“In visiting a number of our beneficiary organisations to gather information for this publication, I met a lot of people who directly benefit by your R10 sticker donation. Like Org Rautenbach, who went on holiday with his family to visit his brother in KZN.

He was happily married, with 3 small children, the youngest still a baby. Whilst on holiday, both he and his wife contracted cerebral malaria. She died and he acquired a mental disability.

Their children were raised by various family members and today he does not even know where they are. Talking to him, left me with tears in my eyes.

Just another example of lives ripped apart by disability.

A huge thanks to you, and you and YOU who were wearing a sticker!! All donations have been distributed and our bank account is a sight for sore eyes... but with the 2012 theme I believe we will be able to slowly fill it up (again)!

So, “Get on board” for Casual Day on Friday 7 September as a sailor, a captain or a pirate – and if that does not work for you, just wear something blue with a sticker or two. Do not get left behind! I give you my assurance that there are many people, like Org, who depend on your donation.

In preparing the information for this document, I personally saw again that what we do, is worth supporting!”

“I was smiling with joy when revealing the amount raised

during the 2011 campaign at our Show & Tell functions

R20,3 million – sjoe!!!”

with everything you have

Annelise de JagerAdmiral of the Fleet

Feedback on 2011 campaign

2011 was a good year for Casual Day. The nation dressed like rock stars, sporting Ozzy Osbourne wigs, Michael Jackson shades and some interesting Freddy Mercury moustaches. But most

National Beneficiaries (top)The annual ‘Show & Tell’ road show was wrapped up with the handover of theproceeds to the 6 national beneficiaries!

of all, people wore their stickers, raising R20,3 million for organisations rendering services in the field of disability. This proved, once again, how a small donation (in this case R10 for your sticker) can go a long way.

276 local welfare organisations, from each and every corner of our country, participated in Casual Day 2011.

The Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities - Nelson Mandela Bay, used some of their money to repair wheelchairs. Con Amore School is saving up to replace their bus that was high-jacked. Pathways used their Casual Day money to obtain devices for children who cannot use their hands when writing and Epilepsy SA in Cape Town are using it to train persons with

epilepsy and other disabilities in entrepreneurship, in order for them to become financially independent. “Just imagine what the rest of our

NGOs did!!”

ISSU

E #1

3

Get on Board...

At the age of 27, Annemarie Aylwood was a mother in her prime, but her career as a nurse came to an abrupt end when she was pushed from her balcony, hitting a parking meter below. She sustained severe injuries, including damage to her brain stem.

Her husband divorced her, and because of her disability, she lost the joy of raising her 6-year old boy herself. For Annemarie, the biggest adjustment to her new life was to regain some sense of independence again.

Epilepsy Mpumalanga has helped her with that. A broad smile appears as she tells us that the Bingo games at Epilepsy are particularly enjoyable!

Herman Dannhauser was a member of the South African Police Force. He had big dreams for his life and was busy with his LLB degree when, at the age of 20, he was attacked by two men whilst drawing money from an ATM.

His injuries were so severe that he was in hospital for 8 months, mostly in a coma. As a finger print expert, he could not carry on with his career with the dyslexia, short-term memory damage and physical disability that was now part of his life. Now in his mid-40s, Herman’s free spirit and sense of humour is still apparent. When asked what he misses most, he does not think about the answer for very long: “To play rugby!” When asked what the best thing is at his home at Epilepsy Dullstroom, he smiles and says, “The coffee is lekker!”

At 16 years of age, Julio had a fight with one of his friends. Three months later, a relative of the friend saw him in a shop and, still angry about the fight, shot Julio in the back as he was running away. The gunshot left him paralyzed from the waist.

“It all felt so unreal when I heard I would never walk again, but the penny dropped when I had to learn how to use a wheel-chair at my new school, a school for disabled children. That is when I knew my life would never be the same again.”

Now he is a young man with a zest for life, but with few opportunities as work is hard to come by, even if you have a Matric certificate. Even his hopes to study further are becoming bleaker as he struggles to get funding for his education. What a waste of good potential!

Bingo! A free spirit

Here are a few people who are rising above life’s challenges . . . and the other heroes - the staff at Casual Day beneficiary organisations, who are involved in providing services

to disabled people in situations similar to these.

When asked what makes a ‘hero’ I think most people would suggest their favourite Marvel comic hero, or their Grade 3 teacher. Mostly, 9 out of 10 people would cite, Nelson Mandela. Here at the Casual Day office, we have a different idea of heroes. For us, they are the every day individuals who are striving to achieve a full life under difficult circumstances.

Like little Oscar-Lee, diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, undergoing difficult chemotherapy and still having a heart of a champion. Or Josephina, who was shot by her husband after a quarrel. She lost her job and was rejected by her family. Rekkie Hlophe was stabbed and woke up a disabled man. And the list goes on . . .

Rising above life’s challenges

Run for your life boy!!

Casual Day is on Friday 7 September 2012

Mafike Thabethe acquired his disabil-ity in a hit-and-run accident where he sustained a spinal injury, not from the initial impact, but from the vehicle driving over him again, to get away.

He was left severely injured. Thankfully he was attended to by kind strangers who also got the number plate of the vehicle, leading to the prosecution of the driver.

He has now achieved an ABET Level 4 qualification and has built a 9-roomed home for his family. He has a strong message for Casual News readers, “Don’t hold yourself back, if you give a lot, you’ll get a lot!”

From a young age Juanita excelled in many sports activities, gymnas-tics and athletics, but a motorbike accident in which her dad was killed, changed her life irrevocably. After 4 months in a coma

she woke up to a life of new challenges. As a person with hemiplegia she needed to learn how to walk, eat and be inde-pendent again. She had to cope with going to a new school, new friends and a new wheelchair! With the help of her mother and the support system at the New Hope Centre for Hearing Impaired Children, she slowly built up her new life until the point where she recently broke the SA record in athletics for people with disabilities. She added this medal to the rest of her collection built up before the accident! Watch this space, Juanita is still going places . . .

*A person with hemiplegia is a person who is paralysed on either their left or right side.

Ivan Spider developed a blood clot on his brain which was successfully removed during an operation. Three days later a negligent nurse followed the incorrect procedure administering medication via the arterial line in his hand. The main artery in his hand burst, and as a result, he lost his hand a few days later. Without the use of both hands, he lost his job and in the legal battle against the hospital,

On a Friday night like any other, Jan Nienaber was on his way to a local roadhouse when an artery burst in his head. He lost control of the car and ran into a petrol station.

Not only did he have damage from the blood clot on his brain, but in the collision he sustained severe head trauma. At the time of the accident, he was a technicon lecturer and a 3rd Dan karate instructor with his own dojo – so successful that he represented South Africa at the world championship in Swit-zerland. He was a happily married man with four small children.

Today he is divorced, with little or no contact with his family and lives in a home for people who have intellectual disability and epilepsy. He still remem-bers his life before the accident and is sad about everything he lost because of it, yet he compliments the staff at this Casual Day beneficiary organisation for their humanity and for giving him a new environment to live in.

Until it happens to you

Give a lot, get a lot

A little humanity goes a long way

In 1986 Derick Brumer was an active young teen on his way to a drama class, just a regular Grade 8 pupil at Christian Brother’s College. As his motorcycle left the sidewalk in front of his house,

Once a winner, always a winner!

In a split second

a speeding minibus taxi collided with him. It knocked him right out of his leading role in the play, as he landed two houses further on the tarmac. It was the end of the life he knew and the start of a whole new journey. Months in a coma and years in therapy followed, but today, in spite of his disability, he is a motivational speaker who is making the most of his life. He is a man with several qualifications and a particular interest in Logotherapy which supports the philosophy that the human spirit can overcome most things if one can find the meaning in the events. But more than that, he is a man with a story to tell, a life to share and wisdom we can all benefit from. Visit: www.5percent.co.za for more.

received very little compensation. When you speak to Ivan, you can only wonder how he still has such a positive outlook. It must be because he is now employed by the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities where he contributes to helping other people who have even more severe disabilities. This Casual Day welfare organisation gave him employment and a community to belong to. His message is that you never notice disability until it happens to you.

We did it together!

Absa’s financial sponsorship and sticker distribution infrastructure is invaluable to the project. Thank you Absafor 16, going on 17, years of support.

Thank you to the Edcon group for their distribution outlets and growing support.

Thank you etv for continually bringing the Casual Day message to the fabulous etv viewers all over our country.

Game and DionWired swelled the coffers by R1,8 million in 2011. We appreciate their dedication and never-ending enthusiasm.

Shoprite & Checkers are amongst our biggest fans. We are pleased to have them on board again in 2012.

Winner!Photo competition

Alma SchoolWinning photo, best depicting the theme for 2011 “Rock stars - Worn to be Wild”

Where to get a sticker:• Any participating NGO (see our website for a full list)• Absa • Game & DionWired stores• Edgars, CNA, Jet, Boardmans• www.casualday.co.za

Contact us:012 663 8181 (T) • 012 663 8188 (F)PO Box 10534 • Centurion • 0046 casualday@mweb.co.za www.casualday.co.za

Casual News A4 or folded to DL for easy mailing

Theme 2012!Sail into Casual Day with an outfit fit for a captain. You don’t have to be at sea to dress like a pirate or sailor. Casual Day lets you get on board with anything other than your normal dress code, as long as you wear the official Casual Day sticker (R10 donation). Don’t have time to get your Jack Sparrow threads together? Wear blue - or one of our golf shirts or caps. If you’re more comfortable up in the air, wear your flight captain’s uniform. You could also try a train conductor get-up or just your water wings!

Captains and sailors, with your crewWear a sticker or two, and something blue.

Together we take to the high seas In support of persons with disabilities.

Friends, fans & sponsors

Get on board with this promotional materialCasual Day golf shirts and caps are always popular. Show your support by wearing them! Our posters, tent cards, Casual News newsletters and stickers (R10 donation each) are available to promote the project. Visit www.casualday.co.za to order.

For large text version of Casual News visit: www.casualday.co.za (PDF format)

Bank details: Bank: AbsaAccount Name:Casual DayAccount Number: 404 535 5076Branch Code: 63 03 05

Don’t miss the boat!

National beneficiaries: The National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities in SA • Disabled People SA SA Federation for Mental Health • Epilepsy SA • Deaf Federation of SA • SA National Council for the Blind

• English / Afrikaans• English / Sotho• English / Zulu• English / Xhosa• English / Tswana

Golf shirts - R75 including a sticker Sizes XXS - 4XL

Caps - R40 including a

sticker

Stickers - R10

Tent cards

Posters - A3 297 x 420mm double-sided, various languages

Mail your 2012 photocompetition entries to us!

English / Afrikaansoverleaf

GIVE RIGHT NOW!

SMS the word CASUAL to 40214 and donate R20.

Scan me & download a link to donate in other ways.

NPO 000-923

(Network and adminfees apply. No free SMS’s)

For persons with disabilities