We ended 2011 with a bang and started 2012 in much the same way!  Two fabulous camps, with truly remarkable campers.  December we held our annual camp for adults with acquired brain injuries and January our annual camp for young adults with an intellectual impairment.  A team from The World Race completed our volunteer group wonderfully and a lot of fun was had by everyone.  What a privilege to spend time with these amazing men and women who join us for a break from the usual routine.  Everyone enjoyed their time hugely and as always we were glad to provide a time of respite for parents and caregivers.  In the words of one the parents from the January camp ‘they literally talk about this camp the entire year’ and ‘the value of this camp cannot be put into words’.

Towards the end of this month we run quite a different holiday to the ones above – for adults who are blind or partially sighted and taking place in the beautiful Western Cape.  An awesome venue with comfortable houses on the side of the lagoon.  We’ll be kayaking on and swimming in the lagoon, doing archery, walking in the fynbos, taking a trip to the beach, playing board games, having campfires and of course spending lots of time drinking coffee on the verandah getting to know new friends and catching up with old ones.

If you’re over the age of 18 and are blind or partially sighted, make sure to join us for this great break.  Come and meet new and interesting people, take part in fun and adventurous activities, enjoy much needed relaxation.  You won’t regret it!  The booking form is available at www.higherground.org.za or email HigherGroundSA@gmail.com or call 072 039 0907 for more information.  Book soon as time and space are running out!  The dates are 23 – 27 February.

If you are in a position where you could consider sponsoring a camper we do have people who would love to come but can’t afford the fees.  Please drop me a line if you would like more information on this great way of helping out and making a difference.

This morning (Saturday Feb 4th) two of our long standing campers, ladies from the Cape, were interviewed for the programme Reis Sonder Grense on RSG.  Great exposure for us.  Hope some of you got to hear it!

In January we had the privilege of speaking to a group of wonderful people doing great work in the world of disability in Gauteng.  A huge thank you to Kitty Uys from the Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication at the University of Pretoria for setting up this meeting for us.  We look forward to hosting more camps in Gauteng this year and are glad to be in contact with these groups who make a huge difference in peoples lives.

We’re in the process of having a promotional dvd made.  If you’d like a copy to show to your company/service organisation/church once it’s made please drop me a line so that we can organise that.  Please also contact me if you’d like me to come and speak to any group of people about Higher Ground, we love telling as many people as we can about what it is that we do.

We have people to thank for funding in the past month or two.  We’ll include that in the next newsletter, but in the mean time thank you SO much for your support.

Wishing you all a wonderful 2012, filled with many of the things that you are hoping for!

Thanks for joining us on our exciting Higher Ground journey.

Much love
Emma

–
Emma Roos
Director

Tel : +27 (0)72 039 0907
Fax : +27 (0)31 266 2784
Email: highergroundsa@gmail.com
Website: www.higherground.org.za

8 December, 2011

Dear Friends of Rocklands

As this year draws to a close I would like to thank each of you for your interest and support over the year.

What an amazing year this has been.  We can only praise God for all that He has done at Rocklands!

Although we had some camps that had to cancel due to economic pressure and we also had to cope with the huge cost of replacing most of the roofing of the Centre (approx. R130,000), YET when we came to our annual audit, we were still in a sound financial position – truly God is good!

We have had a wide range of groups here this past year, with over 12,500 people most of whom have spent at least two nights here.   We have hosted family camps, youth groups, school groups, disabled people, ladies conferences, and even some international groups.
It is our prayer that each person who has been here has been touched by the Lord in some way.

STAFF CHANGES:

2011 has also been a significant year, as Shaun Easom, our Programme Manager, felt that God was leading him to take on the responsibility for the overall management of the Centre, and so the past few months have been a time of training and handing things over, in order for me to move into a position of semi-retirement from 2012.

This has been a time of adjustment and change, but we are all sure that it is the leading of the Lord and it is a real pleasure to me to pass the reins of leadership over to Shaun.   He is a young man with so much energy, enthusiasm and a strong sense of calling to this work.   Shaun’s wife, Vyan is an extremely able and competent administrator and all the Trustees are quite confident that Rocklands is in very good hands as we move forward.

Kirk Adams will be taking on the responsibility for the Programming and for the oversight of the Internship Programme and Crystal Warries will be handling all the bookings and assisting Vyan with the administration of the Centre.

Kate KcGrath has resigned and will be taking up a teaching post in Pinelands.
We wish her every blessing in this career change, but we will miss her input very much.
Our catering, cleaning and grounds team of 8 faithful day staff, continue to serve the campsite very well, and we also have 5 enthusiastic young people joining our Solid Ground Internship program in January.

Please can I ask you to hold the whole team in your prayers as they move into the New Year?

Thank you again for your faithful support over many years.
We wish you every blessing this Christmas season and pray that God will be with you and your families as you celebrate His coming.

Janet Hardie