Back to Headway-Gauteng

November 2007
Dear Members

FEEDBACK FROM THE HFC MEETING HELD ON 4TH SEPTEMBER 2007:
It is said that ‘laughter is the best medicine, and I think that those who attended this meeting ‘with a difference’ can certainly attest to this fact.

Esther Sherriff facilitated the meeting, and opened by saying that she was sure that we would have a special night; she hoped everyone would be able to utilize what we would learn and train ourselves to use it.  She then introduced Janine Grobler, the only specialist in South Africa who teaches ‘Laughter Yoga’.  

Janine told us that children laugh approximately 400 times per day, due to the fact that they have no worries, and, therefore, have joy in their souls.  As we grow older we become programmed to the stressful environment we live in, and only laugh about five times per day.

The ‘Laughter Yoga’ programme was started in 1995 by a medical doctor in India who was involved in market research studying the benefits of laughter.  His findings were profound - he realized that his patients needed ‘laughter therapy’.  He stayed up until four o’clock one morning thinking about this and decided to start a ‘laughter club’.  At seven o’clock that morning he rushed out to a park where he managed to get four people interested and by the end of that week he had fifty people in his club.  They told jokes to each other in order to start laughing.  However, a huge breakthrough occurred when it was realized that the human body cannot distinguish between fake and real laughter!  They didn’t need to tell jokes anymore. They could make themselves laugh, and very often their fake laughs became genuine.  There are now 5000 laughter clubs in India alone, as well as clubs in fifty five other countries.

Employers realize that production improves when their employees start the day laughing, and Janine is regularly called to corporate organizations to teach laughter therapy.  She is also often called to open a conference or seminar as delegates are more responsive after laughter therapy.

To understand laughter, we need to understand stress.  Stress releases hormones and chemicals into the body.  In the old days there was time to get over the stressful event and get rid of the unwanted chemicals from the system, but these days stress is ongoing and, we therefore, need laughter to help alleviate it.  Extreme stress can cause a lack of oxygen in the body.  When a person laughs it causes the diaphragm to push on the lungs and exhale stale air, thereby oxygenating and energizing the body which will result in giving us more energy in order to cope with life. 

Janine then took us through a series of exercises to teach us how to make ourselves laugh, and told us the interesting fact that the benefits from laughing had been proved.  Tests have shown that laughter releases endorphins which reduce pain and create a positive state of mind.  Laughter therefore, would have important benefits for everyone involved with TBI, ie patients, family and friends, and also caregivers.

Esther then told us that some people felt the benefits of laughter therapy the first time they did the exercises and others took longer to benefit but as laughter is contagious the more we laugh the more everyone around us would benefit.  Laughter is low-cost therapy with powerful life changing results!

This meetings must have been the most ‘hilarious’ one we have had to date, but possibly also one of the most beneficial for those attending.  We thank Janine Grobler so much for taking time to show us this different and obviously very easy therapy.  Let’s face it every one of us enjoys a good laugh, but very often when we are surrounded with the sadness that brain injury inevitably brings with it, we have forgotten how to be happy.  Thanks too to Esther Sherriff who had heard about “Laughter Therapy” and had spent almost a year trying to find someone who could demonstrate it at our HFC meeting.

Thank you to Kath and Charles McRobert who diligently take notes at the meetings and do an excellent job.

ANNIVERSARIES OF ACCIDENT/ILLNESS:
“Be the change you want to see in the world” – Tebogo Molobi (Headway Attendee)

Trevor Borcherds                      2002                             Jacob Kruger                            2005
Marika Boult                             2004                             Siphiwe Makhubu                      2004
Jabu Dandala                            1977                             Alan Mason                              1997
Gareth Dudgeon                        2002                             Mark McIntyre                         1986
Christiaan Ferreira                     2002                             Edward Summerlee                   1998
Chiné Green                              2005                             Warren Worth                           2004
Niko Kopke                              1983

NEW MEMBERS:
We welcome Suntoshni Singh and her son Tet to the Headway family and hope that their association with us will be a long and happy one.

CONDOLENCES:
Everyone at Headway sends love and sympathy to Lilliana Lulli one of our young volunteers whose father passed away very suddenly.  Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this very sad and difficult time.

Our thoughts and prayers are also with the family of Colleen Kimm who passed away recently.

GET WELL SOON:
A special get well soon message to John Holm who cut himself very badly and had to have 12 stitches in his arm.  We miss you at Headway John, and hope you will be back with us very soon.

CONGRATULATIONS:
The Stork has been very busy delivering baby boys just recently!  Congratulations to Hester Forte (one of our volunteers) whose daughter Delia had a baby boy (Ethan Kevin Forte) on 7th November.  Ethan was born prematurely but is doing very well and I am sure will bring much joy to the whole family.

Congratulations also to Thembela Mbalukwana (our fieldworker at Khomelela), who had a baby boy in September.  Thembela has been on maternity leave for 2 months and we welcome her back to Headway.

DONATIONS:
A huge thank you this month goes to Chris and Di Pearce who gave us a wonderful donation of R20 000.  We can’t thank them enough for their continued support.  Di is also one of those ‘unsung heroines’ of our organisation – a volunteer! 

We thank AECI for their donation of R3000.  This will be extremely useful over the festive season when our resources are always stretched to the limit.

As usual we have to thank all those generous people who donate groceries and biscuits on a regular basis.  A special thank you this month to the Arendt family for their donation of groceries as well as to the Eales family who brought in the most enormous tin of coffee!

Thank you to Iobal Ebrahim of Moosa’s Sale Room who donated a whole trailer load of fabric off cuts to Khomelela (our outreach programme in Alexandra).

Our thanks to Woolworths in Hyde Park for their donations of food which enables us to give our attendees at Khomelela a hot meal every day.

Rozanne Gevers has a thirst for knowledge about brain injury and buys lots of books off the internet, which when she has finished reading she kindly donates to the Headway library.  She has recently donated four books.  Thank you Rozanne.  All of us with brain injured family members should be trying to get more information.  It is always interesting to find out how other families cope and often one picks up very useful tips which one would not have known about.  Sheila has taken over the library and will help you choose a suitable book.

We thank all those people who have added extra money onto their membership fees as a donation.  Most of our members also always pay the little bit extra to our Chairman’s Fund.  This fund was started by our Chairman June Cruickshanks to help those of our disadvantaged members who are not able to afford things like medication, transport costs etc.

Di van der Hoven kindly organises free dishwashing liquid for Headway.  We really appreciate this donation.

Our sincere thanks go to The Johannesburg Society of Miniature Enthusiasts, who generously donated a portion of the gate takings from their recent festival of miniatures.  Special thanks to Lesley Klopper (also a volunteer at Headway) who motivated the donation.  These exhibitions are fascinating as well as a lot of fun.  They are held on an annual basis and are well worthwhile attending.

A big thank you to Natalie Staracek who donated a very comfortable couch as well as other items for Khomelela.

WHEELCHAIR FOR SALE:
Brand new wheelchair from USA for sale.  Folds up – small and lightweight.  Price R5000.  Please contact Mrs Kerwin 072 445-0248 for more information.

THANKS FROM ANN WORTH:
Ann Worth who lives in Bloemfontein has asked me to put a special thank you in our newsletter to Mark Bates from Huntley Africa who specialise in inflatable mattresses and wheelchairs, hoists etc.  He went out of his way to help their family when their brain injured son’s mattress deflated.  If anyone requires any of these items or help with the ones they have, it might be a good idea to contact Mark on 082 569-7382.

ST GILES
St Giles is a home for physically disabled adults situated in Kensington, Johannesburg.  They currently have two rooms available for disabled people seeking residential accommodation.  Their monthly rate is R3300 and this rate includes accommodation, meals, laundry service, physiotherapy services, occupational therapy, 24 hour care, transport to State Hospitals/Clinics and social work services.  They accommodate 50 people between the ages of 18 and 50 upon admission and have been operational for over 50 years.  They accommodate people with neurological conditions, brain injury, strokes, cerebral palsy, congenital and muscular conditions and spina bifida.  For more information you can contact St Giles on (011)615-7681.

CAREGIVER LOOKING FOR A JOB:
Emma has experience in looking after brain injured people, as she has worked for a nursing service.  Contact her on 083 960-5847.

DISABILITY EXPO:
The Disability Expo was held at Gallagher Estate from 1st November – 3rd November.  For the first time, Headway took part as an exhibitor and had a stand at the expo.  It was a very interesting and productive experience with visitors including members of the public, people with a wide range of disabilities, health care professionals, government employees and fellow exhibitors.  Exhibitors included support organisations, equipment companies and professional organisations.  Headway was fortunate to have a relatively high amount of interest and visitors and it was a great start to a long-term participation in this event.  Many thanks to those therapists and volunteers who gave of their time to assist with this event.  A special thank you to our Head Therapist, Tamsyn Bernath who organised the whole thing from start to finish, including booking our stand, setting it up and co-ordinating volunteers to man specific shifts.  Our stand looked professional and eye catching and it was great that Headway was able to get this exposure.

LADIES’ LUNCH:
Feedback from everyone who attended the lunch on 13th October was that it was a very enjoyable and sociable occasion.  We thank all of you who attended and enjoyed the afternoon with us in order to raise money for Headway.  Tamsyn was the very poised and personable MC (she did debating at school – and it shows!)  Our guest speaker was Val Donald Bell (“Madam” from the TV series “Madam and Eve”).  She told us of some of her life experiences, and even made some of the sadder occurrences seem hilariously funny.  We had so many wonderful raffle prizes that it seemed almost guaranteed that just about everyone would win a prize (unfortunately I wasn’t one of them!)  One of the more unusual ‘prizes’ was Morné Booysen, a biokineticist who works at Headway.  He donated himself! (No - those of you who didn’t come to the lunch – it’s not what you think!) He donated an assessment and exercise programme worth R500.  This was won by Kath McRobert, who wondered how she was going to go home and tell her husband that she had won a man!  We thank all those generous people who donated prizes for the raffle, especially Vicki Ketcher who donated four items!  We thank KPMG for letting us use their premises as well as KKS who did the excellent catering and all the young waitresses who worked so hard to ensure that the tables were serviced efficiently.  Of course the biggest thank you must go to Elaine and her helper Margaret who worked tirelessly to see that the day turned out the success it was.  Each table contained a chrysanthemum in a decorative pot.  These were donated by Hester Forte and one lucky lady at the table was able to take the plant home.  Hester always goes the extra mile for Headway and we thank her for once again donating so generously.  Every lady was also given a ‘goodie bag’ to take home containing amongst other things a candle donated by Alison Gitelson and beadwork made and donated by Sheila Meyerowitz.  Our special thanks to these ladies.  The profit for this event has not been finalised yet, and will be advised in a future newsletter.

HEADWAY DVD:
We told you about our Headway DVD in the September newsletter.  This DVD is now complete and we have them here for sale.  The prices are R60 for a DVD in a case, and R40 for one in a sleeve.  Purchasing one of these will give you a good idea as to what Headway stands for and you will be able to see what happens here on a daily basis.  We will also be making a small profit for Headway.  Thank you once again to Tamsyn Bernath, our hard working Head Therapist who was the chief organiser of this project, and to Life Health Rehabilitation who sponsored it, as well as to all the ‘film stars’ who took part. 

CHRISTMAS PUDDINGS FOR SALE:
San Salvador is well known for making the most fabulous Christmas puddings.  We are selling these puddings here at Headway.  The prices are R64 for a large pudding and R32 for the small one, with all proceeds going to San Salvador which is a home for intellectually challenged women.  These puddings are selling out fast so don’t be disappointed – pop in and buy one now!

HEADWAY CLOSING:
Christmas is coming and as usual Headway will be closed for a month over this period.  We will close on Friday 14th December and open again on Monday 14th January.  However, Eric will be on standby if any emergencies should occur.  HFC meetings will still take place.

NEXT MEETINGS:
The next meetings of the Headway Friendship Circle (HFC) will be held on 15th November, 13th December, 10th January 2008 and 24th January 2008, at Headway, 85 1st Road, Hyde Park at 6:00 pm.  NB  There will be no meeting on 27th December.  Contact Eric on (011)442-5733 for further information.

Editor and compiler – Annie Coe   JJ

Thought for the day:  Those who are wrapped up in themselves make a small parcel.

Never regret a day in your life.   Good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience, both are essential to life...so keep going...”  Anon.

I hope all of you were wearing the ‘green and gold’ last month!  Wasn’t it absolutely fabulous to win the Rugby World Cup?  What struck me as how it united everyone whatever colour, creed or race.  I wish it could happen more often.  With this in mind I decided our last page this month would be dedicated to South Africa!

SOUTH AFRICANISMS:

What is a braai?  It is the first thing you will be invited to when you visit South Africa.  A braai is a backyard barbecue and it will take place whatever the weather.  So you will have to go even if it’s raining like mad and hang of a cold.  At a braai you will be introduced to a substance known as mieliepap!

Ag!  This is one of the most useful South African words.  Pronounced like the “ach” in the German “achtung”, it can be used to start a reply when you are asked a tricky question, as in “Ag I don’t know”.  Or a sense of resignation:  “Ag, I’ll have some more mieliepap then.”  It can stand alone too as a signal of irritation or pleasure.

Isit!  Pronounced “usit” – this is a great word in conversations.  Derived from the two words “is” and “it”, it can be used when you have nothing to contribute if someone tells you at the braai:  “The Russians will succeed in their bid for capitalism once they adopt a work ethic and respect for private ownership.”  It is quite appropriate to respond by saying “Isit!”

Donner! A rude word – it comes from the Afrikaans “donder” (thunder).  Pronounced “dorner”, it means “beat up.”  Your rugby team can get donnered in a game (not this time guys!!) or your boss can donner you if you do a lousy job.

Jislaaik!  Pronounced “Yis-like”, it is an expression of astonishment.  For instance, if someone tells you there are a billion people in China, a suitable comment is:  “Jislaaik, that’s a hang of a lot of people, hey.”

Hey!  Often used at the end of a sentence to emphasise the importance of what has just been said, as in “Jislaaik boet, you’re only going to stop a lekker klap if can’t find your takkies now now hey?”  It can also stand alone as a question.  Instead of saying “excuse me” or “pardon” when you have not heard something directed at you, you can say: “Hey?”

Takkies!  These are sneakers or running shoes.  The word is also used to describe automobile or truck tyres. “Fat takkies” are big tyres, as in “Where did you get those lekker fat takkies on your Volksie, hey?”

Lekker!  An Afrikaans word meaning nice, this word is used by all language groups to express approval.  If you see someone of the opposite sex who is good-looking, you can exclaim:  “Lekk-errrrr!” drawing out the last syllable.

Jawelnofine!  This is another conversation fallback word.  Derived from the four words: “yes”, “well”, “no” and “fine”, it means roughly “how about that”.  If your bank manager tells you your account is overdrawn, you can say with confidence: “Jawelnofine.”

Eina!  Widely used by all language groups, this word derived from the Afrikaans, means “ouch”.  Pronounced “ay-nah”, you can shout it out in sympathy when someone burns his fingers on a hot mealie at the braai.

Howzit!  This is a universal South African greeting, and you will hear this word throughout the land.  It is often used with the word “No” as in this exchange:  “No, Howzit?” “No, fine.” “Isit?”