How the Foundation Works
Success Stories!
Thumbs up for my independence!
Born with cerebral palsy, Kaylashin up till now spent his entire life “scooting” across the floor in order to explore his world – as small as it was.
His favorite hobbies are watching motor sport, soccer and cricket on TV. In his agile mind, he yearns to play soccer or cricket, the country’s national sport.
Being born to two dedicated parents, they understood the importance of love, care and education. The parents recently sustained sever injuries during a robbery, and as a result of this, found it even more difficult to carry Kaylashin in the home.
The parents overcame the hurdle of ensuring that Kaylashin received adequate education when they arranged to borrow a wheelchair from an elderly uncle to attend school. The use of this adult chair aggravated spinal damage in Kaylashin. The discomfort caused the child to become increasingly frustrated and rather than risk pain and frustration, Kaylashin would then resort to crawling along the floor.
The Robert & Claire Peter Foundation was fortunate to hear of his plight. Through the imaginative efforts of its directors, arrangements were made to send a wheelchair to Kaylashin in South Africa. The parents are grateful that, with his own chair, he can now be moved from the bed to the bathroom with ease. His therapist reports that the “new chair” is assisting with straightening his spine, relieving his sense of frustration and low self-esteem. This has given him a sense of independence and confidence he never experienced before.
His transformation to a normal life may not be completed, but the fact that he can move independently is certainly a step in the right direction.
April 5, 2009
On June 20th 2006, in the little town of Milford, Delaware a loving family was given a precious gift they called Phillip Struble.
During his early years, his devoted mother and family noted his struggle to crawl. Undaunted, she began by pushing on his legs until Philip developed the ability to crawl on his knees.
Thus began their long quest. Their journey took them to the world-renowned children’s center at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore, Maryland. His condition was diagnosed as Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA- Type 11). This is a group of inherited diseases that cause a progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.
Phillip Struble & Stacy Hickey
It was this journey that eventually introduced Phillip and his mom to the Robert & Claire Peter Foundation. Their need for a wheel chair was easily matched from their collection that is destined for other disabled children in South Africa.
The sudden change in his expression to a radiant smile made it all worthwhile.
It’s No Effort
Nestled in the quaint neighbor in Catonsville, Maryland is the home of Martin & Audrey Peter. The boundaries of this neighborhood cannot contain this family’s’ ties with the country of South Africa, more than 10,000 miles away.
The love that emanates from this home masks a tragedy that befell this household. In a true sense, this tragedy gave birth to a non-profit foundation focusing its attention on the plight of disabled children in South Africa.
Surrounded by valuable equipment purchased for their two disabled children (Robert & Claire), the family by word of mouth began their quest of collecting disused wheelchairs and adaptive equipment from a friend (Dr. Mary Holland and the AME Church) and the W.S. Baer School both in Baltimore. The result of this effort soon filled their 1000 sq foot basement and caused an overflow into a two-car garage.
On October 15, 2003, Martin and Audrey arranged (at a personal cost of $3,000) arranged for a 20’ container to be delivered to their home. They packed this container with cargo valued at approximately $50,000. The family (in conjunction with Rotary Clubs of both Catonsville, USA and Umhlanga – SA) commenced the first stage in their ambitious project.
The consignment will be distributed by the South African committee of the foundation with the help of the Rotary Club in South Africa to needy children and organizations that work with disabled children. Strict guidelines were imposed by the foundation to ensure that none of the equipment would be resold
The excitement attracted the attention of the local television station (Fox 45) who televised the event as a cover story in both the evening and early morning newscasts.
88 Beds
With the news of our collection efforts spreading amongst the local community, a local land developer donated a total of 88 hospital beds.
This building was the former home to many elderly persons, and despite its closure, the hospital beds began its journey destined to various hospitals in South Africa. A team of workers from a local “home-less shelter” assisted in loading the container. The fact that the beds would be used by less fortunate persons in a foreign country brought them pleasure in performing this back breaking task.
Fundraising
The House of Audre’ is purveyor of fine South African cuisine. It is also a permanent supporter of the Robert & Claire Peter Foundation.
This company is sought after by notable celebrities like Tom Cruise, Paula Abdul and an ever growing customer base that stretch from the east to west coast of the USA.
The company initially serviced expatriate South Africans and more recently entered the American consumer market.
At a recent function at the South African Embassy, over 150 guest enjoyed the finest catered business lunch. Being accustomed to cold meat sandwiches (which forms the basis of most business lunches), guests were greeted to an array of foods whose color and aroma excited all the senses. The favorable comments echoed across the room as guests wasted no time in indulging in the banquet provided by the newly appointed South African ambassador to the USA.
For more information on the House of Audre’ please log on to their site at www.houseofaudre.com
In a tradition started over five years ago, the House of Audre and the Chocolate Touch once again transformed the basement of the home of Martin & Audrey Peter into a wonderland of gourmet cookies, artistic selection of chocolates and a newly created line of fine candles.