Queen Butterfly still going strong

“We have been at the Wilro Park Baptist Church for almost two years now, and the children are thriving,” said Palesa Mofokeng, the founder and principal of the Queen Butterfly Foundation.

She started the Foundation in 2015 with only one wheelchair and one child. “Today we have about eight children in our care and a lot more equipment, and I can only thank my loyal sponsors for this. Although I am very grateful to the NG Kerk in Kloofendal for helping me in my time of need, I always knew that it was only a temporary solution,” she said.

Palesa added that the facilities at the Wilro Park Baptist Church are beneficial to them and explained, “We have the use of a few different classrooms, so our children are in different classes and we can give them the attention and care they deserve. The church is also wheelchair-friendly and we have a place to store our equipment.”

The Foundation, which is non-profit organisation (NPO) as well as a public benefit organisation (PBO) uses physio-, occupational and speech therapy to elevate the quality of the lives of children and young adults with profound mental and physical disabilities.

Palesa said, “Through exercises, therapy, play and social activities, the children are encouraged to increase their levels of interaction with others, grow their physical functionality and develop healthy coping mechanisms throughout their challenging lives.”

But, because they are an NPO, they depend on donations from the public to help them continue with their work. “I live for the day that government will pass legislation to protect organisations like ours. I have had so many experiences in the past few years with companies and people promising to help, but withdrawing their support at the last minute,” said Palesa.

She added that, although money is always tight at the Foundation, it is not their biggest need. “We are in need of volunteers to come and help out during the day. It is difficult for our carers to always be there, as we also get sick or need to take time off every now and then. We need someone to come in and either sing to the children, talk to them, roll a ball, do some art with them or just push them in their chairs,” she said.

One example of such a volunteer is Estelle Brown, a retired physiotherapist and who still comes in twice a week to help out with the children. “I met Estelle about 20 years ago when she was the physiotherapist for the son of the family my mother worked for. This is where I learnt more about caring for children with these specific needs and, if it were not for Estelle’s encouragement, I would not have had this care centre today.”

Palesa concluded by saying, “We invite volunteers to come and visit our centre, meet the children and see what we do. We will teach them and help them. They do not need to be specialists, just somebody with a heart and who would like to help make a difference.” For more information on the Foundation, visit their website at https://www.queenbutterfly.org.za.