healingspirit

The informational session is based on the needs of the attendees and can include emotional coping skills, balanced lifestyle management and health care issues.

Left: A group of primary school children and parents attending the inaugural workshop, May 2010.

Healing Spirit is based on the smallholding Mizpah (Brakriver Farm 394/16) between Rocklands and Uitenhage. Having completed Phases 1 and 2 of the project (settling in the animals and having a training room with toilet for day groups), we are now working towards establishing Phase 3 - setting up overnight facilities for children's groups from poor communities. We would like to offer camps on weekends and school holidays aimed at providing life skills and therapy to children with emotional and behavioural problems.

Right: Mizpah is a very soothing environment with lovely sunsets, fresh air, plenty of fauna and flora and beautiful views of the distant mountains.

Healing Spirit is the main therapeutic programme of the Restoration of Human Abilities Association (ROHA). Its aim is to provide animal and specifically equine therapy to vulnerable groups, like psychiatric patients, abused children and children from broken homes.

The therapeutic part of the Healing Spirit programme is divided into two sections: an educational workshop and interaction with the animals.

Right: Facilitator, Miss Adelle Potgieter, limits workshops to 12 people maximum to ensure that participants receive individual attention according to their needs and comfort zone. Here a boy from a local disadvantaged community is introduced to gentle giant, Marble Hill. July 2013.

During the interaction with the animals participants can feed and pet the horses. We place an emphasis on learning to communicate with the horses. The first step is for horse and human to be comfortable in each other's company.

Right: Children from Missionvale Primary School interacting with Silverstrand, May 2011. Missionvale is one of our focus areas as child abuse, domestic violence and sexual abuse is so rife in that community that children as young as 8 years old have either committed suicide or contemplate doing so.

During the interaction with the animals participants can feed and pet the horses. We place an emphasis on learning to communicate with the horses. The first step is for horse and human to be comfortable in each other's company.

Right: Children from Missionvale Primary School at a workshop in May 2011. We focus on communities like Missionvale where child abuse, domestic violence and sexual abuse are rife. Children as young as 8 years old from this community has committed suicide and an alarming number of pre-teen children have indicated that they consider suicide because they are unable to cope with abuse at home.

Since a 600kg horse can be quite intimidating for some people, we have other animals clients may choose to work with according to their comfort zone, including cats, dogs and hand-reared calves.

Please bear with us, page still under construction!