Picture: (Boichoko Disability Centre children and staff in Rooiwal village, Taung)

By REGINALD KANYANE

Boichoko Disability Centre at Rooiwal village in Taung needs virtuous building to cater for 27 disabled children, who come from the most disadvantaged families in Taung.

The owner of the centre, Tshegofatso Jack (42) said she established the centre back in 2014. Jack said she opened the centre because she realised that there are many disadvantaged and disabled children around Taung and their parents do not know where to take them.

“Boichoko Disability Centre provides special education like sign language. However, we are doing this without any financial and professional support.

“We have approached the North West Education and Sport Development and Social Development departments for assistance, but our requests were in vain. I also have a child who is deaf and mute,” she said.

Jack said her child, Boichoko whom she named the centre after, uses sign language. She said she knows what challenges other parents in the same situation are going through.

“There is no sign language school around Taung and that is a challenge. The children at the centre pay R700 per month, but some parents cannot afford.

“I use my pocket money in most cases because some children come from deprived families. We have also received no joy from both departments,” Jack said.

She said the Social Development department has also threatened to shut down the school. Jack said she also use her house to accommodate the children.

“I urge anyone who could assist us with anything like food hampers, building materials to come forward as we are currently operating from a shack, but use my house to sleep,” Jack said.

She said nurses and doctors constantly visit the centre to ensure that the children are healthy. Jack said she has also employed 18 volunteers, who assist her at the centre, but she cannot give them any stipend because of financial constraints.

North West Social Development department spokesperson, Petrus Siko said: “First and foremost the children at this centre are receiving disability grant. As a way of intervention, our social workers had several engagements with the owners of the centre.

“Boichoko Disability Centre is nearer to Lokgabeng Disability Centre, which has enough space to admit people with disability.”

Siko said Lokgabeng Disability Centre thus comply with the norms and standards required to operate as disability centre as opposed to Boichoko. He added that equally important, Lokgabeng Disability Centre is currently being funded by the department.

“In addition, plans are afoot to establish a residential care facility in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati in the next few years.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) Provincial Spokesperson on Social Development, Dr Tutu Faleni said: “We are concerned by the continued rejection of Boichoko Disability Centre for the disabled by the North West Department of Social Development.

“The management of the school has been operating the centre for four years without any assistance from the Provincial Social Development Department. This is in spite of requests made by the DA in the past that the MEC should help schools such as Boichoko Disability Centre to qualify for financial subsidy.”

Faleni said they will write an urgent memorandum to the MEC for Social Development and urge him to grant financial and professional support to the centre.

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