A NEW WHEELCHAIR,
BECAUSE HIS COLLOGUES CARE

Article and photos by Erica Holtzhausen

It was all smiles from Stephanus Hoffman, a 26 year-old accounting clerk at Claims Section, Head Office, when he received a brand new motorized wheelchair in Deputy National Commissioner Singh’s office on Friday, 22 October 2004.

 
Stephanus as you will find him at Claims Section, Head Office hard at work.

Stephanus has cerebral palsy and is wheelchair bound. He has no function of the lower limbs and extremely limited function of the upper limbs. Cerebral palsy also causes severe spasticity throughout the body, resulting in deformed limbs and spine. Stephanus therefore needs a motorized wheelchair to move around and to perform his everyday tasks.

Stephanus has been an employee of the SAPS since March 2001 and forms part of the Government’s equity plan in terms of which people with disabilities are employed.

His colleagues noticed with growing concern that due to the age of his wheelchair and the extensive use thereof, more and more breakages were occurring. Due to the severeness of his disability, his wheelchair is specially cushioned to provide support to his spine while he carries out his duties and other activities. The specially moulded cushion became defective as a result of continuous use, and after four and a half years it was imperative that it be replaced. The cushion alone costs more than R11 400.

His medical aid indicated that only R4 000 was available and this was when his colleagues decided to take drastic action. Snr Supt Anette Lombard from Financial Services asked the Comfort Assistance and Disabled Care Fund for Employees of the SAPS (CADSAPS) and Curamus for donations. CADSAPS indicated that they could donate R5 000 while Curamus donated R2 500. These contributions settled the account for the replacement of the cushion.

As his medical aid benefits had been used up and CADSAPS had already made a contribution, 27 of Stephanus’ colleagues started a fund-raising project to raise the necessary funds. They opened a bank account on behalf of Stephanus and rapidly raised R5 000. The fund-raising project came to the attention of Deputy National Commissioner Singh who urged Snr Supt Lombard to apply for state funds. This was granted and now Stephanus is mobile, when I saw him driving his new wheelchair, I was just happy that it was fitted with a speed-control!

Stephanus is a genuine inspiration to his co-workers, because in spite of many health problems, he hardly ever takes sick leave. You will always find him friendly and willing to help others.

Stephanus attended the New Hope School in Pretoria and now lives in the Phyllis Robertson House for Disabled People. He says he really enjoys it when he has the opportunity of giving motivational talks at disabled schools on how to face the challenges of the real world.