In February this year, Climb Any Mountain was invited to present our vision for those with learning disability to a special Steering Committee in South Africa, co-chaired by the National Departments of Human Settlements and Social Development.
This is a huge accomplishment for us, as we continue to work towards transforming the services for those with learning disability in South Africa – it’s clear the conversation on tackling the issues continues to move forward at a national and regional level.
The steering committee was formed in the summer of 2014 to look at housing shortages for those with special needs. It also has representatives from a range of non-profit organisations working in various sectors, from mental health and orphans to vulnerable women and physical disability.
Neil Danks, who represented Climb Any Mountain at the meeting, also contributed to the discussion on how government funding could help to increase the number of residential facilities for those with special needs.
We continue to be involved in the policy discussion and have committed to supporting a government delegation in their plan to visit services in the UK to learn and share best practice.
As well as participating in the special needs housing workshop we used the opportunity during the rest of the week to meet a number of Corporate Social Investment Heads at some of the largest South African companies. The response from those we met was amazing, with many keen to support the Transitional Living Center, as well as the longer term community housing programme we are committed to creating.
From bags of cement and programme funding to sofas, chairs and toasters, the appetite to support our vision never ceases to amaze us. Watch this space for more news as the project moves forward.
