Pieter and Charmainné Coetzee
A day after the SOS Charity fund was launched by DWR Distribution at the end of last year, we received distressing news that Pieter Coetzee (26), a young technician, had fallen from height and severely injured both feet and shattered his spine.
Pieter was setting up for an event in Cape Town when the incident took place and he has since undergone operations in both feet, had a back operation, and should start rehabilitation to learn how to walk again in March. He is currently wheelchair bound, but thanks to friends and his wonderful mom Charmainné, he has managed to put on a smile and keep fighting.
“While we were excited to help people with the initiation of the SOS project, it really was heartbreaking to hear this news and we actually felt quite helpless,” said Duncan Riley of DWR. “Pieter is a young man in the prime of his life. We are just very grateful that things are looking good and know that he will have a full and colourful life ahead of him.”
The SOS project was able to assist by paying for the furniture removal costs for Pieter’s mom, Charmainné Coetzee, to relocate from Pretoria to Cape Town, to take care of her son. The fund will also pay R5 000 into their account for three months, in a minuscule way to try ease this burden.
“A big thanks to everyone involved,” said Pieter and Charmainné. “We really do appreciate this.”
SOS future plans
In other news, the SOS fund was initially going to be an independent charity run by a board. After discussions with a couple of large rental companies and industry players, it was suggested that DWR run the SOS project and help people in any way they see fit. “We will heed the advice and we hope that we can make a difference to people in our industry when they experience a crisis,” said Duncan Riley. “We trust the industry will contact us when they hear of a need that has to be met, and hopefully we will be able to help as much as we can.”
For more information, contact Sherryn Riley at [email protected] or Lee Baird at [email protected]
