SKF South Africa Visited St Francis Care Centre(Pic)

SKF South Africa¡¯s gift of R400K to the St Francis Nursery School has brought festive joy and could not have come at a better time for the St Francis Care Centre. With the South African Government cutting subsidies to HIV/Aids facilities across the country, St Francis find themselves in dire straits - loosing approximately R80K a month. SKF showed that they care and stepped up to support the good that St Francis brings to those infected and affected by the HIV virus, and have now ¡°adopted¡± the Nursery School section of the Care Centre. The Nursery School caters for approximately 20 children ranging from ages 3 to 7, the numbers varying as the home takes on more little ones in need of love and support. These children come from the St Francis ¡°Rainbow Cottage¡±, a centre that provides a home for 30 abandoned or orphaned children from birth to 7 years of age. A professional team of medical staff, teachers and a social worker, take care of the children to ensure their well being and development of their full potential. Many of the children currently at St Francis, have been abandoned or orphaned due to the HIV/Aids pandemic. With the help of qualified teachers, these children taken care of and helped to gain the knowledge that will help them on their way to primary school and, it is hoped, to cope later in their adult lives. The St Francis staff even monitor those that reach an age to leave the Care Centre, to make sure that they are medically and emotionally provided for. St Francis Care Centre was founded by 1992, by Father Stan Brennan OFM, a Franciscan priest, when he was deeply touched by the neglect and ostracisation of people affected or infected with HIV/AIDS whilst visiting homes and hospitals in the 1980¡¯s. Many were neglected by their families and friends and were dying alone and destitute. St Francis has become a haven where these people are cared for with love, warmth and compassion. Besides the Rainbow Cottage and Nursery School, St Francis Care Centre also provides a sanctuary for up to 48 terminally ill HIV/AIDS adult patients. These patients are nursed in a professional and comfortable environment whilst their physical, spiritual, emotional and social needs are taken care of. St Francis opened an Anti Retroviral Clinic on 1st September 2004, where free counselling, testing and treatment is provided to all members of the community. A medical doctor together with a team of professional nurses and counsellors take care of patients and their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. To date, more than 2500 patients have visited the clinic for counselling and testing and over 650 of these have been started on anti-retroviral treatment with very encouraging results. The anti-retroviral drugs are provided free as a result of donations received from American PEPFAR (The Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief) funding. SKF South Africa is proud to be associated with the St Francis Care Centre, and aim to support them now and into the future. SKF also extend a challenge to other corporates in the Boksburg area to get involved with St Francis as a lot more funding is required to keep this facility afloat. Corporates also are encouraged to sponsor the various children¡¯s or adult wards for 2007. By everyone doing their part for the community, we can only go from strength to strength.