Meet the Residents
Most of our residents are people who became wheelchair users as a result of a catastrophic spinal cord injury at some stage in their lives.
Committee Chairperson
Kitchen
Living in Stellenbosch, Fizel grew up surrounded by family and friends. At the age of 16 his life changed forever when he was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between rival gangs. A stray bullet struck Fizel in the neck, immediately paralyzing him and leaving him unable to take care of his most basic needs. Fizel could not go back to his old school but was able to complete his education at Astra School, a school for people with special needs where he stayed as a border.
When his schooling was over Fizel had no alternative but to return to Stellenbosch where he stayed in circumstances which were less than ideal as the surrounding area was not accessible and there was no one trained to take care of his special needs.
Members of his family had to sacrifice their jobs to take care of him and the lack of access to transport resulted in him being confined to his immediate environment with no hope of accessing services which would allow him to develop himself.
Fizel moved into The Centre and immediately started to grow.
Since he moved into The Centre Fizel has been awarded Western Province colours for wheelchair rugby, participated in numerous wheelchair races, taken up blow darts, started painting with his mouth, attended Technicon and has even found employment at the Western Cape Rehabilitation Centre. It thanks to having the stability and support of The Centre that Fizel has been able to achieve so much. Fizel is responsible for seeing to The Centre’s vehicles.
Club 500
My name is Louis Choonoo I’m living here at Huis Andries Olivier (Quadriplegic Centre in Durbanville).
I had a fall in the year 2010 where I slipped off a height and injured my spine.
I’m living here because this place is suitable because I’m a paraplegic T9 level injury. My families place is not wheelchair friendly.
I’m an easy to get along with person, positive and always adventurous to trying new things. I at times enjoy being crafty making wood-burning pictures, mosaics and beaded items which I sell on markets if the season is appropriate.
I enjoy living here at Huis Andries Olivier I enjoy the company of my fellow residents we all work together to being functional at the house. My duties at the house are managing the bookstall on a monthly basis to raise funds for the house. I also assist with the hiring of the houses catering equipment and our houses transport.
Committee Vice Chairperson
My name is Denver Baron, I’m 40 years old. I was privileged to have the chance to finish school in 1994. It did however take me two years to find a permanent job. For three years I worked as an isle assistant until I was promoted to a salesman.
On the 13th of May 2001 (a Mother’s Day incidentally) on an outing with colleagues, tragedy struck with an innocuous dive into a tidal pool at Klippies Bay Day Resort, along the Helderberg coast. The impact of my head hitting a rock below the water surface ruptured and dislocated my 4th & 5th vertebrae, respectively. This catastrophic injury rendered me paralyzed from the chest down. After little over a year in Conradie Hospital I was discharged to the care of my mother.
My father and two younger sisters helped with my care as much as they could but the bulk of my special needs was met by my mother despite many challenges. My father took the task of turning me as I was mostly confined to my bed.
After his passing in 2014 my mother, once again, saw to all my needs. This in turn put an exceptional amount of strain on a woman whom have fought of Breast Cancer in 2012. In this time though I had made enquiries about care facilities but my greatest desire was to become a resident of House Andries Olivier. My prayers was answered with a message in early October 2017 to serve a 2 month probationary period at the house. My probation was successful and on the 10th of January 2018 I was welcomed as a permanent resident.
At HAO, I hope to get a chance to study marketing and graphics designing and also further my limited knowledge of computers. I would also like to take up mouth painting as a hobby. Being a resident at HAO is a privilege which I intend to appreciate daily however it also comes with an exceptional amount of responsibility which, God willing, I will be able to fulfill over the duration of hopefully a very long stay.
Hiring Goods
I am Heiron Roneen Joseph 43 years Tetra plegic I was born in springbok in 1978.
I completed my primary schooling in the northern cape and moved to Vredenburg on the west coast in the early 90s.
I had a diving accident on the 5th January 2005 which left me paralyzed from the neck down.
Prior to my accident I was in the engineering field.
Since my accident I’ve taken up mouth painting as a hobby and it later became my profession.
I also studied business administration whilst being in a wheelchair.
My hobbies are reading and mouth art painting
I love the outdoors and are full of energy for life.
Transport
I’m Andrew Grobler, I was born in 1996. I’m a C5-C6 Quadriplegic. I’m from Cape Town and I’ve been here for all my life. I love our mother city and even though I want to travel I will always want to come back. I matriculated in 2014 from Edgemead High School. After which I studied IT for a year before discovering it was not for me. After that I worked as a bartender up until I broke my neck.
I broke my neck in a pool diving accident on the 28th of December 2016. It was a warm summers morning at a friend’s house and to cool off I went swimming. I did a dive, head first, without realizing how shallow the pool was and I broke my neck instantly on impact.
I floated to the surface and quickly realized I couldn’t move any of my limbs, shortly after which I drowned. Luckily my friends were close by and quickly realized what had happened. They saved my life.
Since then I’ve adapted to my new life as a Quad and I’m happy. Life has definitely not been easy but we adapt, we become stronger and we survive. You stop thinking about what you’ve lost and start thinking about what you can still be doing. Life is a blessing, I’m grateful to still have mine and have the support and love of friends and family.
Moving into Huis Andries Olivier was a big step for me and I’ve been steadily growing as a person ever since.
I have ambitions to study once again and continue to become as independent as possible.
Staff
I’m Terence Moore. I was born on the 4th of May 1973 and lived in Ceres. I went to Laerskool Gericke (Primary School) and in 1991 completed my Grade 12 (Matric) at Hoerskool Charlie Hofmeyr (Secondary School). In 1993 I was studying at the College of Cape Town in Electrical Engineering where I completed my National Certificate N2. While studying (Age 20) I became a quadriplegic as a result of a motorcar accident where I broke my neck.
I spent 8 months in Conradie Hospital before returning home where I lived for almost 28 years with my parents. I helped my dad and mom wherever I could in my dad’s business or in general. I was also fortunate enough to have travelled to a few countries in Europe and Africa. In November 2020 I moved into the Centre.