Dear Sir/Madame,

 Thank you for affording me the opportunity to reach out to you in requesting your assistance.

 OVER 50 SEVERELY physically handicapped children of the United Cerebral Palsy Association of South Africa (UCPA), could soon be homeless as our Centre - the only one of its kind in Gauteng, and possibly South Africa - fights a loosing baffle against cut subsidies and rising costs.

 UCPA, established in 1961 by Mr. Harry Kessler, currently provides round the-clock care to 53 residents ranging in age from a three-month-old infant to a 30-year-old adult who has lived in the Centre all his life.

 All the residents at UCPA have Cerebral Palsy (CP), a condition caused when the brain is hurt or damaged, usually before, during or just after birth. This brain damage affects - to varying degrees - sufferers' ability to move arms and legs, turn their heads, sit unaided, or even control the muscles required to talk, smile or swallow.

 CP can't be cured, but with intense therapy and training, a person with CP can learn different ways to do things. The residents of UCPA are among the country's most severely affected CP sufferers, unable to care for even their most basic needs and unable to communicate, except with their eyes.

 Yet, like most people with CP, they have average or above average intelligence. They hurt when strangers stare at them when they venture out in public, they feel frustrated by being locked in bodies which won't respond and by their inability to communicate freely; they suffer boredom from being trapped in one place, and one position all day.

 The plight of CP sufferers was illustrated when the story of Christy Brown was dramatized by British actor Daniel Day-Lewis in the multiple award-winning movie "My Left Foot".

 The residents of UCPA require constant care, intense therapy and stimulation to enable them to learn different ways to do things and to enable them to reach their fullest possible potential as human beings. At present, the home - although run down - is able to provide for these needs.

 The severity of the disability experienced by most of the residents - most can't walk, talk or even feed themselves - means they require 24-hour attention which few families are equipped, or financially able to provide.

 One proposal is that the fees are increased by 20% with immediate effect and parents who don't make any contribution be forced to remove their children from the Centre. But parent contributions are currently nearly R80 000 in arrears because the monthly fees are high. Many of our children have been abandoned by their families and, should UCPA close, would have no where to go.

 The crisis is not insurmountable. In order to alter the course of events and to ensure the ability of UCPA to meet the challenges it is currently facing, we have launched a concerted fund-raising campaign aimed at saving the hostel and upgrading the facilities available to the residents.

 1. We are appealing to the Public and Professional Organizations to assist us financially with donations in the form of stop orders for small amounts paid over automatically on a monthly basis.

2.Appeals to Businesses and Individuals to "Adopt¹¹ a child, who will take responsibility for the financial needs of a child for a given period, as we accommodate a number of orphaned children.

3.The property, on which UCPA is situated₁ although valuable, is not fully developed nor maintained. The buildings are in desperate need of restoration. A system of preventative maintenance must be implemented to ensure that the facilities are maintained without undue additional expenses.

4.Our furniture, although serving its purpose, needs to be upgraded or replaced, i.e. beds, mattresses, cupboards, linen, etc.

5.UCPA's aim is limit our expenses and become more independent. We would like to start a vegetable garden, which will serve a dual purpose; i.e. to supply the kitchen with good quality vegetables and selling the excess to add to our financial income.

6.As many of our children are relying 100% on our Care Staff to be changed, bathed, clothed and fed, many of them need their food in a pur6e form as they can not chew solids. This result in all their food being mixed together and most of the time served cold. To improve their meals our kitchen is in need of an additional 4 blenders and a Microwave to re-heat the meal after it has been in the blender.

7.Although our children receive medical and stimulation attention, we need to expand their entertainment facilities, by means of Televisions, Video Recorders, and an M-Net Decoder with monthly subscriptions, Music Centre's and Computers with Educational Programs. We would also like to take the children on field trips. Many of our children have not been home for years - their parents have simply forgotten about them, but at present we have no means to take them on a field trip.

Our Annual Report is available upon request. If you are in Johannesburg you are also invited to visit UCPA for an extended tour of our premises and to meet our children.

 Trusting that the above will inspire you to help our children.

Yours faithfully

Loraine Marshall

Fund Raising Co-Ordinate