Breede Valley Association of and for Persons with Disabilities (BVAPD) is a non-profit organization that renders therapeutic, social and community development services to all persons with disabilities in the Breede Valley Municipal area, including the communities of Worcester, Rawsonville, De Doorns and Touws River.
Breede Valley Association for Persons with Disabilities, previously known as Worcester Cripple Care and Worcester Association for the Physically Disabled, was establised in 1951 after Drs Dommisse and Wilson realized the need for aftercare for persons with disabilities in the area. The organisation developed and implemented a transformation plan as well as administrative systems and procedures in order to ensure good governance, cost effective, equitable, accessible and accountable service delivery and management of the organization.
Currently, the 6 strategic focus areas of our organization includes good governance, developmental social work services, work & employment, education & childcare, youth development and wellness & awareness.
Striving towards our organizations’ vision of enabling a disabling society by facilitating and advocating for inclusion and equality for all, various programmes and projects have resulted within the 6 strategic areas as mentioned.
These programmes and projects include:
1) Sharing of knowledge and assistance to persons and families living with disabilities, to improve their quality of life through the Breede Valley APD Developmental Social Services Model;
2) Special Care Centre in Worcester, accommodating 25 children with disabilities,
3) Special Care Centre in Touws River, accommodating 10 children with disabilities;
4) Special Care Centre in De Doorns , accommodating 21 children with disabilities;
5) Special Care Centre in Rawsonville, accommodating 10 children with disabilities;
6) the CommKidz-project, providing accessible development, training, stimulation, care to children with disabilities not able to access Special Care Centers/Child Development Centers;
7) the running of a fully functional laundromat operated entirely by 32 persons with disabilities;
8) running a waste management project, providing employment opportunities for 10 persons with disabilities;
9) Youthability project providing woodwork skills training and development to 20 youth with disabilities;
10) Hospitality unit providing skills training and development to 5 youth with disabilities, offering a comprehensive range of services to host seminars and business meetings;
11) the Partners4Life parent support programme, providing support and training to the caregivers of children with disabilities;
12) a youth development programme, providing skills training to youth with disabilities from Worcester, Zweletemba, Touwsriver, Rawsonville and De Doorns;
13) establishing the "Saam-Staan" Skill-training project for adolescents with disabilities in Touws River in Aug 2019;
14) establishing the P4L Adult Care Centre for young adults with profound intellectual disabilities in Worcester in Jan 2020;
15) providing community support and assistance to persons with disabilities and their families through family preservation and the use of volunteer services.
16) Partnering with the MoreThan organisation for providing personal growth and wellness guidance and training to staff, beneficiaries and vulnerable communities;
17) Establishing food gardens in Worcester, Rawsonville, De Doorns and Touws River to ensure more accessible and sustainable food security and nutrition to vulnerable persons with disabilities.
Our services to persons with disabilities are expanding with a rapid pace, resulting in the ongoing process of securing opportunities and partners to ensure cost-effective and accessible service-delivery and opportunities to all persons with disabilities in our service area.