to thank KZN branch for again hosting this year’s event.


Awareness


SisterWeb placed our information on their website for people from the healthcare section.


The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa published an article about MD in their magazine, which is distributed to approximately 65 000 nurses across the country.


The magazine Mum’s Mail published our contact details in their latest issue.


The branches also placed articles in various local community newspapers to create awareness.


We are in the process of developing a video production for use in television advertisements and awareness programs. Discussions are underway with a production company.


Research


We paid the final instalment of the funding on the research project towards PTC 124 by Dr Rene Goliath in Cape Town. The purpose of this project is to screen known Duchenne boys to assess whether they would be candidates for a treatment being trialled in the US.


World Alliance of Neuromuscular Disorder Associations (WANDA)


Lee Leith is our representative for WANDA and recently sent them a PowerPoint presentation, which was read by the chairman on her behalf at the conference in Naples.


Appreciation


Lastly, I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to all the members of the National Committee, who gave their time and expertise and contributed to making 2010 a successful year for the Foundation. As in the past, we will in future strive to assist our affected members in any way we can to improve their quality of life.

CAPE BRANCH NEWS

15th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY FOUNDATION, CAPE BRANCH 14 AUGUST 2010.

CAPE BRANCH REPORT 2010

WELCOME


A warm welcome to everyone present today.


Overview


It has been a great year for the growth of our branch. The world cup soccer vibe really rubbed off on us all and gave us lots of excitement. There was entertaining soccer to watch, albeit for most of us, from our armchairs and positive energy which the event generated reached as all. As usual funds were tight but the Lotto Grant allowed us to continue providing the support structure which we have in place and which our members are accustomed to.


We were able to continue the Adult Support Group activities on a monthly basis and which are well attended and much enjoyed by all.


The outings for the disabled children from Astra School continue once a term and they are really enjoyed by the children. We have had a motivational film, a fabric painting workshop where each child made himself a soccer themed cushion to keep on their beds. The workshop was very ably led by Rushdin Benjamin of the adult support group and the sewing was gone by Fatima Naidoo and Falieda. It was a lovely and rewarding experience for all.


Speaking of the World Cup, four members of the adult support meeting went to watch the quarter final match in Cape Town. Mr Viren Jagarnath invited them along and supervised their transport and care. It was an extremely generous gesture and greatly appreciated by all.


In September last year on disabled day we took the M.D children to Grand West Wonderland for a morning of fun and games which was sponsored by the Wonderland arcade themselves. Reach for a Dream sponsored the discounted lunches at Wimpy and the milkshakes from Milky Lane. It was a lovely morning with the older children enjoying ten pin bowling in a very competitive manner. This is always a wonderful morning and great fun for everyone.


As usual we will again have an outing to Grand West to celebrate awareness month and disabled day and we plan to have an end of the year function for our children as well. We have had Duchenne Parent meetings which will be discussed in the report to follow. The main event was the Parent Project Conference which we held for Duchenne and Becker families.


You will have noticed that the beautiful shade tree has gone from in front of our building. It was uprooted and knocked right over the front of our building on a Sunday morning. We have had it cleared and are hoping to improve the drive up entrance to our building by dropping the kerb to the road level to improve accessibility.


Staff Members


Claudette de Roubaix has left our employ, and Sheila Kendal has been helping us in the office. We are in the process of making an appointment to the administrators post. Our sincere thanks to Sheila for kindly and efficiently stepping in.


Wendy Moolman our counsellor, continues to do a good job. She has been instrumental in ensuring a sound structure is in place in the office for our records keeping and along with Sheila’s assistance the administrative side has been upgraded.Wendy continues to visit hospitals, mainly Red Cross Children’s Hospital, and schools ensuring that any M.D patient has the necessary support needed. We thank her for her diligence in caring for our members.


Sheila Kendal, with all her wonderful knowledge of caregiving continues in her role as caregiver within the Adult Support Group and to any other of our members in need. A special word of thanks to Sheila for so willingly helping us with the office administration during our time of need.


Tommy September continues to manage our books on a monthly basis. A sincere thank you to Tommy for once again keeping a frugal eye on all fiscal matters.


EQUIPMENT BANK


With the Lotto funding we were able to continue purchasing motorised wheelchairs for 5 more of our members. We continue to service and supply tyres and batteries for wheelchairs as well as any other equipment which a member may need. We have also upgraded (supplied larger wheelchairs) to three of our children. A special word of thanks to Kobus for his wonderful assistance with the wheelchair repairs for our members.


FUNDING:


NATIONAL:


Our National body has funded us to the value of R10 000.00pm. However, at present they are experiencing a cash flow problem and have stopped this funding until further notice.We are waiting to hear from them if this is only a temporary situation. We sincerely do hope so.


LOTTO FUNDING:


We have our 2008/2009 application in with the Lotto Committee now. I believe they are busy with the 2008 forms now. We are hopeful that we will once again be successful in receiving grants for some of our ongoing projects.


OTHER:


Goodwood Rotarians: Half of the proceeds of their Golf day held in October last year at King David Country Club was R10000.00, Graaff Trust Donated R5000.00 ,Mr Hoffman R2000.00, Department of Social Development granted us R58461.83


Continued Branch Activities


Adult Support Groups continue on the first Saturday of each month at 10:00am at our community centre.
Caregivers assistance and support run simultaneously with the adult support group.
Duchenne Parent Support groups are held once a term
Duchenne & Dystrophy children: 1X workshop / outing per term
Our Committee:


My sincere and grateful thanks to all of our committee members for their loyal support, and the willingness and for the time they give to the M.D cause.


Win van der Berg
CHAIRPERSON

KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH NEWS

KZN BRANCH OF THE MDF ANNUAL REPORT – AGM 2010

KWAZULU-NATAL BRANCH REPORT 2010

It gives me great pleasure to present the Annual Report for the KwaZulu-Natal branch. We have entered a new era in that we once again have a Branch administrator and this has enabled us to greatly increase our outreach and the amount we can do for our members.


Heather Ainsworth joined us in August 2009 and she currently works five mornings a week in the office. Her brief included re-establishing the branch office, raising the profile of the branch, ensuring the needs of members are identified, re-establishing relationships with schools who have children with neuromuscular diseases and with the neuromuscular clinic at Albert Luthuli, and, latterly, fund raising. Those of you who have interacted with Heather will know that she has started to make an impact in many of these areas.


Distribution of Equipment


Over the past twelve months we have managed to distribute the following equipment:


4 manual wheelchairs


12 electric wheelchairs. Two of these power chairs were acquired from people who no longer had need of them. Four of these chairs were for children at Ethembeni School. We were able to provide these four chairs through a generous donation which was organised for us by Colin MacKenzie. The other chairs we were able to fund through funding received from the National Lottery Distribution Trust.


We provided grab rails for one member and a toilet seat raiser and bath chair for another member.


Two members were assisted with repairs to their chairs and one of these members also was assisted with the provision of batteries for her chair.


Incontinence aids were provided to two members and one member was assisted with accessing medication


We also provided a bed and trailer for one member and a power chair carrier for another member.


Relationships with Schools


Heather has worked hard at building relationships with those schools where we have identified that children with a neuromuscular disease are enrolled. We usually try to work closely with the physio department in each school as the physios interact closely with these children. Over the past year Heather has visited Open Air School and she was also part of a group of people who also visited Ethembeni School in Inchanga and KwaZamokuhle School outside Estcourt.


Neuromuscular Clinic


Heather tries to attend every neuromuscular clinic every fortnight. It is a wonderful opportunity for to reconnect with old members, meet new members and also to build relationships with medical personnel who are such an important part of the lives of our members.


Two big projects which we were involved in were hosting a visit by two Duchenne experts and the manning of two stalls for Africa Bike Week.


In March Doug Biggar, a doctor with a special interest in the use of steroid treatment for Duchenne boys and Helen Posselt a physiotherapist with many years experience of treating Duchenne boys visited South Africa. They visited Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. Helen and Doug addressed two workshops in Durban, one was for doctors and physios and the second workshop was for parents of Duchenne boys. We would like to thank Dr Mubaiwa and his team for arranging for us to use the Seminar Room at Albert Luthuli. For the parents it was an opportunity not only to gain knowledge but also to network with other parents who were experiencing similar problems. It is hard being the parent of a Duchenne boy and sometimes it feels like no one else truly understands the difficulties of daily life so the opportunity to network is always welcome.


Africa Bike Week was held in Margate for the second year this year. Last year the national body organised the Muscular Dystrophy stall but this year the KZN branch was asked to organise this. Africa Bike Week is an annual event organised by Harley Davidson Africa for all Harley owners. Internationally Muscular Dystrophy is the cause that Harley supports and Harley Africa contribute to this by providing stalls free of charge to us for us to use in whatever way we choose. This year we asked to have two stalls, one which would essentially be a promotional stall where there were raffles and the other a food stall. It was a mammoth undertaking and we learned many lessons along the way which we will use in planning next year’s event. I want to pay a special tribute to Colin and Suzie MacKenzie, John Sheekey and Heather who really did so much to help pull this event off. Africa Bike Week is scheduled to be held in Margate for another three years before possibly moving on to another centre so we will be involved for at least that long.


Fundraising


This year was the first time ever we received Lotto funding and we were very excited to learn that we had been awarded R263 500.00 for the purchase of wheelchairs and hoists.


Heather has also organised some fund raisers and I am sure that in the months ahead more events will be forthcoming. Some of these fund raisers were for specific people as it if often easier to get people to part with their money for a tangible person or cause.


We have also received a regular grant from the National committee of R10 000.00 per month. This money is intended to pay for the costs of running a branch, such as administrator, counsellor, rent, etc. We would like to thank National for that grant. We have also worked at maintaining our good working relationship with the Durban office of Crossbow Marketing as their work enables the Foundation to be able to fund Branches, research and other projects.


In addition to these sources of income we have received some income from the sale of recipe books and from the sale of Christmas cards. We would like to thank all those who sold our cards and special thanks must go to Nicky Armstrong who sat at the Westville Spar selling recipe books.


We also received funds from a fundraising venture called Road for Recovery. This was a group of young people whose friend had Guilian Barre Syndrome and who recovered from it. They wanted to raise funds for someone else and identified Muscular Dystrophy as a cause they wanted to support. The funds were obtained as a result of a skate boarding trip from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.


Other activities


The Branch lent its support to two ventures which Maxine Strydom spearheaded. Maxine undertook to be part of the Darius Goes West project and she arranged for DVD’s to be converted into SA format and sold. The Strydom family also needed to fund the purchase of a new power chair and other equipment for Jarryd and the Branch lent its support to their efforts.


One of the ways to raise the profile of the organisation is to ensure that we get regular publicity and Heather has made a special effort to try to get each of our equipment handovers in one of the community newspapers. We were also able to get a slot on Diane Macpherson’s The Good Stuff programme on East Coast Radio last year.


In the course of Heather’s work she has met lots of new members and she has also ensured that our database is updated with these members’ details so that we can begin to build a more accurate picture of exactly who our membership base is.


Maxine Strydom and Colin MacKenzie have also been very supportive to other parents and are always willing to share the knowledge which they have gained from living with Duchenne boys. Anxious parents find it really helpful to talk to someone else who walks the same road and I want to thank both of them for being so willing to give of their time.


As a branch we continue to participate in the National Body. Attendance at meetings has been shared between us.


I would like to end by thanking everyone who in some way has helped and contributed to the growth and development of the Branch over the past year. You will see from all that I have reported on that having Heather in the office has made a big impact in terms of being able to make a difference in members’ lives. I would like to thank Bruce Theunissen for his work on our accounts and Mandy MacAlpin for performing the duties of Accounting Officer and for producing our Annual Financial Statements. Lastly I would like to thank Kevin, Maxine and Colin for serving on the Branch committee for the past year. I welcome the fact that we will have a new enlarged committee in the coming year.

Wendy Jones
Chairperson