Care kits ease plight of needy patients at Frere
AN EAST London church community have decided to step out of the comfort of their own walls and reach out to vulnerable people in hospital by donating toiletries.
When church-goer Linda van Heerden was a patient at Frere Hospital in February she saw the plight of some of her fellow patients.
“Within an hour of being admitted I had three people visit me and I had everything I needed.
“I spent 10 days in hospital and I saw some people did not have the most basic of toiletries and some did not even have visitors,” Van Heerden said.
After she was discharged the plight of these patients remained a burden in her heart.
She spoke to her pastor at Seaside Family Church in Gonubie in order to get the buy-in of the church for her idea.
She wanted to collect and donate face cloths, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, wet wipes and toilet paper to patients. Even more, she wanted congregants to visit lonely patients in hospital.
Van Heerden created a care kit which was placed in empty twolitre ice cream containers to give to patients.
She was also able to secure Bibles in Xhosa, Zulu and English to donate to patients who may want them as reading material.
“Love is an action. This idea came from my Christian faith and wanting to spread the love of God,” Van Heerden said.
What started at Seaside Family Church grabbed the attention of Cambridge Community Church and they, too, began donating items towards the cause.
Seaside Family Church pastor Dion Pfiffner said the church was pleased to lead such a project.
“We are always looking for opportunities to help people without being religious about it.
“The church is not meant to benefit only those who are in it,” he said.
Retired nurse Rina Hanekom said she knew exactly how much human contact was needed by people in hospital.
“People crave attention and human contact. Even if the visitor is a stranger, it means a lot to the patient,” Hanekom said.
Frere CEO Dr Rolene Wagner said the hospital welcomed such initiatives by the community.
“We have budgets for different needs of the hospital but when people are kind enough to make donations we appreciate them because our budget is already stretched,” Wagner said.
The group, comprising the two churches, this week donated several packs to patients at the orthopaedic ward where Van Heerden was admitted.
If anyone would like to get involved in the project they can email or phone 043-740-0320. —dispatch.co.za