Our history
Avril Elizabeth Home was officially opened in 1970 by Sheila Suttner, a social worker. Before opening the Home, Sheila worked at the Selwyn Segal Centre, a home for intellectually disabled people of the Jewish faith.
Shelia was inundated with desperate pleas from non-Jewish parents to admit their children to the Centre. She was so moved by their plight that, with the assistance of a hard-working committee, she set about establishing a pilot scheme which allowed five or six children to live in a home environment while attending day-care at the Selwyn Segal Centre.
In 1970, Sheila officially opened the Avril Elizabeth Home in Pandora Road, Kensington, for 21 intellectually disabled children. The home has since moved and today is situated on five hectares of well-groomed grounds on Fisher’s Hill, in Germiston.
The main buildings accommodate the children, and those with severe disabilities who require 24/7 care while four cottages each accommodate adults whose disabilities are less severe, yet who could not fend for themselves in society.
Over the years, a modern Stimulation Centre has been developed, where our staff help each resident realise his or her full potential. Many of the pioneer residents are now veterans of the Home, which has become the focal point of their lives.
The Home owes its survival to the cuddly teddy bear. In the 1980s, after the home moved to Germiston, funds were so short that the Home was on the verge of closing down, but a gentleman donated 100 teddy bears to the Home, and the proceeds from their sale was enough to cover the rent.
The Teddy has since become our mascot and teddies of all shapes and sizes are found throughout the Home. Not only do the teddies add extra life to the Home and boost morale, but they are a constant symbol of the security and stability provided by the Home for its residents.
Who was Avril Elizabeth?
The Home was named after Avril Elizabeth, a bright, bubbly young girl who was struck down by encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain. The illness left her in a twilight world: a world that she never left until her death eight years later. Avril was on the waiting list for entry into the first home in Kensington when she died. Her name has become synonymous with outstanding care of the intellectually disabled.
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View our tax exemption letter from the South African Revenue Service
