About Us

Who We Are

Stroke Survivors Foundation is a registered national Non-Profit Organisation (NPO No. 083-885) as well as a registered Public Benefit Organisation (PBO Reference No.930035711) that provides physical and emotional support to stroke survivors, their families and caregivers.

Founded and operated mainly by stroke survivors, our Foundation is unique in the following ways:

  • Our capacity to help people of all ages and life stages, who have been affected by stroke
  • Our family support mechanisms
  • Our database of national rehabilitation ecosystem and personal development specialists
  • Our catering for “Strokies” – young stroke survivors who require a completely different caliber of support and guidance to elder stroke survivors

Our objectives:

  • To provide support (emotional, practical and rehabilitative) to stroke survivors and their families
  • To enable as close a return to normal life as possible
  • To provide personal and business mentorship
  • To equip stroke survivors and their families with integral coping mechanisms
  • To eliminate the stigma surrounding stroke and disability
  • To educate the public on the warning signs of stroke and key preventative actions required
  • To develop a national registry of stroke survivors
  • To develop the brand of “stroke”
  • To further development in stroke survival research by assisting and taking part in stroke studies
  • To drive ongoing fundraising that supports the above objectives

WHY WE ARE

OUR VISION:

A South Africa where all stroke survivors, their caregivers and families are equipped with the holistic set of physical and emotional tools required to embrace life post-stroke. This also includes prevention to combat and eliminate stroke via the awareness campaign, educational and motivational talks by stroke survivors,

Founders, Charlene Murray and George Scola, were both in their thirties when they experienced a stroke. Once discharged from hospital, they soon realised that support for younger stroke survivors in South Africa was almost non-existent. In 2010, they incubated and hatched the Stroke Survivors Foundation with the goal of offering support to fellow stroke survivors and their families.

Many years later, the Foundation lives and shares the ethos upon which it was built: “it is not what happens to us but how we deal with our post-stroke condition that dictates the quality of our lives.”

The Foundation’s purpose is to prepare stroke survivors to embrace life post- stroke, to stay informed, motivated, supported and positive – Adapt, Improvise and Prosper!

HISTORY OF OUR LOGO

In 2010, Graphic Design students at Inscape Design College were given the task to design a logo for The Stroke Survivors Foundation. After doing research and conceptualising up a storm – designs were executed and 15 students, over 3 campuses, presented their work to members from The Stroke Survivors Foundation. The final design picked for implementation was that of second year student Chan-yue Ma.

This logo focuses on the ‘HOPE’ … rather than the ‘STROKE’ aspect of the victim’s journey. It speaks of positivity and the victory that lies in overcoming! For this reason, wings (which create the silhouette of the human face) were used in order to signify freedom but also to depict protection. The idea of ‘halves’ which need to be rehabilitated in order to regain function in the right or left side is also an underlined theme.