According to the Western Cape’s government the best thing you can do for your unborn baby is to avoid alcohol. Yet the historical drinking culture, or rather so-called ‘dop system’, awarded this province with the highest prevalence of Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) worldwide!
“A 2019 study shockingly reported that over 20% of child births in the Western Cape will result in FASD, compared to less than 1% prenatal alcohol-exposed pregnancies globally. This is why having a Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) centre in Rawsonville is vital,” says Dinah Bronkhorst, executive head of Care Protect Invest South Africa (CPI SA).
In an effort to break the evil cycle of alcohol addiction CPI SA, in collaboration with the Afrikaanse Toekomstrust (ATT), has made great strides in raising awareness and educating the public about FAS. They host camps and training sessions to inform expectant mothers about the harm of drinking to their unborn baby and offer support groups.
The unborn child’s brain function and achievements in life often is not considered by potential mothers. When the alcohol consumed enters the unborn baby’s bloodstream, it causes permanent and irreversible damage to the foetus. Apart from physical differences between a child with FAS and a healthy child, the most irrevocable damage is done in the brain. Children with FAS experience stunted physical growth, slower intellectual development and a greater vulnerability to infectious illness which puts a strain on both SA’s health and education system.
The brain damage a child with FAS experiences holistically makes it impossible for him or her to exceed in any mainstream school system. According to Dinah simple things like holding a pencil and concentrating becomes a challenge for them. By establishing a FAS-friendly classroom, granting these children the special attention they need, the Rawsonville project helps them to reach their potential.
“By educating them on a level they can understand, equipping them with a trade, teaching them about basic hygiene and restoring their self-worth they are willing take responsibility for their own life, become independent and not fall into the repeated habit of drinking,” says Bronkhorst.
In order to assist some children with homework and stimulate basic fine motor skills, CPI SA also runs an aftercare programme where approximately 18 children over the past four years. A community leader, Gladys van Wyk, successfully steers this sustainable project.
“People in the community have the highest level of respect for her; they trust and honour her opinion. She humbly operates on ground level and has earned the buy-in, in tackling the problem, from local organisations and authorities such as the police,” Dinah says.
While SA is struggling to break the awful cycle and challenges of alcohol addiction, World Foetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Day is symbolically commemorated each year at nine minutes past nine on the ninth day of the ninth month.
“CPI SA this year wants to challenge companies — as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) — to make a donation towards our FAS programme. The public can also donate new or second-hand educational toys, wooden blocks, wooden puzzles, colouring books, chairs, tables, etc. Alternatively you can donate R50 in support of our Rawsonville FAS programme by SMSing the word FAS to 40112.”
For media enquiries contact:
Dinah Bronkhorst – Executive Head
Cell: 072 126 1158
