RESIDENTS at Ons Tuiste Retirement Home in Humansdorp recently received 14 much-needed wheelchairs from Splitting Image Taxidermy.
Manager of Ons Tuiste, Martie Zee-lie, said, “Most of our residents can do very little for themselves and need 24-hour assistance. We want to give the elderly a peaceful retirement and create an affordable homey environment that they can enjoy.”
The retirement home, which was established by the NG Kerk Humansdorp 51 years ago, has 108 residents, of which 66 members are wheelchair bound. The home has only 10 wheelchairs which are in working condition, and two of the residents have their own wheelchairs.
Zeelie said they had placed a notice on their Facebook page, as well as on the NG Kerk Humansdorp’s notice board, for wheelchair donations.
One of the church members saw the notice and contacted Splitting Image Taxidermy in North End, Port Elizabeth for a donation – within three days they delivered 14 new wheelchairs.
“Our wheelchairs are in a bad condition and we had to dispose of quite a few, because they could not be repaired,” said Zeelie. “Even though we still need quite a few more wheelchairs, we are so grateful for the contribution.”
According to Zeelie, one wheelchair costs approximately R3 000 and the retirement home cannot afford to buy wheelchairs for their residents.
Apart from the 14 wheelchairs received from Splitting Image Taxidermy, the home also received a R1 000 donation and three more wheelchairs recently.
Family members of the residents were recently asked to bring wheelchairs when the elderly move into the retirement home, but Zeelie realises that not everyone has money to buy wheelchairs.
Douglas Cockcroft, founder of Splitting Image Taxidermy, said since 2011 his company has donated about 600 wheelchairs in partnership with the Wheelchair Foundation.
“The ethos of the company is to be thankful for everything, and to express our thankfulness we aim at creating mobility for people that are immobile,” said Cockcroft. He mentioned that his company imports wheelchairs from China and distributes them throughout the country.
