Turning Trials Into Triumphs

Despite a Near-fatal Skiing Crash Over 25 Years Ago, and a Breast Cancer Diagnosis in 2017, Keedo Kids Founder Nelia Annandale Has Always Chosen to Find Something Positive in All Her Challenges

'I've always had a deep passion for children and helping them thrive. After school, I studied logopaedics at the ‘I’ve University of Pretoria and worked as a speech therapist and audiologist for eight years. Then in 1993 I founded Keedo, when my pigeon pair twins, Henno and Carmia, were two years old. The inspiration for making clothes for children came after an accident that helped me realise life was too short to keep postponing my dreams.

‘During a skiing trip to the beautiful area of Klosters in Switzerland, a group of friends and I decided to have a race.

‘A few moments after taking off [from the starting point], I hit a concrete bridge near the bottom of the slopes – face first, at very high speed. I suffered a skull fracture, five facial fractures and my heart stopped beating twice. I was lucky enough to have my former husband, a medical doctor, there to perform CPR just moments after the fall. Following the accident, I underwent several surgeries and my jaw was wired for eight months to stabilise the fractures.

‘During recovery, I had a lot of time to do some deep introspection. Realising that I’d been given a second chance drove me to make my life more meaningful – to find my true purpose and live it. For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an overwhelming compulsion to help children. I believe we should invest in them, starting in their formative years, as they’ll largely fashion our future.