Bringing dignity to others is what the Cape Winelands District Municipality (CWDM) aimed to do with its recent donation of adult nappies to organisations and institutions in the greater Stellenbosch area.
The donation of nappies were handed over by project manager of socio-economic development Myrtle Benjamin and the CWDM team to the local Older Persons Forum, Franschhoek Hospice, the Fleur de Lis Home as well as the Franschhoek Community Day Centre, among others, last Thursday (5 June).
Benjamin said the need for resources was extensive throughout the district, and the Dignity Programme aimed to assist in addressing the extensive need for the basic goods and services that make life bearable and worthwhile. “For many in need of them adult nappies are unaffordable. Unfortunately it even happens that an elderly person may wear the same nappy all day and get a clean one only in the evening for the rest of the night because these items are expensive and inaccessible to the ordinary person.”
The district municipality donated more than 1 200 nappies in Stellenbosch, with other regions in the district set to receive donations in due course.
To ensure the nappies are given to those who need it most, the municipality worked with the Department of Social Development’s social workers.
“This is an annual project, and there are so many vulnerable groups within our communities that need assistance. If we could give more we would, but we know that these nappies will make a positive difference to these recipients,” Benjamin added.
One such recipient is Cynthia Memani, of the Unakho Day Care in Khayamandi, who said the donation of small nappies would make a huge difference in the running of her centre.
She and her team look after children with various disabilities, physical and mental. “The municipality has helped us for about three years, and the difference donations such as these make is tangible,” Memani said.
“The pressure families are under in caring for a disabled child is already great, so receiving free nappies takes away some of the financial burden.”
Memani said in a community where some residents struggle financially simply to cover their basic needs, donations such as these are greatly appreciated.
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