Former QASA CEO Ari Seirlis takes a last graceful bow in his farewell letter, with the disability community showing its appreciation for this incredible man who has dedicated his life so far to serving people with disabilities
It’s unusual for an NGO to have a CEO for overly long, yet I’ve held the title at QASA for 18 years. The career has been cut shorter than I would have liked because of the incessant pain and discomfort caused by ankylosing spondylitis, with which I was diagnosed in 2018.
Now I would like to share with you some parts of this unusual journey as I say farewell to the readers of ROLLING INSPIRATION and the wider QASA fraternity.
I broke my neck in a diving accident in 1985 at the age of 23, and my life changed dramatically. I was discharged from rehabilitation six months later as a C5 quadriplegic. Fortunately (in a way), I had led a full and physically active life up until that point. I had been to university (although for just a short time); had served my two years in the military; fought in the war in Angola with the Bushman trackers; run the Comrades Marathon; and I was studying marketing when my accident happened.
I say “fortunately” because these experiences gave me all the skills and foundation for a mind-set that allowed me to face my future with its special challenges. I had a daunting mobility impairment and was learning how to be a wheelchair user.
I was “disabled” (the political definition), incontinent and facing uncertainty about employment, opportunity and sexuality. I was trying to work out how I was going to gather my dreams and face my future.
With limited space in this “farewell chapter”, I would like to focus on my career at QASA. I joined an SCI support group very soon after my accident. This group turned into the Quadriplegic Association of KwaZulu-Natal, where I cut my teeth in the complexities and challenges of NGO leadership, strategy and sustainability.
Many years later, I was elected chairperson of the QASA Board, on which I served for five years. Then, after a fair process, I was offered the position of CEO. I gave up my business after realising that the challenge and opportunity to lead QASA was far greater than the benefit of a successful small business.
In 2001, QASA’s balance sheet was R70 000 and I can proudly say that I have handed the organisation to the 2019 Management Board and the new COO with the balance sheet of a sustainable R17 million made up of infrastructure, investments and cash reserves, as well as the peace of mind that QASA received unqualified financial audits for 18 consecutive years.
It has been a long and hard 18 years that involved travelling around the country at least 15 to 20 days a month, working six days a week and at least 10 hours a day. Honestly, it was my crutch to coping with quadriplegia. So I am especially grateful for that appointment in 2001.
It kept me out of trouble, positive and thinking ahead rather than looking backwards. Most importantly, it gave me the opportunity to create my legacy in the disability sector and change people’s lives for the better.
I found I had to grasp the challenge of being innovative, sometimes even visionary, while ensuring and practically securing the right resources, then deploying them with adequate monitoring and evaluation, all of which became part of the implementation of a theory of change. Some of the highlights of this period included:
– When charitable programmes and campaigns were still new, QASA founded TakkieTax, an incredible brand that, unfortunately, we had to abandon in the interests of good governance as the campaign agents decided to take more than QASA.
– The Quad Squad Day campaign that followed was a very creative offering to the public too, with Christopher Reeve (also known as Superman) giving us his support.
– The Quads4Quads event originated from a meeting I had with “Glenn and Corinne”. We have since become close friends and this unique off-road motorbike epic has raised more than R7 million in unrestricted funding for QASA. It also gave me the opportunity to drive my adapted off-road quad bike for 16 years in a row from Johannesburg to Durban – each an adventure I’ll never forget and made possible by the incredible support of friends in the team.
– The opportunity to spend time with Christopher Reeve on a visit to the United States was another highlight. Our deep conversations and debates about the necessity to walk were very thought-provoking and ended with me sticking to my guns and concluding that “walking is overrated”!
– A working assignment of three weeks in Stockholm, Sweden, was life-changing. It gave me insight into equitable environments and an understanding of the socialist model of opportunity for people with disabilities.
– I was privileged to be the keynote speaker in Melbourne, Australia, at the World Spinal Cord Injury Conference, and to work on an assignment in San Francisco on behalf of SABS to ensure South Africa was well represented in the development of global standards for wheelchair manufacturing.
Other memorable projects that have enabled QASA to provide its members, the broader disability sector and general public with a full spectrum of services include:
• Driving Ambitions – a project that gives people with disabilities the opportunity of learning to drive;
• Buckle Up (“We don’t want new members”) – a unique road safety awareness campaign that became a brand on its own and gave QASA incredible exposure and credibility;
• Recently launched and already a gem, the Work Readiness Programme provides training for promising QASA members and includes three Digital Village computer training centres;
• The founding of and involvement in the rehabilitation centre Nurture Aurora Port Elizabeth;
• Bags of Hope, a unique database development project; and
• The founding of the ROLLING INSPIRATION magazine, which has published more than 90 editions and is a world-class publication.
QASA has become well known for its advocacy and lobbying initiatives with sometimes some unexpected outcomes. For instance, we joined OUTA to stop e-tolls and ensured exemption for people with disabilities through this illegitimate programme. (This was one of my toughest lobby assignments and included a death threat.)
We also led a campaign to ensure accessibility for people with disabilities to the 2010 Soccer World Cup stadia. We disrupted the World Architects Conference in Durban to have a memorandum of understanding signed that ensures the principles of universal access are taught in all schools of architecture and design (a world first by an NGO).
Throughout, I have been grateful for the strong relationships we have developed with Southern African Spinal Cord Association (SASCA), and to the Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund, for the nomination to serve on the Presidential Working Group on Disability and as executive of the South African Disability Alliance (SADA) for more than a decade.
I can’t possibly list all the people who have been part of my journey within the limited space I have, but I must single out the late Neville Cohen for inspiring me and driving me till his last day; Wayne Duvenage, who got me to understand and engage in social and civil courage; my late mother, Joan, and my sister Angela, who made big contributions to QASA in many ways while always supporting me unconditionally; and Louise Rode, my PA and friend for the past 12 years. She has always been so efficient in all her tasks and made it easier for me to be effective logistically.
Finally, what has driven me? It has always been the sad witnessing of the terrible conditions (especially in rural areas) that quadriplegics and paraplegics have had to survive in, and the shocking lack of service delivery in health and social development, as well as the lack of or meagre job offerings available to them.
These were drivers to overwork and overperform in an attempt to find and implement some meaningful solutions. I have enjoyed being part of some of them.
Tributes to a great man
Ari Seirlis, what an inspirational human being! Selfless, compassionate and a fighter for a noble cause. Your legacy for championing those with mobility issues will live on. Thank you for fighting for an improved standard of care. Coloplast salutes you, a legend, for making life easier.
Coloplast South Africa
On behalf all our staff and customers we wish you, Ari, all the best while you recharge your batteries and prepare yourself for your next innings! Your integrity, commitment and grit have been and will continue to be an inspiration to all of us. All the very best.
CE Mobility
We would like to thank Ari Seirlis for the great relationship QASA and SABAT Batteries have enjoyed over many years. Your role was pivotal in setting up a partnership that has lasted close on 15 years and has contributed positively to the many QASA members involved.
SABAT Batteries
Farewell to Ari Seirlis! You were very supportive of the work done within Life Rehabilitation facilities and the disability community. You have touched many lives in immeasurable ways. You will be missed. May your legacy live on.
Life Healthcare
Thank you, Ari, for being a huge support to our organisation over many years. Your professional advice, expertise, encouragement and understanding have enabled us to provide the best possible care to our rugby players, whose lives have been changed.
Chris Burger Petro Jackson Players’ Fund
If I had to dream up an acronym that described what my friend, Ari, brought to QASA, it would be PPPR: Passion, Productivity, Perseverance and Resilience. Ari radiates an aura of can-do capability and authority that earned him the respect of leaders and persons of influence in government, private enterprise and in the NGO environment.
He has a way of enthusing audiences, but also of rapping-over-the-knuckles that left you with the knowledge: “Ari has spoken”. Ari also doesn’t suffer incompetence, laziness or dishonesty, and this has left behind people who don’t exactly consider him their favourite person – but “if you never made any enemies, you did not try hard enough”.
The one thing that no one can say about Ari is that he did not try hard enough. So farewell and rest well, Ari, my friend. You’ve earned it.
George Louw
I have known Ari too long to mention – it might give both our ages away! Ari, you really are an inspiration. Despite the daily challenges that SCI has brought to your life, you have accepted the challenge head-on and have not only been an inspiration to the disability community but to all who have been privileged to be part of your journey.
You have been a beacon of hope for people with disabilities, driven so many projects to assist the disability community, and made a lifelong commitment to fight for disability rights. May you deservedly enjoy your retirement. But I somehow don’t think we will see you sit back and watch!
Ed Baalbergen
