November was a very busy month at ThembaCare. We started our month on a sad note, with one of our babies passing away on the first. He had been admitted to us with chronic birth defects for palliative care, to be kept comfortable in his final phase of life. Apart from his sad goodbye, we also said goodbye to five other children in November. One was sent to a place of safety to ensure she was not separated from her sibling and the other four were all discharged safely to their respective caregivers. All five of the children are happy to be home, although we were sad to see them leave.
We also welcomed four happy faces to our unit. Of these children, two are currently awaiting placement and the other two’s parents are visiting regularly. All four children have settled in nicely with the other children. One of the little boys admitted is old enough to attend crèche and we have managed to find a sponsor for his crèche fee. He is more than happy to go every day and play with children his age.
At the beginning of the month we were spoilt with a staff party for the Thembalitsha foundation. Each project was allocated a different theme, ours being “London”. We put on our dancing shoes and enjoyed being taken care of for the evening.
November was also a month of great generosity. We were thoroughly spoilt with food, clothing, toys, equipment and even a much needed generator! We are extremely grateful to Tafelberg School, Mary Harding School and Eros School for including us in their World Aids Day celebrations. Not only did they collect donations and money for us, but they invited us to share in their special day. All of the presentations were lovely to be a part of and it was humbling to see such great work being done in celebration of World Aids day.
We were also spoilt by Silverstream Tabernacle Church who raised money for us and spread our wish list around their members. They decided to adopt ThembaCare for future events and fundraising which is great news for us.
Nursing students of the University of Connecticut have been visiting us annually for many years to volunteer over weekends and during the week at the end of the year. They spent November with us and in addition to their generosity, invited us to a dinner function marking the end of their time in South Africa. December promises to be just as busy, and we intend on spoiling our children with TWO Christmas parties!
It is wonderful to see the community coming together in assisting with our needs. We are extremely grateful for every item donated to us.
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