Winter 2010 Appeal

Imagine not seeing your family or loved ones for over 40 years. For most people it’s hard to imagine.

Sadly, for 74-year-old Margaret, it was reality until recent times.

Margaret and nine of her ten siblings were born with Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited condition. The syndrome ranges from learning disabilities to more severe cognitive or intellectual disabilities.

When their mother passed away in the early 1940s and their father was unable to care for the children on his own, Margaret and her nine siblings were separated. The six boys went to live in orphanages and Margaret and her sisters were sent to convents.

Six decades have now passed. As well as living with Fragile X Syndrome, Margaret has had several strokes over the years. She now receives support from Benetas through a community care package to live at home.

After so many years apart from her family, Margaret was understandably thrilled when her nephew telephoned in February and said he was organising a family reunion in New South Wales for Margaret and her five siblings who are still alive.

Margaret was excited but then her joy turned to sadness when she quickly realised she couldn’t afford to go. The cost of travel, accommodation and other expenses that a trip away would bring, were simply beyond the limits of her low income.

But luckily Rachel, a care manager at Benetas, told Margaret about the Benetas Quality of Life Fund. Thanks to the generosity of Benetas donors, this special fund provides a one-off gift to Benetas clients to help them achieve something special in their life – something that they would otherwise not be able to afford to do.

In February, with the help of her Quality of Life grant, Margaret travelled to News South Wales for her family reunion. Margaret's daughter Kathy helped her organise the three-day trip to Newcastle for the family reunion. “Mum couldn’t fly because of her heart so I organised the trip by train – it was a 12 hour journey all up. We stayed in a cabin close to her nephew’s house, and spent a couple of days with the whole family,” Kathy explains.

Margaret says being reunited with her family after so many decades apart was just beautiful. “There were lots of tears,” she recalls.

As Margaret has told us, your gift really does make dreams come true.

“I kept thinking I’d wake up and it wasn’t really happening, but in reality it was true. The more I think about it, the more grateful I am. If we hadn’t had the help from Benetas we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” Margaret said.

We hope you can help to make dreams of older disadvantaged Victorians come true by supporting our 2010 Winter Appeal. Your support and generosity will enable our organisation to continue to improve the lives of over 2,000 older Victorians in our care and fund programs like our Quality of Life Fund.

Donate now or call (03) 8823 7958.