Siloe Blind School learners attend camp thanks to Rotary Club
Camp Quality is aimed at children between the ages of eight and 13 years who have or have had cancer or a serious disease or disability or marginalised background.
POLOKWANE – Eight learners from the Siloe School for the Blind departed to Camp Quality at White River last Thursday, courtesy of the Rotary Club of Polokwane and accompanied by Rotarians Nkeke Lesolang and Conny Koma.
Rotarian Charles Hardy explained that the Rotary Club has been involved in the event for the last ten years, excluding the Covid-19 lockdown period.
“We are appreciative of the generous donation of R20 000 made by Meropa Casino and Entertainment World,” Hardy said.
Camp Quality was initiated in South Africa by the Nelspruit Rotary Club in 1987. It is aimed at children between the ages of eight and 13 years who have or have had cancer or a serious disease or disability or marginalised background. It is now a major project of the Rotary Club of White River and is now in its 35th year.
The outing provides the campers with an opportunity to experience a week filled with fun and love.
During the week the Lowveld opens its arms to the children as they spend their days enjoying new experiences and doing the sorts of things children love to do; they are taken for flights in light aircraft and helicopters, spend time at the movies, get close to elephants, enjoy pizzas and ice-cream, go for rides on motorcycles and generally have a wonderful time.
While providing the children with an unforgettable week, the camp also allows their families to spend time on their own, to have a break from the ongoing care of children suffering from ill-health, and this is particularly appreciated by families with other siblings who are sometimes side-lined as a result of the illness.
The children stay in the hostels at Uplands College, just outside White River, where they have comfortable accommodation, wonderful healthy meals and drinks and space to run free. Each day they are transported to the day’s activities. During their stay the children are under the care of a team of Rotarians, student volunteers and medical volunteers.
There is also a full-time paramedic and a nursing sister, who stay at the venue during camp. Medical care is close at hand – local oncologists and medical practitioners are on call for the camp.
According to the president of the Rotary Club of White River, Renate Wagner, the club receives amazing support from local businesses, some like Spar, the Nelspruit Aero Club and Uplands School which have been involved with Camp Quality from the first camp in 1987.
“The Rotary Club of White River is very grateful for this sponsorship and appreciates that it is only through the generosity of the community that we are able to run such a fun and fulfilling camp. Each year, as the campers depart and the bus drives out of the school gates, there are tears and many fond goodbyes.
“Some of the children return the following year and some do not. Campers sometimes become student helpers when they are too old to attend as children. Those who assist the campers as student helpers, or as Rotarians, never forget the experience,” Wagner added.
