Help Owami go to school

Owami Sahula, a 17-year-old cerebral palsy sufferer from Fleurhof, is currently unable to attend school at the Queen Butterfly Foundation, a daycare facility for children with severe physical and mental disabilities.

This is due to the loss of a sponsorship which covered her school fees and transportation to and from school.

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According to Owami’s grandmother, Nomabantla (Noma), Owami desperately needs to attend school, but it is simply out of reach for the family who is wholly reliant on Noma’s meagre old-age pension and Owami’s monthly disability grant, totalling about R4 000.

“With this, I need to keep a roof over our heads, buy food and medication, and pay the policies I have in place to ensure Owami receives continued care after my passing,” says Noma, the only breadwinner and solely responsible for running the household and caring for Owami.

“In the meanwhile, Owami is sitting at home listening to her music and not getting any real stimulation through contact with her classmates or teachers. I try to take her for a daily walk, but she gets very lonely. She loves going to school and interacting with the other children and caregivers.”

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Owami is blind and has limited communication capacity. Her hands are largely non-functional, meaning Noma has to do literally everything for her.

The Record caught up with Noma and Owami during a visit to the Queen Butterfly Foundation, now situated in Trichard Street, Discovery, on March 19. She was overjoyed at meeting up with her teachers and friends again.

According to Queen Butterfly Foundation centre manager Julie Botha it was a bitter pill for them to swallow when they learned that Owami would no longer be able to attend school.

“Over the years, Owami and Noma have become part of our school family,” she says. “If I were able to have her come to school free of charge I would, but the reality is that we simply cannot afford it.”

Julie has called on kind-hearted people and businesses in the community to lend a hand.

“This is just not someone looking for a handout,” she says. “It is a severely disabled child that needs to attend school and her hard working and dedicated grandmother who will go to nearly any length to see her granddaughter happy and healthy.”

For more information, or to help Noma in her quest for Owami to attend school, contact Julie Botha at the Queen Butterfly Foundation on 083 653 5655.