Who we are
For twenty years the East Rand Protective Workshop (ERPW) for Mentally Disabled Adults served the different communities on the East Rand. Every day of the week, from all over Ekurhuleni, we transport 70 people with mental disabilities to and from the Workshop. We provide a safe haven for people with mental disabilities during the day.
 
The East Rand Protective Workshop, the only workshop of its kind on the East Rand, is truly a permanent, healthy, creative and protective environment; a home away from home.
 
Who we help
Our primary customer is the mentally disabled adult of all races living on the East Rand. Their ages are between 18 and 57 years, but their mental functionality is between two and a half and ten years. They might have adult bodies but their minds and emotional capabilities are that of young children. One of the admittance requirements is that their mental age should be between three and eight years. The people with mental disabilities are not labourers but wards of the Workshop. The work they do are menial and without danger to their person.
 
They don't need to sit alone at home or wander the streets and so become easy prey for the perverted. Here they have the opportunity to socialise with their own, without experiencing the rejection of society. At the Workshop they can stand their ground on their own terms and learn to become more independent.
 
What we do
The main purpose of the Workshop is to develop people with mental disabilities into better human beings. The Workshop provides the kind of work the people with mental disabilities are able to do, such as assembling an assortment of products for a variety of businesses. They don't have to feel pressurised to perform above their unique levels of competency. They receive a nominal amount as pocket money for their efforts. This gives them pride and a sense of accomplishment.