APD goes all-out for Casual Day

On Friday 2 September the country celebrated the annual fund-raising initiative, Casual Day, but no one celebrated with as much spirit and joy as Breede Valley APD in Worcester.

Breede Valley Association for Persons with Disabilities (BVAPD) is a registered non-profit organisation that renders therapeutic, social and community development services to all persons with disabilities in the Breede Valley municipal area, including the towns of Worcester, Rawsonville, De Doorns and Touws River.

Casual Day is South Africa’s leading fund-raising & awareness campaign for Persons with Disabilities and is the flagship project of the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities (NCPD).

Launched in 1995, Casual Day is an awareness and fund-raising campaign benefiting persons with disabilities. Each year, South Africans are encouraged to go to work or school dressed differently – either dress up or dress down – and to wear the official Casual Day sticker and merchandise to show their support for Persons with Disabilities.

This year BVAPD went all-out. The day was fun filled with activities ranging from balance games to dance competitions and the staff, community members and members of the Disabled community were truly all smiles.

This organisation has been around more than seven decades and this year once again their trusted partner, Engen, joined the festivities and even announced the renewal of their annual contribution to BVAPD.

Engen, in partnership with the organizations Mamas Alliance and More Than, assists BVAPD with many initiatives built on upskilling and various learning programmes.

Mama Alliance is a non-profit organisation focused on uniting business with a focus on philanthropism with other non-profits seeking guidance and assistance. The More Than Foundation is focused on helping those in need.

“It is an honour to stand here today and announce our renewal of our relationship with BVAPD. This cycle the focus will be on upliftment programmes, specifically programmes centred around equipping members of the Disabled community with the necessary skills to later penetrate a wider job market,” Adhila Hamdulay, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) manager of Engen South Africa said.

She also emphasized that they love working with the Breede Valley team. Gaoagiwe German More, CSI manager at Mamas Alliance said that they are proud to work with initiatives such as BVAPD.

“This is a truly unique partnership and we look forward to what the future entails,” he added.

CEO at BVAPD, Louine Griessel said they are very thankful to all their partners.

“We can’t do any of this without them. They make it so easy for us to do the work that we do and we are excited to roll out more projects and exciting things in the near future.”

Community Development Assistant at BVAPD, Verna van Wyk, was the MC for the day.

CEO of BVAPD, Louine Griessel, addressed and welcomed all.

Gaoagiwe German More, CSI manager at Mamas Alliance emphazised his excitement for future projects in collaboration with BVAPD and Engen.

The management team of BVAPD, the staff of Engen Oil South Africa, Mama’s Alliance and other role players.

There was singing and dancing.

Members competed in different teams and had fun dancing the day away.

Even the famous 2019 dance, Jerusalema, had everyone on their feet.

Leticia January and Luciano Wehr competing in the potato balance run.

Maurizia Cremon was ecstatic after winning a round of bead threading.

Fredil Douries competed to blow up a balloon as fast as possible, tie the knot and sit on it until it bursts.

Reagan Bosman and Marshall Maart competed in the one legged race competition.

Adhila Hamdulay, Corporate Social Investment (CSI) manager of Engen South Africa while renewing their partnership with BVAPD.