The Milkwood Learning Academy, an institution for kids with special needs, is about to close, but its founder is adamant about keeping the doors open.
Nestled in the heart of the Helderberg region, the academy is a haven for children with special needs, including those with learning disabilities, autism, and Down syndrome.
Milkwood was founded by Lize Marais seven years ago, and has become a critical resource for affordable quality education tailored to children with intellectual disabilities.
The school offers the adapted education curriculum (CAPS) that covers all the core areas of learning along with academic building blocks of learning, including creative brain building and development.
“Our goal is to help children with special needs to reach their full potential as individuals,” Marais said.
But the academy’s survival is in jeopardy due to an urgent financial problem and Marais is mobilising the community to secure the future of 18 students before the end of March this year.
“We are very behind on our rent, and we are struggling to cover our dayto-day costs. We have been given an ultimatum by the landlord to vacate the premises by the end of March,” Marais explained.
Milkwood’s Toy Library, which provides the Helderberg community with state-of-the-art educational games and resources, is also in jeopardy.
“We don’t want to turn children away because of a lack of finances, and we don’t get any support from the government,” Marais said.
She claimed: “Because I don’t want to increase my school fees or turn children away, our school has run into very serious financial problems during the last couple of months. That is why I keep my school fees as low as possible, otherwise most of my children’s parents will not be able to pay school fees.”
A crowdfunding campaign on the BackaBuddy website has already raised over R16 000 of their R60 000 goal.
“I know that my children have nowhere else to go if Milkwood closes down. Please help me to save Milkwood by donating,” Marais said.
Meanwhile, Milkwood has already witnessed numerous young students’ successes throughout the years.
According to Marais, some kids were rejected by society, and others were enrolled in mainstream schools and were subject to bullying from other children.
“Many of my children can’t speak a word or read a word when they join Milkwood. Later they learn to talk, play with others and even read books,” she said.
If you’d like to contribute, visit backabuddy.co.za.