June News

Pricilla Williams is the first friendly smile you will meet as you enter the TCA building. Pricilla has been the receptionist at TCA since 2007. Whether the milk is finished, the phone is ringing, stock needs to be taken, or visitors are arriving, Pricilla is the go-to person, bringing some order into chaotic days.

Pricilla has worked here through many changes and growth – from the days that we were relying on volunteers to do all our driving (these days we have a driver). What she enjoys most about her work is the interaction with staff and other people. “Every day is so different – you never know exactly what to expect, but that keeps is interesting. You can have a perfectly planned day, but when a child spikes a temperature, it can change your whole day.”

Volunteers that have served at ThembaCare stand out as a highlight for her. “People who have been faithful throughout the years, who keep returning.” Another highlight for her is working with many skillful people. “I have worked with the most wonderful nursing staff. People who have brought a wealth of knowledge and implemented a lot of new things here.” “The relationships I have built here have been very valuable to me. People are really caring.” Employing a driver has also made a job a lot easier. “Previously we had to urgently phone around to find volunteers to drive children to the hospital for appointments.”

Pricilla’s face lights up when she speaks about the children. “There have been children where we have really held our breath…and to see them pull through and get discharged home is always so delightful.” Pricilla has seen many children go through the doors of ThembaCare and she still remembers many of them clearly. “As for many of us Asi stands out…it has been a long road for him with us.” “Little Felicity* also stands out…she came here as a tiny little baby and grew into the cutest, chubby little girl. It is always so sad to see them go”

Before I have a chance to ask more questions the bell rings and Pricilla has to rush off the open the door – then she has to go and make sure there are enough gloves, nappies and wipes for the long-weekend. Part of her job is indeed to make sure all the little things work together – making it so much easier for medical team to take good care of the babies!

*pseudonym

May News

What a team!

On Sunday 12 May ThembaCare celebrated nurses day – a well deserved day for the angels that care for our children. The day was started with a braai and included some speeches and included time socialising and speeches by nursing sisters.

One of our sisters have resigned due to personal reasons, but we have welcomed a new sister, Sister Mgagamela, with extensive knowledge in paediatrics that she gained while working for 9 years in hospitals abroad.

In this quarter ThembaCare has had 10 new admissions. We are currently looking after 3 high-care children, all needing extra care and support.  It is with joy that we can say most of these 10 children have showed drastic improvement already. One special girl arrived with severe protein malnourishment and a list of other illnesses that made her feel quite miserable. She is already older than a year, but up until recently she was only sitting passively, not being able to bear weight on her legs, not reaching for toys and not making any sounds. Her devoted mother has been staying at ThembaCare almost all the time, giving her little girl all the love she could to help her get better. Since last week the little lady has started making some good improvements. The abscesses on her arm have started clearing and she starting laughing and trying to copy some sounds. It is so rewarding to see this breakthrough in this little girl’s life. She will hopefully be discharged at the end of June, please keep her in your prayers.

April News

This month we would like to introduce you to some of our ThembaCare care-givers. There are 18 care-givers working in 4 different shifts, bringing 24/7 care and love to the children at our home.

Nozuko Madikane moved from the Eastern Cape to Cape Town in 1990. She has been part of the ThembaCare team since 2005. Nozuko loves working with children and for her the children have always been the highlight of her job. “At first it was very difficult. Sometimes coming in to work I wanted to cry” – seeing children terminally ill can be emotionally hard to deal with. “But you get used to it and learn how to deal with it. God helps us.” However, she stated that it was after having her own 2 children (both still under 3 years old), that she gained a new insight and understanding for the challenges the mothers of our patients face. Her compassion helps her to support not only the children, but also their parents. “Working through things take time, people need time to heal.” Nozuko has also learned a lot of skills in her time of working at TCA. “I learned a lot about working with children. These things I can also implement in other places, like with my own children.”

Nolwando Futiso became part of the TCA team in September 2012. She leaves her house and her own child at 5:30 in order to be in time for the day shift that starts at 7:00. Nolwando used to work with elderly people “who talked a lot”, she enjoys the children more, but especially has a soft spot for the little bit older children. A highlight for her is always when children learn new skills – when they learn to walk or start talking for the first time.

Mieta Arendse lives in Hanover Park and has 4 children of her own, ranging from 16 to 24 years. She has been working at TCA for 5 years. For her the children are priority. “I always prayed to work with children. I still remember the first day of my new job, I walked in here and I couldn’t believe I was going to be working with these children. According to Mieta she was blessed in that her own children was almost never sick. Now she gets to care for sick children in need of special care and she loves it. She tends to bond especially with the very sick children – “because you can feel they really need you.” This however is not always easy. “The saddest for me is when children pass away. It really affects me.” However the children also provides her with a lot of laughter. This cheers her up.

In the next weeks we will introduce you to some more of the ThembaCare family members. Thank you for your prayer and support as we continue to care for these precious children.

March News

Our patients can win awards for being brave and resilient. I once tasted one of the ARV medications and since then I have had one more reason to call these children my hero’s. This is not the kind of stuff children should have to consume, never mind on a daily basis. However, except for the few cry spells and some toddler attempts to fight off the ghastly liquid, they drink it, day after day and they even smile again after swallowing.

However, our children are not the only hero’s. The caregivers here at ThembaCare definitely deserve some medals too! Not only do they manage to get the medicine into those little bodies without too much trauma, they also have some magical ways of getting children to keep on their oxygen masks, stay in bed or go to hospital without too many tears! They keep calm when children spike fevers; change countless nappies and bathe these children in love. They celebrate milestones; clap hands when children finish their meals and cheer when they take their first steps.

This month the hard work of staff-members has once again produced good fruit. One of our children has the opportunity to attend a school equipped to provide to her special needs after her discharge this month. Another one of our children has found a foster together with his younger sibling. We have welcomed two new babies – one with serious malnutrition. Although she has little interest in anything else than being cuddled at the moment, we are looking forward to seeing her pick up weight and develop into the little personality she is meant to be!

February News

January has been quite an emotional month for the ThembaCare family. We lost two very ill children, one who was part of the Thembalitsha family for a big part of his life. Assi was admitted to TCA from Red Cross Hospital, after being abandoned by his family when he was 8 years old. He suffered from HIV/AIDS, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and TB meningitis which all effected his development as well as the effectiveness of his lungs.  After the first months of care, Assi’s health improved to such an extent that he was able to join the Village of Hope home in Grabouw. In 2011 Assi’s lung functioning started declining to such an extent that he had to be on constant oxygen supply and needed more intense medical care and he therefore returned to TCA. Even though Assi’s lung capacity was so poor and he was constantly out of breath, this did not steal his joy, his zest for life or his charms! He was an active, curious boy who loved any form of social interaction. Although he only spoke a few words, he had his ways of always getting his needs and opinions across and often managed to get some laughs and from the staff. Assi left us at the age of 12 years and although we mourn his death, we celebrate the fact that he was a well-loved, nurtured and appreciated child. Assi’s memorial service was a special occasion –we could look back on the life of an inspiring boy who was very much loved and who taught us so much about appreciating the gift of life and the people around us.

Dealing with very sick children can be tough. Although we see many little ones leaving our facility as chubby, healthy children, there are always the few in between whose stories end differently. However, we are thankful for the opportunities to love these little ones and give as much quality to their lives as possible. Yesterday a little, out-of-breath boy was walking outside when we noticed a butterfly in the bush nearby. He immediately tried to get everyone’s attention to the little bug, pointing and babbling in baby-language, incredibly excited about his new discovery. Children have such an ability to open our eyes again to celebrating life, bringing a joyful atmosphere to our home and reminding us to appreciate every day for what it brings!

January News

The past two months have been buzzing at Themba Care. We have had an overwhelming response from the public in terms of donations. People have come from all over Cape Town donating clothes, food,  toys, Christmas presents and more. Our offices were often overflowing, reflecting the generosity of all those around us. Consequently, our children received LOTS of gifts from Santa at both of their Christmas Parties. They thoroughly enjoyed both parties and got spoilt rotten! Thanks must go out to all those who were involved in organising these parties for us. We are overwhelmed with gratitude and a BIG thank you goes out to all who contributed in every way to us this festive season.

Many of our children got to go home for Christmas to their families, and we welcomed them all back on the 7th of January. Christmas and New Year was temporarily quiet at Themba Care. With the arrival of most of the children on the 7th, things are slowly getting back to order as we recover from “The Christmas Chaos”.

So far we have not had any new admissions, and some of our children will soon be returning home, healthy and happy. For them, 2013 promises to be a good year.  We too, look forward to 2013 and all that it brings.

December News

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.