Caleb wins at Boccia - Novita Children's Services

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L
ife in the Republic of Liberia,
West Africa, was harsh for a
young girl – and dangerous.
Gladys Koffa, a Novita volunteer,
knows better than most what it is like to
want to go to school. Living in Liberia
as a young pupil, Gladys enjoyed
school, but she was forced to stop.
Education was not a priority for young
girls in her strife-torn country.
She left in mid-2009 in search of a
better life. She thinks she may have
found it here in Adelaide, a long way
from her childhood past on the
African continent.
Keen to resume her schooling,
Gladys enrolled in a local educational
institution and progressed to the stage
where she is now studying four Year 11
subjects at Thebarton Senior College.
“I then hope to do Year 12. After that,
I really don’t know at this stage,” she
told Nexus.
Highly creative, Gladys enjoys
drawing cartoons.
“I create my own, drawn from my own
ideas. At Thebarton I use a computer on
which I am learning to make my own
story in video form using a ‘Flash’
computer program,” she said proudly.
Life has been kinder to Gladys in
Australia and, in an ironic twist, her own
children, aged 8 and 9, are happily
enrolled at Blair Athol Primary.
A love of
people and a
strong dislike for
doing nothing led
Gladys to volunteer
for Novita.
“I first came into contact with the
organisation last year when I took part in
Walk With Me,” she said.
“I was looking for an organisation
to help, and so I applied through a
volunteer agency.
Each time it’s like I am coming to
work here at Novita Regency Park.
I meet new people and the staff are
friendly and helpful. Last year I filled
showbags for the Christmas party, and
I have done magazine compilation too.”
Gladys is one of hundreds of Novita
volunteers whose dedicated service
Novita honoured during National
Volunteers Week in May.
Without people like Gladys, Novita
would find it much more difficult to
provide the support it does to the young
people and families who depend on
the organisation for its services.
Get a fair go at events
G
etting into an event with your
carer without paying for an
additional ticket is now easier.
All you need do is to get yourself a
free Companion Card which is issued
to people with a permanent disability
who require attendant care support.
There are more than 6.1 million
Australians who volunteer. Australian
volunteers are essential to society,
and many charities would struggle to
survive without their support. Australian
volunteers contribute more than 700
million hours of community service to
so many areas of society, including
community health care, heritage and
arts, environment conservation,
emergency services, education,
social justice and sports.
Novita’s hundreds of dedicated
volunteers together contribute
thousands of hours in support of our
young children and teenagers living
with disability. Great job everyone!
Thanks from all of us at Novita.
It allows a companion to enter free of
charge at participating venues and
activities. There are no income or
assets tests applied to applications
for a Companion Card.
For more information go to
www.sa.companioncard.asn.au
CITY-BAY
FUN RUN
L
ace up your running shoes on
Sunday, 16 September and run
or walk the streets of Adelaide
in support of young people living
with disabilities.
Improve your health and fitness by
participating in the 12k, 6k or 3k
events. Go that extra step and create
an online fundraising page with
Everyday Hero. You could ask family
and friends to sponsor your efforts by
donating to Novita Children’s Services.
Join in the fun with thousands
of other South Australians and
know that you are helping children
with disabilities and special needs.
For more information on
how to run for Novita and
to order your T-shirts go to
www.novita.org.au/city-bay
H
undreds of doors were
knocked and doorbells
rung in Pt Augusta, in
May, as part of the annual
Down Every Street Appeal.
Local members of the
Pt Augusta Auxiliary for Novita
Children’s Services were out
and about collecting for children
living with disabilities. The Appeal
ran from 28 April to 21 May.
Auxiliary Patron, Mitch
Hancock, from Gulf and Ranges
Optometrists, donated $1000 to
launch the Appeal for the fifth
year in a row.
Novita’s Down Every Street
Appeal began in 1953 and has
grown into one of the largest
appeals of its type in South Australia.
For many Novita children, it can
take years of therapy, support and
hard work before they are able to
www.novita.org.au
Proudly supporting
children living with disabilities
in the 2012 City-Bay
Order
your
T-Shirts
now!
Down Every Street Appeal in Pt Augusta
take their very first steps.
So to help these little stars
on their amazing journeys,
will go a long way to putting
smiles on their faces.
Port Augusta’s Novita group
and generous community
volunteers went ‘down every
street’ to raise money and
awareness for South Aussie kids
living with some form of physical
disability and special needs. This
year’s appeal covered Port
Augusta, Stirling North, Quorn
and Wilmington.
It’s easy for people to support
the 2013 Appeal. You can
volunteer to be a Novita collector
next year, or even become a
committee member,
by contacting the Port Augusta’s
Auxiliary President, Emily Holden,
on 8642 6813.
NDIS BUDGET
NEWS WELCOMED
A
$1.03 billion package in
the 2012-13 federal budget
to support measures to
launch a National Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has
been welcomed by Novita
Children’s Services.
Novita Chief Executive, Glenn
Rappensberg, says it is a significant
step in ensuring people living with
disability are adequately cared for.
“The Treasurer’s announcement
of funding over four years to support
the introduction of an NDIS is great
news for people living with disability,
their families and carers,” Mr
Rappensberg said.
“The need to establish an NDIS
has been advocated for by many
thousands of people with disabilities,
their families, carers and disability
service providers around the nation
for some time. Novita Children’s
Services made several submissions
to the Productivity Commission
during its consultation process on
this important matter.
“It remains our view that all
children and young people with
disabilities should be eligible for
inclusion within the NDIS and that
services must be driven and
empowered by people with
disabilities,” Mr Rappensberg said.
The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard,
has stated that a National Disability
Insurance Scheme would start in
Australia from July 2013 in up to
four locations across the country.
Mr Rappensberg said that
disability services (support and
care) for children must be
personalised, caring and specialised.
“Funding must be equitable
across the nation, balanced by the
desirability of having local
assessments, community support
and flexible responses, which are
critical for children and adolescents
with disability as they deal with
changing life needs,” he said.