Cape Town - The Tom Ro Haven for Equines and Children rehabilitation centre in Noordhoek is appealing for help after the NPO’s premises were broken into and goods and equipment valued at more than R60 000 stolen.
Ranch chairperson Gillian McCulloch said that on Saturday morning they noticed that something was amiss, leading them to conduct a thorough inspection.
“We noticed someone had broken in when we arrived at the field on Saturday at about 6.15am. We looked for the wheelbarrows and noticed one was missing. We then went into the shelter where we keep tack, horse blankets, bales of roughage etc and saw that everything had been ransacked.
“We immediately called ADT and they conducted a search. They found our wheelbarrow and some jodhpurs in a canal under a bridge on Noordhoek Main Road.
“At that moment calling the police was not at the forefront of our minds. We have no insurance and in all honesty, it is highly unlikely that they will even bother to investigate,” said McCulloch.
Following the robbery incident the staff of Tom Ro ranch no longer feel safe at the constant thought of all sorts of things that could have happened if they were in contact with the perpetrators on that day.
“We do not feel safe now, and worry about the safety of our herd of horses. This is a field that has no infrastructure such as electricity or running water and sewage, and no one is allowed to stay on the property.
“We have secured the shelter and 2 sheds as best we can, but if someone really wants to, they can gain access again. We battle daily for funds and this is a huge blow.
“We also had about 15 horse blankets and other items taken that we were going to give to an organisation that we work with in Atlantis and Mamre,” McCulloch said.