BCT: What is your designation at Kids Haven?
SD: I am the coordinator of fund-raising, which means that I look after anything to do with money and donations of secondhand goods.
BCT: Why did you join Kids Haven?
SD: I joined Kids Haven in January 2001. I am a qualified teacher, but my chronically ill child prevented me from returning to a classroom. My son, Ciaran, no longer has medical emergencies but I am very happy doing this job and I won’t be going back into teaching.
BCT: Why Kids Haven?
SD: Kids Haven is part of my life. This organisation started in Benoni because Moira Simpson, the founder and managing director, is a Benoni resident. She could not stand to see children in need in her own hometown and felt galvanised to do something to help. If someone like Moira can feel so passionately about her hometown, then I am happy to be a part of this movement.
BCT: Tell us about yourself?
SD: I have three older sisters, Jill van der Walt, Andy Clark and Hilary Grey. My father, Nigel Grey, was an agronomist and loved teaching farmers how to get the most from their land, while my mother, Joan Grey, looked after us all. I am married to Paul and we have been married for 27 years. We have two children, Ciaran, who has significant intellectual impairment, an epilepsy syndrome and is also autistic. He is turning 21 this year, but remains as madly in love with Barney the dinosaur as ever. My daughter, Heather, finished matric in 2016, collected eight distinctions and heads off to UCT in March to start a degree in business science.
BCT: What are your hobbies?
SD: When I am not working, I am running. I recently ran the Johnson Crane half marathon in Benoni and am hoping to complete a full marathon in preparation for the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in April. I started running in 2002 and ran my very first race in Benoni when I completed the then Slow-Mag half marathon.
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