Residents, staff, families and volunteers gathered on a recent Saturday to celebrate 50 years of the Ann Harding Cheshire Home.

Chairperson Lyndall Roman, who has been at the home since 2003, said she was happy with the turnout. “We’re very happy that we’ve got most of our residents here, most of our staff members, many family members and volunteers,” Roman said. “It seems as if they’re all having a good time.”

The home stands on 2.5ha donated to Cheshire Homes by the Transvaal Municipality in the 1960s. The property had an old farmhouse and staff quarters, which, in 1976, became a home for four men and four women with physical disabilities.

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The home grew thanks to Benjamin Harding, who fought alongside Leonard Cheshire in the Second World War. He donated a double-storey house, but it was not suitable for wheelchair users, so it was sold.

The money went towards building the current home, which cares for 40 residents. It was named after Harding’s mother and was officially opened by Leonard Cheshire in 1988.

Charity shop drives sustainability

Roman said the charity shop, opened around 1993, is now a key source of income. It started by bringing in about R10 000 a month and today turns over between R200 000 and R250 000. This reduces the fee for 24-hour care and accommodation by about R7 000 per resident every month.

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Roman joined as a volunteer in 2003 and said the place looked very different then. “There were almost no gardens to speak of,” she said, adding that the first patch of instant lawn cost R200, which the board reluctantly provided.

The gardens are now a special feature, with most plants grown from cuttings donated by friends and family.

Painting the dismal buildings and filling 11 empty rooms followed. As the home looked brighter, more volunteers came, then more residents and more donations. “Donors want to support winners, not losers,” said Roman.

A large donation about six years ago paid for new Clearvu fencing and walling, a fresh coat of paint on all five buildings, and the start of an independent living estate. It will one day have 19 wheelchair-friendly units, and three have been sold so far.

Looking ahead, the home hopes to build an acute rehabilitation centre for head and spinal injuries, if a licence and funding allow.

Roman thanked the volunteers, most of whom come from the local community, and the donors and suppliers. “The ambiance in the home is a very happy one,” she said.

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