Now, five months into 2023, the year has started to feel more normal than the years since 2020, with COVID almost feeling like a thing of the past. We are still cautious and still wear our masks to ensure the continued health and safety of those in our care. COVID has taught us a lot and hopefully made us more aware and prepared if anything like it should ever happen again. So our main focus has now returned to providing our residents with all they need to live healthy, happy, and fulfilling lives.
Department of Mental Health Audit
Our first audit for this year took place on the morning of February 16, 2023. The audits are conducted by the Department of Mental Health in order to monitor and assist NGOs in our sector. We used to only have one audit per year, but this has changed to three. Passing our audits is essential for Woodside, as the audits are what determine if we are able to apply for our operating licence each year. The audit went well. Our next audit is scheduled for May 18, 2023.
Changes at Woodside
Woodside’s matron, Tania Stegmann, left Woodside after 5 years of service due to some health difficulties that she had been experiencing. Sr. Rauletta Maarman, a registered nurse who has been at Woodside for 7 years, has taken over as the head of the nursing department. Sr. Maarman has been given the new title of Nursing Services Manager. Sr. Maarman has always been an exceptional nurse, and we know that she will thrive in her new role. One of her first big challenges is to find a registered nurse who will be assisting her on a daily basis and will also be able to split the on-call duties with her. Woodside has used our various social media platforms to advertise for the position, and we have received over 20 CVs from eager nurses. This will be a process, and Woodside will take the time to ensure that the person selected for this integral role is the right person for the job.
Wall Repair Fundraiser
Our first big fundraising project for this year was to raise funds to repair the wall outside one of our wards that faces the road. This wall was incredibly close to collapsing, and we desperately needed to raise funds to repair it and ensure the continued safety and well-being of our residents and staff. We launched the campaign on January 11, 2023, and were able to raise the funding needed for the repairs. The repairs were completed on February 10, 2023.
Rock Wall and Falling Rocks
Woodside has a rock wall at the very back of our property, and over time erosion has caused big chunks of rock to sometimes fall from the wall. Just recently, we had a large piece of rock fall, and it landed dangerously close to our building. The rocks will continue to erode and fall, and we are concerned that the next piece of rock will be big enough to cause damage to our building or, worse yet, possibly cause injury to our residents or staff. We are still trying to find someone who could possibly assist us with finding a way to secure the rock wall and what kind of costs will be involved. Once we know what the costs will be, we will begin our fundraising campaign to help fund the needed work.
Social Media
A goal that we have set ourselves for this year is for Woodside to attempt to be more active on our various social media platforms. We have planned to do at least one social media post per week, and so far we have been able to achieve this. We are hoping that by increasing our posts on social media, we will be able to garner a bigger following, which will in turn translate to donations for our sanctuary.
Resident Functions
There is nothing that the angels in our care enjoy more than spending time with their friends, dancing to music, and eating yummy treats. So far this year, we have had two big resident functions: one for Valentine’s Day on the 14th of February and one for Easter on the 6th of April. We are thrilled beyond words that our residents are finally able to celebrate these special days together and not just in their separate wards, as was required during COVID. We are looking forward to all the other special days and parties that will take place throughout the year.
Upcoming Resident Outings
We have been invited to two different outings this month. The first is an outing to the National Children’s Theatre to see a performance of The Hobbit, and the second is an invitation from the New Dawn Rotary Club to bring our residents on a day trip to the Field Berry Farm to pick berries. We are just working to finalise the days. Our residents so love going on outings, and we are so happy that we have finally begun to once again go on excursions.
Students
Woodside continues to offer practical training to nursing, care worker, and social work students, and while COVID-19 had a large effect on the number of students that Woodside has been able to assist since 2020, we are happy to report that in 2022, thanks to the lessening of COVID restrictions, Woodside has been able to once again assist students from colleges and training institutions in our community such as The University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), The University of Johannesburg (UJ), Baragwaneth Nursing College, and Anne Latsky Nursing College. Thus, Woodside has been able to assist a total of 90 nursing students and 1 social work student during 2022.
Woodside feels very strongly about assisting these students in their training, as it will provide them with indispensable knowledge in their future careers and will allow them to be better able to assist anyone with disabilities in the future. We are also hopeful that we will be able to offer practical training to even more students in the years to come.
Veggie Garden
Students from UJ come to Woodside to do their practical training. On Friday, March 3, the UJ students who had completed their practical course decided to plant a veggie garden for Woodside as a token of thanks to us. We are so grateful for this act of kindness and are looking forward to seeing the vegetables grow and eventually be harvested.
Woodside Sensory Garden: A New Project
Woodside is very proud of the variety of stimulation programmes we offer to our residents. However, we feel that there is always more that we can do if we are able to find donors who are willing to assist. One project that Woodside has wanted to do for a number of years now is to create a sensory garden for our residents. We do have a donor who is interested in assisting us with this project, and we have had a meeting with our donors to discuss what they would like to do for us. Our donor will be coming through to Woodside to begin the project on the 26th of May.
"A sensory garden is a self-contained garden area that allows visitors to enjoy a wide variety of sensory experiences (multi-sensory, touch, taste, smell, see, and hearing). Sensory gardens are designed to provide opportunities to stimulate the senses, both individually and in combination, in ways that users may not usually encounter.
"Sensory gardens have a wide range of educational and recreational applications. They can be used in the education of special-needs students, including autistic people. As a form of horticultural therapy, they may act as therapeutic gardens to help in the care of people with dementia."
Maintenance Issues
Woodside experienced a number of maintenance issues in April, including a burst geyser and a burst pipe. Since Woodside’s buildings are very old, it is not unusual for us to experience issues with our plumbing. Thankfully, we have a plumber whose family has been assisting Woodside for many years, and he and his team were able to come in and make the needed repairs.
In Closing
Our primary focus continues and will always be the provision of exceptional full-time care to all of our 85 profoundly intellectually disabled residents, 25 of whom are either orphaned or have no means of financial support (our Angels). The adults and children in our care require lifelong assistance and will never be able to care for themselves or filter into normal society, therefore, this is an ongoing project that will require constant funding to help us ensure that all our residents receive the very best care possible. Woodside Sanctuary is a special place where passion and purposefulness come together to help ensure that those who have been placed in our care are able to grow and develop to reach their full potential.
The GlobalGiving community has helped us raise almost 94% (R195 933.18) of our target towards the Woodside’s Angels project, and we simply cannot thank you enough for your incredible support and generosity. Your generous assistance has helped us to be able to continue to keep Woodside’s residents healthy and cared for by enabling us to provide food, medications, toiletries, a place of safety, holistic care, and stimulation for the 25 profoundly intellectually disabled orphans and vulnerable angels in our care.
Like many NPOs, Woodside Sanctuary is heavily reliant on the kindness and generosity of our donors and supporters, and it is only with their compassionate assistance that we are able to continue to maintain the highest standards of care and provide excellent nursing, medical, and residential care for all who live here. On behalf of Woodside Sanctuary and especially the angels in our care, we offer our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to our donors and supporters for their outstanding generosity and kindness during this exceedingly difficult time. Your care and compassion are what keep us going, and we are eternally grateful to you for all you have done to help and support us! Thank you!!
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Another year has come and gone and as we begin 2023 we look back at 2022 and the challenges and successes of the year. As with each year we will take the lessons we have learned and will use them to continue to grow and develop as an organisation, always ensuring that we continue to do all in our power to continue to provide the best quality care and treatment programmes to the vulnerable children and adults in our care.
Moving forward after COVID
Dealing with an infectious disease like COVID-19 was a new challenge for us, but the one thing that we always had at the forefront of our decision-making was ensuring the protection and safety of our residents and staff. We have lived with COVID-19 since the 15th March 2020, and we have learned many lessons during that time which have stood us in good stead during the various waves of the Pandemic.
Woodside has been very blessed during the COVID-19 pandemic and we are exceptionally proud that we had no COVID-19 fatalities. We are incredibly proud of the extraordinary dedication and work ethic shown by all of Woodside’s staff, who have worked together and done their part to help and ensure the continued well-being of all of Woodside’s angels. The nursing team had an extremely challenging task as they had to be incredibly vigilant with our residents since they are unable to state symptoms and the nursing team had to determine who was at risk and screen early. We are very proud of the team and how they took ownership and accountability.
The effects of COVID-19 will be with us for a long time still and the positive team work between all departments in Woodside will continue, so that we are able to ensure the continued protection of all at Woodside.
Students
Woodside continues to offer practical training to nursing, care worker and Social work students, and while COVID-19 had a large effect on the number of students that Woodside has been able to assist since 2020, we are happy to report that in 2022, thanks to the lessening of COVID restrictions Woodside has been able to once again assist students from colleges and training institutions in our community such as The University of the Witwatersrand (WITS), The University of Johannesburg (UJ), Baragwaneth Nursing college, and Anne Latsky Nursing College. Thus Woodside has been able to assist a total of 90 Nursing Students, and 1 Social Work Student during 2022.
Woodside feels very strongly about assisting these students in their training as it will provide them with indispensable knowledge in their future careers and will allow them to be better able to assist anyone with disabilities in the future. We are also hopeful that we will be able to offer practical training to even more students in the years to come.
Training
Woodside continues to firmly believe in the development and growth of our staff, we therefore continue to offer extensive in service training to all staff members on a variety of subjects such as feeding, positioning, practical CPR, dermatology, AVL (Activity of daily living skills), dehydration, anatomy and more.
Woodside has been training our staff on how to manage special medical needs which current or future residents may have, this included training on PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) feeding. Woodside's first PEG resident has benefited greatly from our staff's knowledge and is thriving. In 2022 we also admitted our first tracheostomy residents, and additional training has been given to our nursing staff on the care and treatment of those with tracheostomies.
Mental Health and Audits
Woodside has taken part in four audits conducted by The Department of Mental Health Johannesburg during 2022. Woodside has worked closely with the audit teams from The Department of Mental Health Johannesburg, and they have been extremely impressed with the various procedures which we have in place and our methods of providing care. Woodside has been successful in passing every audit which we have taken part in with flying colours.
Christmas at Woodside
Each year we try to make Christmas a wonderfully magical and special time for not only our angels but also for our dedicated staff. In order to help us do this Woodside runs a special Christmas campaign to help raise the funding needed for these special functions.
Our resident’s Christmas function took place on the 15th of December 2022, and was a joyous and magical day! Thanks to the generosity and kindness of our incredible donors and Woodside’s families alike we were able to give our residents the most festive Christmas party ever, which including two face painters and a balloon artist. We received such tremendous support through our families and an initiative started by one in particular, “the Santa’s shoe box project”, that “Santa” was able to hand deliver a special gift to each and every angel.
Our staff functions took place on the 7th and 14th of December, and with the help of our families and supporters, we were able to give every one of our incredibly hardworking and dedicated staff a special Christmas food hamper as a token of thanks for their incredible efforts throughout the year.
Long Service Awards 2022
Woodside celebrated our annual Long Service Awards on the 14th of December 2022 with our staff and honoured guests. We were able to once again gather to celebrate the dedication and commitment of Woodside’s incredible staff, with 12 staff members receiving awards ranging from 5 to 30 years of dedicated service. We were also able to express our appreciation and wish our fondest farewells to 3 staff members who had decided to go on retirement.
What an incredible blessing it is to be able to honour such wonderful and hardworking staff who are responsible for the care and treatment of our angels, some of the most vulnerable in society, the profoundly intellectually and physically disabled.
Woodside Sanctuary's 67th Annual General Meeting
On the 12th of November 2022, Woodside Sanctuary hosted our 67th Annual General Meeting. Being a Non-Profit organisation, that has provided care to children and adults with profound intellectual and physical disabilities, as well as support to their families for 67 years is no small feat. Woodside’s Executive Committee, Management and staff are all incredibly proud of what we, as an organisation, have been able to achieve over the last six decades.
At this year’s Annual General Meeting we decided to continue to make use of Microsoft Teams, as well as inviting any stakeholders who wished to attend in person. This enabled us to extend the reach of our AGM globally as there are a number of stakeholders and families who reside overseas and would otherwise have not been able to attend the AGM if it had only been hosted onsite. Our AGM was a big success and we are looking forward to many more years of treatment, advancement and service to those with profound intellectual and physical disabilities entrusted in our care.
In Closing
Our primary focus continues and will always be the provision of exceptional full-time care to all of our 87 profoundly intellectually disable residents, 25 of which are either orphaned or have no means of financial support (our Angels). The adults and children in our care require lifelong assistance and will never be able to care for themselves or filter into normal society, therefore, this is an ongoing project and will require constant funding to help us ensure that all our residents receive the very best care possible. Woodside Sanctuary is a special place where passion and purposefulness come together to help and ensure that those who have been placed in our care are able to grow and develop to reach their full potential.
The GlobalGiving community have helped us to raise almost 84% (R 184 402.65) of our target towards the Woodside’s Angels project, and we simply cannot thank you enough for your incredible support and generosity. Your generous assistance throughout the difficult times that we have faced has helped us to be able to continue to keep Woodside hygienically clean, keep our staff and residents protected by ensuring that all the needed PPE was available, and to provide food, medications, toiletries, a place of safety, holistic care and stimulation for the 25 Profoundly Intellectually disabled orphans and vulnerable angels in our care.
Like many NPOs, Woodside Sanctuary is heavily reliant on the kindness and generosity of our donors and supporters and it is only with their compassionate assistance that we are able to continue to maintain the highest standards of care, provide excellent nursing, medical and residential care for all who live here. On behalf of Woodside Sanctuary and especially the angels in our care, we offer our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to our donors and supporters for their outstanding generosity and kindness, during this exceedingly difficult time. Your care and compassion is what keeps us going, and we are eternally grateful to you for all you have done to help and support us! Thank you!!
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Here at Woodside our main aim continues to be to make Woodside a “home from home” for all who live here, by creating a happy and safe environment for those in our care. We continue to strive to assist each resident to acquire skills that bolster their independence, individuality and self-esteem, as well as providing those in our care with outstanding nursing care, physiotherapy, stimulation therapy, learning support and medical services, so that they may live full and happy lives within their limited abilities.
Here is a brief breakdown of what has been happening at Woodside Sanctuary during the last few months of 2022
COVID-19 successes
Even though we had to face many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are incredibly proud of our nursing team for ensuring that our residents remained well and healthy throughout the pandemic. Although every precaution was taken, we have had a number of residents and staff test positive for COVID throughout the various waves (69 residents and 30 staff in total). Thankfully, very single one of our residents and staff who were COVID positive, recovered fully, and to date we have not had another COVID positive test result. We firmly believe that this miraculous result is due almost entirely to the hard work and dedication of our incredible nursing team and staff.
Now that the COVID restrictions have been lowered, everyone is trying to go back to the "normalcy" we were all accustomed to pre COVID. Here at Woodside, we have also finally lessened our restrictions; however, we have kept some of our COVID regulations and policies in place, such as; staff wearing masks, and screenings which are done on staff and anyone entering the premisise. These procedures will remain in place as long as needed to help us to ensure the continued health and safety of those in our care.
COVID-19 Vaccinations
Woodside has been assisted by the Netcare team who have generously given of their time to come through to Woodside and vaccinate our residents and staff on the 16th of July 2021 and on the 2nd of September 2021. Thanks to their efforts, Woodside has managed to achieve 89% vaccination coverage within our home.
COVD Vaccine statistics - Staff and Residents
93 Staff have been vaccinated = 93%
74 Residents have been vaccinated = 85%
Total - 167 staff and residents = 89% of Woodside has been vaccinated
Training of Students
Woodside Sanctuary continues to be a preferred training facility for 4th and 3rd year nursing students from institutions such as the University of Johannesburg, WITS, Baragwanath and Ann Latsky. In addition to nursing students Woodside has also begun working with Whitestone College, and has also been providing practical training for their care worker students. Here, students get the first hand practical training they need in order to get their respective qualifications. In 2019 alone, over 300 students completed their practical training at Woodside.
Woodside has also been providing practical training for Social Work students since 2016, assisting them to complete their practical trading and serve their allocated hours of community service in order to qualify for their degrees. Our Social Worker, Mr. Pat Ngwenya has been working with WITS since 2021 and has assisted by supervising Social Work students while they complete their practical. In 2021 we were extremely fortunate to have two social worker students from WITS at Woodside who were completing their practical training here and also received guidance from our social worker online, in order to complete their qualifications. The online aspect of this was influenced by COVID-19 and the restrictions that were implemented to protect everyone.
Now in 2022, since the COVID restrictions have lessened, and the infection rate has dropped significantly, we have finally been able to allow students back to Woodside to complete their practical training. We currently have a Social Work student (from WITS) who comes into Woodside twice a week, and has in-person sessions with our staff and residents. We have also had about 50 Nursing students complete their practical training at Woodside and we are expecting more throughout the year.
Exposure for Woodside
We were contacted by MixFM’s charity department in February, to let us know that they wanted to assist Woodside by producing a short advertisement for us, which would be played on MixFM for a month. They did say, however, that they would only have another spot open in April/ May, and would contact us closer to the time.
Mid-March we were contacted by MixFM again, telling us that they had a spot open in April, and MixFM created the Advert which was sent to us for approval and was broadcast throughout April and played in 208 slots. In addition to this we also took part in a live interview which took place at 11:40 on Wednesday, the 11th of May. Woodside’s General Manager, Kirsten Williams was interviewed, and the interview went extremely well.
Since the broadcasting of the advert as well as the interview, we have seen an increase in Facebook page views and likes, and we have also been contacted by a few parents who were looking for a place for their children.
Challenges
Profoundly intellectual and physically disabled residents require lifelong care, and they will never be able to care for themselves or filter into “Normal” Society. Many of our residents, through improvements in treatment and medication, are living much longer lives than was originally thought possible and are actually living well into their 60s. This has resulted in additional challenges for the home as we now have residents who are developing geriatric conditions, on top of their existing disabilities. This is unprecedented globally, and we constantly have to find new and innovative ways to overcome the difficulties associated with these additional medical challenges in care.
Providing a place of excellence in care comes with continuous challenges which have a direct impact on project success. While our committee and management strive to contain costs and to increase our fundraising base, we rely heavily on donations received and are always trying to find new ways of raising funds and increasing donor interactions. This is an ongoing project and will require ongoing funding/ support because of the service Woodside Sanctuary provides. Without operational costs, we will not be in a position to offer excellence in holistic care for severe/ profoundly intellectually disabled persons.
Heidi’s 60th Birthday
Heidi is Woodside’s longest staying resident. She has been with us since she was a few weeks old and has been here ever since. This year. Heid has achieved an incredible milestone; she celebrated her 60th birthday on the 13th of July. This is an incredible feat for anyone, but reaching that age when also intellectually and physically disabled, is truly phenomenal.
So to honour Heidi, or Woodside’s little Matron, as she is lovingly called, we decided to celebrate her special day, with not only our regular staff and residents, but also to invite people from Woodside’s past that made a difference in Heidi’s life. Heidi’s party was a great success and Heidi especially loved being the center of attention! It was a very special day!!!
Donor Visits
We are so happy to report that Woodside is once again open for Donor visists. During the lockdown and various COVID waves, we were unable to allow visits to Woodside, as we wanted to do all we could to ensure the health and safety of our angels, and the best way to do this was to limit any possible exposure to the virus from outside sources. However, with the reduced COVID restrictions and the infection rate lowering substantially, we decided that it was time to allow visitor interactions at Woodside once again. This is a wonderful way, not only to help raise awareness for Woodside and persons with disabilities, it is also a fantastic opportunity for our residents as they so love interacting with people.
We had our first donor visit on Nelson Mandela day, when the team team from Denosa came to spend some time with our residents, and during September we also have some more donor visits planned.
In Closing
Our primary focus continues and will always be the provision of exceptional full-time care to all of our intellectually disabled residents. We strive to make Woodside a real “home from home” for all who live here, by creating a happy and safe environment for those in our care, where we are able to help and ensure that Woodside’s residents remain safe and that we are able to continue to help and assist each resident through the provision of outstanding nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medical services.
Like many NPOs, Woodside Sanctuary is heavily reliant on the kindness and generosity of our donors and supporters and it is only with their compassionate assistance that we are able to continue to maintain the highest standards of care, provide excellent nursing, medical and residential care for all who live here. On behalf of Woodside Sanctuary and especially the angels in our care, we offer our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to our GlobalGiving donors and supporters for their outstanding generosity and kindness, which has helped us to raise an incredible $10,277.44 during this exceedingly difficult time. Your care and compassion is what keeps us going, and we are eternally grateful to you for all you have done to help and support us! Thank you!
Links:
2022 is already moving along swiftly, and we are all still waiting for our lives to normalise after everything that has happened in the past few years. There have been many lessons learned, and many challenges which needed to be overcome. Woodside has persevered through it all and will continue to do so in order to ensure the continued wellbeing of those in our care.
Our main aim continues to be to make Woodside a “home from home” for all who live here, by creating a happy and safe environment for those in our care. We continue to strive to assist each resident to acquire skills that bolster their independence, individuality and self-esteem, as well as providing those in our care with outstanding nursing care, physiotherapy, stimulation therapy, learning support and medical services, so that they may live full and happy lives within their limited abilities.
Here is a brief breakdown of what has been happening at Woodside Sanctuary during the last few months of 2022.
COVID-19: The challenge continues
Fundraising during the pandemic has been extremely challenging, and we have only recently begun to see an upswing in donations being made. We are hopeful that the upward trend will continue. This does not, however, mean that COVID is a thing of the past; with new cases being reported all the time, it seems that COVID will still be a prevalent part of our lives for some time to come and while this is the case, there will always be a need to try and bring in additional donations to cover the extra COVID expenses, especially at homes like Woodside where our residents weakened immune systems place them at greater risk of contracting the virus.
COVID at Woodside
Throughout the Pandemic we have continued to follow stringent policies on how to deal with any COVID situation within Woodside, and by following these protocols we have been able to ensure the safety of those in our care. During the peak of the pandemic, we were even forced to quarantine our facility and cancel all family and home visits for the duration of the worst parts of the pandemic.
At the start of April, with COVID numbers from around the country having dropped substantially, we decided to lessen our restrictions and allow home visits again. There were also a few residents that needed to go to hospital for procedures, and we allowed these as well. Unfortunately, after lessening the restrictions, we had a total of 19 of our residents test positive for COVID and we had no choice but to go into full lockdown again, and immediately suspend home and outside visits. Thankfully, all the residents who tested positive had no symptoms, or very mild symptoms, so we remained in lockdown for 10 days until we were COVID free again. This experience has shown that we need to continue with the protocols put in place during COVID, and to be extra cautious once home and outside visits are allowed once again.
Borehole difficulties
A number of years ago, Woodside made the decision to move over from using municipal water to using borehole water for all of the sanctuary’s needs. This was done in order to reduce our monthly municipal charges and has worked well.
Over the last few months, however, we have been experiencing some challenges with the borehole. First the pump broke down and needed to be replaced; we did this and once again the borehole was working well. Now we have discovered a new problem; there appears to be a leak somewhere in the pipe system, which is causing the water which is pumped from our 4 x 20 000 litre Jojo tanks to leak out. This issue has been quite costly to try and sort out, and we have been struggling to identify the cause of the problem. Thankfully, after a lot of hard work on the part of our plumbers, it appears that the leak has been found and fixed. We are hopeful that it will remain so and that we will be able to continue using our borehole for our water needs.
Training Care worker Students
Woodside continues to offer practical training to nursing, care worker and Social work students; however, in addition to this, we have also decided to look into the possibility of Woodside becoming a care worker training facility, specialising in the care of the profoundly intellectually disabled. Should Woodside succeed in this endeavour, we will not only be training the next generation of care workers in the best practices when caring for the intellectually disabled, but it will also be an additional income stream to help us raise the funding to continue to offer our service to those in need. There is a lengthy process which needs to be followed to apply and be approved by HWSETA (Health and Welfare Sector Education and Training Authority), but Woodside has taken the first steps and we are hopeful to have our training centre up and running within the next year.
New Therapies at Woodside
Woodside prides ourselves on the variety of stimulation services we offer to our residents; these stimulation therapies do not only improve residents health; they also help to keep our residents active, alert and happy. We are continuously trying to increase the variety of stimulation therapies which are offered at Woodside, and this year we have added two new therapies to our programme:
1) Rebounding – this is a type of aerobic exercise that is performed while jumping on a mini-trampoline. Jumps can be fast or slow, and can be mixed with rest or aerobic stepping. Rebounding motions not only stimulate the lymphatic system, which helps flush out toxins and fight disease, but also improves balance and coordination.
2) Sherborne Developmental Movement Therapy – This is a method for training social and motor skills which has the objectives of improving self-awareness and awareness of others. The benefits of using the Sherborne programme are many, but to name a few, it helps to develop good self-esteem, form positive relationships; improves emotional and physical literacy; extends and improves communication and creative expression; and it builds learning power, challenges thinking, and increases problem solving.
We are also in the process of arranging for therapy dogs to be brought into Woodside for therapy sessions, and we are currently being assisted with this endeavour by Top Dogs, which is a non-profit organisation which offers these services. This therapy will be greatly beneficial to Woodside’s residents as it is known to lower blood pressure, improve coordination and balance; it releases endorphins (oxytocin) that have a calming effect, and it improves motor skills and joint movement. We are still busy finalising when these therapies will begin.
Mental Health and Audits\
The Department of Mental Health Johannesburg has undergone some significant operational changes during the last year, and as a result will be conducting audits with Johannesburg’s NGO’s four times a year, instead of only once per year, which has always been the practice before now. Woodside has worked closely with the audit teams from The Department of Mental Health Johannesburg, and they have always been extremely impressed with the various procedures which we have in place. Woodside has been successful in passing every audit which we have taken part in with flying colours. Our latest audit took place on Wednesday the 9th of February 2022. The Department of Mental Health is very happy with Woodside and the exceptional care and services which we provide to those in our care.
Resident Nappy Drive
Due to their disabilities, many of those in our care cannot perform even the most basic of actions without assistance and a vast majority of our residents are incontinent and need to use nappies. In order to ensure their dignity and comfort, our residents nappies are changed frequently and sometimes as often as five to six times a day. As a result we use a lot of nappies, washing up to 1300 daily! Using fabric nappies is the most cost-effective way to provide for all our residents hygienic needs and to help ensure their dignity and well-being.
The nappies last well and go through many washes in our industrial washing machines, but sadly they only last for about a year, before they need to be replaced. As a result, we need to run a campaign each year in order to request assistance to raise the funding needed to purchase the fabric needed to replenish our nappy supplies. This year we had an incredible response and were able to raise enough funding to be able to purchase enough fabric to be able to make enough nappies to last us at least a year and a half.
Easter Appeal
During the month leading up to Easter Woodside launched our Easter appeal via email and social media to ask for assistance from our donors to bring in some Easter treats for our residents. Our supporters very kindly donated 80 boxes of marshmallow eggs, and 120 Easter packs, and additional cash which allowed us to purchase extra boxes of Easter eggs.
Woodside had our residents Easter celebration on the 14th of April 2022. Due to the fact that there had been a number of residents who had tested COVID positive, it was decided to ensure everyone’s safety by having a special Easter function in each ward instead of bringing all the residents together. Regardless of the fact that the functions were smaller, all our residents had a wonderful time and greatly enjoyed the yummy Easter treats.
Exposure for Woodside
We had been contacted by MixFM’s charity department in February, to let us know that they wanted to assist Woodside by producing a short advertisement for us, which would be played on MixFM for a month. They did say, however, that they would only have another spot open in April/ May, and would contact us closer to the time.
Mid-March we were contacted by MixFM again, telling us that they had a spot open in April and they needed a script from us for the wording to use in the advertisement. We sent this through and MixFM created the Advert which was sent to us for approval and was broadcast throughout April in 208 spots. In addition to this we have also been given a live interview which took place at 11:40 on Wednesday, the 11th of May.
Since the advert has been live, I have seen an increase in Facebook page views and likes, and we have also been contacted by a few parents who were looking for a place for their children. We are looking forward to the interview and are excited about the exposure that it will create.
In Closing
Our primary focus continues and will always be the provision of exceptional full-time care to all of our intellectually disabled residents. We strive to make Woodside a real “home from home” for all who live here, by creating a happy and safe environment for those in our care, where we are able to help and ensure that Woodside’s residents remain safe and that we are able to continue to help and assist each resident through the provision of outstanding nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medical services.
Like many NPOs, Woodside Sanctuary is heavily reliant on the kindness and generosity of our donors and supporters and it is only with their compassionate assistance that we are able to continue to maintain the highest standards of care, provide excellent nursing, medical and residential care for all who live here. On behalf of Woodside Sanctuary and especially the angels in our care, we offer our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to our GlobalGiving donors and supporters for their outstanding generosity and kindness, which has helped us to raise an incredible $9,895 during this exceedingly difficult time. Your care and compassion is what keeps us going, and we are eternally grateful to you for all you have done to help and support us! Thank you!
2022 has had its own challenges so far, but each obstacle that we overcome helps us to grow as an organisation. We feel confident that by utilising the lessons we have learned and continue to learn, together with the continued generous support of our wonderful donors, staff and families, we will be able to face whatever lies ahead in 2022.
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As 2021 has drawn to a close, we look back on the lessons learned throughout the year, we think of those who we have lost and we begin looking forward to what 2022 has in store. We are heading into 2022 with a cautious hope that the lessons learned in 2021 will carry us in good stead for the year ahead.
Regardless of the challenges ahead our main aim continues to be to make Woodside a “home from home” for all who live here, by creating a happy and safe environment for those in our care. We continue to strive to assist each resident to acquire skills that bolster their independence, individuality and self-esteem, as well as providing those in our care with outstanding nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medical services, so that they may live full and happy lives within their limited abilities.
Here is a brief breakdown of what has been happening at Woodside Sanctuary during the last few months of 2021.
Fundraising during COVID-19
The world as a whole has been affected by COVID-19 for almost 2 years now, and has made the task of bringing in much needed funding a great deal more challenging. To try and overcome these challenges we have had to become more creative in our approach to fundraising. We are more active on our various social media platforms, to try and raise awareness and garner more support for Woodside and for persons with intellectual disabilities, and we have also launched a number of additional “needs specific” campaigns to try and bring in funding, especially to assist with the ever increasing COVID-19 expenses. In 2022 we will continue to utilise our various social media platforms and will continue to try and think of new and innovative ways to bring in funding in support of our cause.
COVID-19 Vaccinations
Over the last few months Woodside has been assisted by the Netcare team who have generously given of their time to come through to Woodside and vaccinate our residents and staff. Thanks to their efforts Woodside has managed to achieve 82% vaccination coverage within our home.
Woodside has sadly had a couple of residents, staff and family members who have experienced adverse reactions after receiving the vaccine, we are unsure as to what exactly the cause of their reactions were, but these issues have been reported on the VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Effects Reporting System) and we are awaiting further feedback in these matters.
Students
Woodside continues to offer practical training to nursing, care worker and Social work students, and while COVID-19 has had a large effect on the number of students that Woodside has been able to assist this year, we have still been able to offer training to 10 care worker students as well as 1 social work student. Woodside feels very strongly about assisting these students in their training as it will provide them with indispensable knowledge in their future careers and will allow them to be better able to assist anyone with disabilities in the future.
Training
Woodside is dedicated to providing our care and nursing staff with training throughout the year. This includes in-service training which is provided by our registered nursing sister, and covers many topics such as feeding, positioning, practical CPR, dermatology, AVL (Activity of daily living skills), dehydration, anatomy and more.
This year, we have also had the privilege of receiving training from firefighters from the City of Johannesburg Fire department on fire safety (11 November 2021) as well as Basic Life Support training for our nursing department, from an AHA certified instructor (12 November 2021). This type of training is critical in ensuring that our care and nursing staff are properly equipped to handle any situation.
Woodside’s 1st ever Family Fun Day
On the 4th of December 2021, Woodside had our 1st ever Family Fun Day; a wonderful day filled with fun activities for residents and their loved ones, where families were able to interact not only with their resident, but with all of Woodside’s angels.
The past few years have been extremely challenging, not just for us at Woodside, but also for the families of our residents, who were often unable to visit their loved ones for months at a time. This sacrifice was done in order to help us to be able to protect all at Woodside, as much as possible, from COVID-19 infection. So, we decided that it was time to do something special for the families and their loved ones, thus we hosted a Woodside Family Fun Day. All in all the day was a huge success, and we will be looking forward to having more Fun Days in the future.
Mental Health and Audits
The Department of Mental Health Johannesburg has undergone some significant operational changes during the last year, and as a result will be conducting audits with Johannesburg’s NGO’s four times a year, instead of only once per year which has always been the practice before now. Woodside has worked closely with the audit teams from The Department of Mental Health Johannesburg, and they have always been extremely impressed with the various procedures which we have in place. Woodside has been successful in passing every audit which we have taken part in with flying colours.
Christmas at Woodside
Christmas is a time of celebration and at Woodside this is no different. Each year we try to make Christmas a memorable and special time for not only our angels but also for our dedicated staff. In order to help us do this Woodside runs a special Christmas campaign to help raise the funding needed for these special functions.
Our resident’s Christmas function took place on the 15th of December 2021, and was a stupendously happy day! Thanks to the generosity and kindness of our amazing donors and Woodside’s families alike we were able to give our residents the most magical Christmas party ever, which included a DJ, Face painter and Balloon artist. We received such tremendous support through our families and an initiative started by one in particular, “the Santa’s shoe box project”, that we were able to ensure that every one of our angels received a gift from Santa.
Our staff functions took place on the 1st and 8th of December, and with the help of our families and supporters, we were able to give every one of our incredibly hardworking and dedicated staff a beautiful Christmas food hamper as a token of thanks for their incredible efforts throughout the year.
Long Service Awards 2021
We celebrated our annual Long Service Awards on the 8th of December 2021 with our staff and honoured guests. What an incredible blessing it is to have such wonderful hardworking staff at the Sanctuary who are responsible for the care and treatment of our angels, some of the most vulnerable in society, the profoundly intellectually and physically disabled.
Every year we proudly gather to show our immense appreciation and to celebrate the awardees remarkable achievements. This year we had thirteen (13) staff who received awards for their dedicated service to Woodside ranging between five (5) and twenty five (25) years of service. We and the families of those in our care, are beyond grateful for their commitment and devotion to ensuring that our residents receive the care they deserve.
In Closing
Our primary focus continues and will always be the provision of exceptional full-time care to all of our intellectually disable residents. We strive to make Woodside a real “home from home” for all who live here, by creating a happy and safe environment for those in our care, where we are able to help and ensure that Woodside’s residents remain safe and that we are able to continue to help and assist each resident through the provision of outstanding nursing care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and medical services.
Like many NPOs, Woodside Sanctuary is heavily reliant on the kindness and generosity of our donors and supporters and it is only with their compassionate assistance that we are able to continue to maintain the highest standards of care, provide excellent nursing, medical and residential care for all who live here. On behalf of Woodside Sanctuary and especially the angels in our care, we offer our deepest and most heartfelt thanks to our GlobalGiving donors and supporters for their outstanding generosity and kindness, which has helped us to raise an incredible $9317 during this exceedingly difficult time. Your care and compassion is what keeps us going, and we are eternally grateful to you for all you have done to help and support us! Thank you!
2021 has been a year of many challenges but Woodside has succeeded in overcoming those difficulties and we have continued to grow as an organisation. We feel confident that by utilising the lessons we have learned and with the continued support of our wonderful donors, staff and families, we will be able to face whatever lies ahead in 2022.
Links:
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