HISTORY

Opkyk Pathways started in June 2002 on a farm outside Brits North West.

In June 2002 on a farm called Opkyk situated in Kleinfontein, outside Brits, North-West, South Africa, managing director Drika Kruger started a learning centre she later named Opkyk, after receiving a call from a mother of a diabetic child in Grade 4 who couldn’t cope in school due to her medical condition. She was in urgent need of individual remedial attention. At the same time Equi-Therapy (horse riding therapy) was initiated. Starting with 1 child and 1 horse, and two months later a boy with Tourette syndrome joined and he was followed by a boy with epilepsy. Several other children followed, most of them now back in main stream education. Opkyk was a healing place for those children who cannot be accommodated in the main stream school system. The teacher child ratio is kept to 1:5, to provide optimal individual attention.

In June 2005 Pathways Brits started, as the need for a high quality stimulation centre for children with severe disabilities arose. Parents were driving children to Pathways Pretoria and then back in the afternoons, a trip that took an hour both ways. We visited Pathways Pretoria and were impressed, and we decided to add an additional division to accommodate 3 children.

In April 2006, Opkyk Pathways moved to new premises near Brits, accommodating children from a large area including Hartbeespoort and Brits. The Centre has become well known in the community for giving love and a high quality service to the disabled and learning-impaired in the area.

Equi therapy is also hosted on the premises for the children of the Centre as well as children (aged 6 months and up) from the area.

A dedicated group of staff members (teachers, facilitators and therapists incl. occupational, speech and language, and an equi therapist) work closely together to ensure that the children receive the intensive individual stimulation they require. Art and music therapy is also worked into the weekly program