Headway Gauteng celebrates 20th birthday

PARKVIEW - Headway Gauteng thanked everyone who contributed to their 20 years of existence at their birthday celebrations.

October 16, 2015

Shanice Naidoo 1 minute read

June Cruickshanks, founder and vice chairman of Headway Gauteng with Bianca Burger, general manager of Headway admire the birthday cake at Moyo Zoo Lake.

Brightly coloured, hatters-themed decorations draped the tables and walls at Moyo Zoo Lake to celebrate Headway Gauteng’s 20th birthday. As a non-governmental organisation, Headway Gauteng celebrated their students and thanked all those who contributed towards keeping the organisation going for 20 years.

“When someone dear to you has acquired a brain injury, you don’t always feel in the mood for celebrations and theme parties. We all have different stories to tell about the tragedy that changed our families but, speaking personally, our family went from ‘happy to heartbroken’ in a few seconds, and words like coma and brain injury quickly replaced words like school and cricket matches,” said June Cruickshanks founding member and vice chairman of Headway Gauteng.

Sally Spada, fundraising and donor relations for Headway Gauteng added, “We are dedicated to offering various support programmes to survivors of brain injury and their families. The vast majority of our injured members have sustained a traumatic brain injury as a result of motor vehicle, motorcycle and pedestrian-vehicle accidents, assaults and sporting accidents.”

She explained that they also assist survivors of acquired brain injuries such as stroke. “These people have led a full life up until the brain injury, which has caused permanent changes to physical, cognitive, emotional and behavioural processes.”

Spada added a vote of thanks to the sponsors of the 20th birthday celebration and said that she hoped the celebrations also created awareness about the organisation and people with brain injuries.

Headway Gauteng started in Hyde Park in 1999 and has since opened three other branches in Soweto, Alexandra and, recently, Tshwane.

As an organisation that relies solely on sponsorship, they are always in dire need of funds and in need of the following items at their Alexandra and Soweto branches on an ongoing basis: