Disability day care centre victim of burglaries
Ntombentsha Msutu
MOTHERWELL'S Association for Persons with Disabilities (APD) Day Care Centre has been experiencing a lot of break-ins since December last year.
The APD Day Care Centre, situated on the edge of Motherwell and Wells Estates, cares for 29 children, with mental and physical disabilities .
The children are aged between one and seven.
They ensure that the little ones are transported to and from their homes, fed two wholesome meals and receive educational and physical stimulation from eight caregivers.
These services are carried out with little to no financial assistance from government.
Manager of the centre Karen Jogber said they had experienced 12 burglaries since December.
"It all started during the Christmas holidays. We got called out a total of eight times during the day and night. We have had to replace all our windows countless times as the burglars are coming back to try their luck again."
Jogber said that since they have reopened after the holidays, they have had break-ins every weekend.
"We are just a small charity project that provides day care for children with disabilities from Motherwell. Our only income is the service fees that the parents pay and this small amount doesn't even cover our daily expenses," Jogber said.
Because of the burglaries, the centre needs burglar bars that can prevent the criminals from coming in.
"They stole lots of things like toys, children's clothing and even the gardening tools.
"Not to mention the broken windows and the broken doors. We're serving the community and this is what we get back" she said.
Jogber said that although the centre has a working alarm system, by the time the security company arrives, the burglars are long gone.
She said to further prevent the thieves from breaking in and to save them the costs of window repairs, the centre is desperately looking for sponsors to donate the much needed burglar bars, toys and clothing.
"We get a subsidy from social development, it's R12 a day for each child, but that is not enough, it is really expensive these days, things have gone up, it would be really nice if we could get any kind of help from the community, even if it's groceries," Jogber said.
To donate clothing and toys and any other assistance to the day care centre please contact Karen Jogber on (041)461-1370