Movie night inspires young patients
The kids were blown away and taken out of that place, a hospital, just for a moment
YOUNG patients at Maitland Cottage Hospital in Newlands got to shift away from their pain and routine hospital life when they were treated to a special movie night, hosted by the Little Optimist Trust.
Trust member Greg Bertish, a big wave surfer and charity campaigner who has undergone heart surgery, shared his inspirational story with the patients earlier in the week.
Children in beds and wheelchairs were “driven in” to a ward where a movie and a documentary of Bertish’s incredible 200km voyage around Cape Point to Langebaan in a 2.4m dinghy called Children’s Optimist were screened.
Bertish’s voyage was undertaken in 2016 after he had spent 200 days in hospital fighting life-threatening heart infections. He said he hoped his story would inspire the young patients and provide them with the confidence to overcome the obstacles that life had thrown at them.
“The kids were blown away and taken out of that place, a hospital, just for a moment. These kids face tough operations and uncertainty. I hope to show them that sick people can still go on to achieve amazing things,” he said.
The children also received copies of Bertish’s book The Little Optimist. Local businesses Importers Coffee Merchants, the Cavendish Square branch of Primi Piatti and BOS Ice Tea also came to the party with donations of money, pizza and drinks.
Hospital administrator Fiona Kunz said it was an amazing experience for the children.
“It was such an entertaining break in routine hospital life for them,” she said.
Bertish has raised funds for the hospital, assisted with renovations, and in May oversaw the painting of the Little Optimist mural at the hospital.
In October he will hold the Great Optimist Race at the Cape Town International Boat Show. Celebrities and sailors will participate in the race, which will raise money for a number of causes.