Church brings a smile to sick kids
AFTER Sunday School teachers of the Tuscany Glen congregation of the New Apostolic Church saw the paediatrics ward at Tygerberg Hospital where a young girl from their congregation was admitted last year for treatment for diabetes, they decided to launch an initiative called Make a Kid Smile.
They appealed to their congregation for donations of toys and books and handed these over to the paediatric ward over the weekend.
One of the initiative’s organisers, Jamie-Leigh Davids, said they had noticed when they visited the patient how the other children in the ward had little to occupy their time. The congregation did not disappoint. “We collected over 100 toys, 98 books and 40 puzzles which were distributed to 10 children above the age of 12.
“The co-operation from the congregation was astounding.
“We received many toys and books, anything ranging from dolls to books, even to a TV for the paediatric ward.”
The donation was handed over to the paediatric ward on Saturday by Sunday School children and teachers.
It formed part of the church’s Thanksgiving preparation, celebrated globally by the New Apostolic Church on Sunday.
The Sunday School children also sang a hymn for the patients before handing over the toys, books and puzzles.
“It was heart-warming to see that something as little as a teddy bear could put a huge smile on a child’s face.
“It can be said that it not only warmed their hearts, but the hearts of the children who donated the toys,” Davids said.
She said the project not only filled their hearts with joy but also “created a lovely reminder of how blessed and thankful we are for what we have”.
They plan on growing the initiative and making donations every second year.