‘Inspiration to us all’
Cerebral palsy sufferer, 12, set to show mettle – and heart – in IronKids
BELIEVING that she is no different from any ablebodied person, a young cerebral palsy sufferer from Port Elizabeth will take on the Spur IronKids event to raise funds for children with cancer.
Kaitlynn van Rooyen, 12, of Algoa Park, said she had never let her disability stand in the way of her doing what she wanted to do.
The Grade 7 pupil at Cape Recife School said: “People look at us [disabled people] and think we are different, but we are not.
“What is important is our heart and that is what makes us different.
“I don’t let my disability get in the way of something I want to do. If I don’t know how to do it, I don’t give up, I ask for help.”
Kaitlynn said a segment on Algoa FM five years ago piqued her interest in the Childhood Cancer Foundation (Choc).
“The woman from Choc was asking people to donate Christmas parcels,” she said.
“I didn’t know what Choc was, so my grandma explained it to me.”
It was then that Kaitlynn’s relationship with Choc started. That year alone, she donated 70 party packs to the organisation.
The cheerful youngster has also been involved in three other events to assist Choc. She has given cancer patients blankets with the words Love, Hope, Faith embroidered on them, helped families of cancer patients with food parcels, and given presents to families.
Now she will take on the big challenge of IronKids. With the assistance of her father, Shaun, she will be completing the 60m swim and 1.2km walk to raise funds for Choc.
In previous years, Kaitlynn’s father pushed her in a wheelchair for a kilometre of the distance and she used her walker for the remaining 200m.
Kaitlynn said she loved helping other people. “It comes from the heart.”
Her grandmother, Colleen van Rooyen, 59, said Kaitlynn came up with fundraising ideas on her own.
“As young as is, she thinks like a grown up. She thinks of things to do on her own and because she can’t do it herself, she asks us for help,” she said proudly.
Choc branch coordinator Marcelle Thompson said: “Kaitlynn is an inspiration to us all, both young and old.
“She teaches us that irrespective of one’s disability or circumstances, there is still so much one can do to assist,” she said.
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