Hercie does not allow her disability to define her
LINDEN – Hercie Blaauw does not see her disability as a punishment but as a blessing and she advises parents to support their children who are disabled.
Hercie Blaauw sits, eats and works from her electrical wheelchair but she does not allow it to confine her.
Born and bred in Cape Town, Blaauw was born with cerebral palsy and even though she has physical limitations her mind works at full capacity.
She is the office manager at Ry-Ma-In, a home for quadriplegics as well as paraplegics.
She is able to take herself around in order to do her errands and drives down in her chair to restaurants, meetings with friends, church and to work every day.
“My late father used to say to me, the sky is the limit and that I should never give up,” she said.
She admits that being born with cerebral palsy, she has other physical issues she deals with on a daily basis such as perceptual problems, which means that her eyes and brain sometimes disconnect.
She also gets lost easily as she battles to remember the way and she also suffers from bipolar but takes her medication every day.
Blaauw is the proud holder of five degrees and a teaching diploma that she obtained at what was called Randse Afrikaanse Universiteit, now known as University of Johannesburg .
This brave woman added that her parents encouraged her to reach her full potential despite her physical challenges.
Her father moved from Cape Town to Kimberley when she had to move to a high school and later moved to Johannesburg when she entered university.
Her mother took a job with the university and would help her to get around from class to class.
She advises parents whose children have her condition, to take it day by day and not worry too much about the future.
“Don’t see this illness as a punishment, see it as a blessing and just have faith,” she said.
She pointed out that Ry-Ma-In in Linden has been a great source of support to her since she moved in 1994.
“The only problem that we have here is fundraising issues as the money we get doesn’t cover all costs,” she said.
She said it costs on average R8 000 per month to house one person and the government grant they receive barely makes a dent.
She urged the public to join them in their efforts to raise funds as they will be hosting a fête in October.
Details: Ry-Ma-In 011 888 3335.
