Reunion School is the only school in the world where Cerebral Palsied children receive education and therapy in their mother tongue, Zulu, as well as in English.
Following the establishment of the Browns’ School which quickly became over-crowded, the KZN Cerebral Palsy Association realised there was a great need to expand its educational and therapeutic services.
In the townships and rural areas, many educable Cerebral Palsied children wasted away at home, because their severe speech and/or physical problems excluded them from admission to ordinary schools.
Another school
Opening a school, predominantly for black children, was our mission. These children would mainly come from disadvantaged communities from the entire KZN region and would not be turned away owing to lack of any financial contribution.
We negotiated to take control of an unused school near the old Airport and in April 1994 the first 16 Cerebral Palsied learners were enrolled. Numbers increased rapidly and there are now 162 children at the school.
Upgraded facilities
Over the years, facilities at the school have been upgraded and added to. One of the first needs which quickly became apparent, was for boarding facilities. Our first hostel accommodated 41 learners.
With the generous support of The Victor Daitz Foundation, eight state-of-the-art, fully equipped and furnished classrooms, an extra 66-bed fully equipped hostel, a new and bigger dining hall and a brand new kitchen were added in 2004. All facilities are wheelchair friendly and easily accessible by our Cerebral Palsied learners.
The school also boasts a fully equipped Therapy Centre, Life Skills Kitchen, computer centre, wheelchair-friendly playground, vegetable garden, a new Autistic unit and another 60-bed hostel which opened on 25 April 2013, thanks to generous sponsorship from Afrisun and Project Build.
Activities include baking and food gardening. Under supervision, learners grow fresh produce and bake items which are used in the hostel or sold to the local community.