June News

Cuts in global budgets have resulted in increasingly stringent expectations and boundaries being placed on hospices and care facilities in order to meet funding requirements. It is leaving many facilities, such as ThembaCare, in an overwhelmed and frustrated state. As a result ThembaCare Athlone organised and facilitated a workshop between a number of hospices in the Western Cape to create a space in which these projects could voice their concerns, strategise, network, and continue to be effective. It became clear that most organisations were experiencing the same difficulties as us and that there was a need to streamline and coordinate our services between each other in order to reach maximum efficiency. Those who participated in the workshop returned feeling encouraged and energised to tackle these obstacles in a collaborative manner rather than each organisation doing it alone. We plan to run the workshops regularly in order to facilitate the process that has been started and we are very excited to see how it develops.

One of the limitations arising from the stricter requirements now placed on organisations in order to meet funding criteria is that we are no longer allowed to send our children to play school if they are well enough. At Themba Care we see rapid improvement in our children once they are receiving regular medication and nutrition, however there are usually underlying issues that still need to be resolved even once their health has improved. In order to prevent them from missing out on vital early education and peer relationships, we would send them to the local crèche where they could learn, play and have a change of scenery. Although a relatively small obstacle, it is one of the restrictions we have had to accept and adapt to.

This month we were once again blessed by Clicks in Vangate Mall who arrived with a car packed to the brim with nappies. Donations like these are so valuable to us, as they are not only expensive but essential and quickly used up! These donations enable us to allocate money to other needs within the organisation and we are very grateful for their generosity.