Gala dinner raises R750k for Pediatric Care Africa

It was an evening of incredible talent and extraordinary generosity from the Lowveld’s medical fraternity, all in the name of charity.

Dressed to the nines in beautiful gowns and dashing suits, many of the area’s medical professionals and various special guests gathered at Kavinga Guest House on Saturday April 22 to attend Busamed Lowveld Private Hospital and the Lowveld Medical Art and Culture Society’s (LMACS) second-ever gala event in aid of local charity Pediatric Care Africa (PCA).

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The evening raised R750 000 for PCA, an organisation dedicated to providing life-saving surgeries, medication and food to children in need, and also raised R180 000 towards a brand-new wheelchair for the Lowveld’s own “Brave Lotus Flower”, Tracy Todd-Heine.

This was also thanks to the extreme kindheartedness of an assortment of Mbombela’s doctors, specialists and other members of the healthcare sector.

And while the event’s main function was to raise funds for a good cause, it also sought to showcase the outstanding artistic and musical talents of several medical professionals based right here in the Lowveld.

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The venue’s decor was, in itself, a work of art. Old X-rays cut in the shapes of leaves and flowers hung from the light fixtures and were used as placemats, while paintings, photographs and sculptures and poems, created by the Lowveld’s own doctors and specialists, adorned the walls.

The evening’s programme was a mix between a canapé competition, judged by GT Lundie of Zest Restaurant, readings, musical items and food-and-wine pairing by the winemaker Beyers Truter of Beyerskloof Wines.

The musical entertainment included both classical and modern music with various Lowvelders playing the flute, saxophone, guitar, piano, violin and harmonica.

It was just before the first course was served, however, that some of the event’s most touching moments occurred.

LMACS’s chairperson, Dr Attie van Wyk, asked Todd-Heine’s husband, Roy Heine, to assist her with her electric chair onto the stage. He then donated R40 000, which he had received from a friend to donate to a person of his choice. The emotional moment caused a chain reaction, and several guests continued to donate to Todd-Heine. Andrew Bullen of Doug’s Hiring donated R30 000 to PCA.

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Van Wyk then called up 15-year-old Shanique Sam, who has type 1 diabetes. She has been a patient of his since she was five. Van Wyk emphasised there are moments in a doctor’s room that will trigger a special relationship between the doctor and patient, and this included the day he met Shanique. He donated R60 000 toward her insulin pump and continuous glucose monitoring for a year.

The PCA’s founder, Dr André Hattingh, and his wife, Joyce Cromvoets, were then called up to the podium where Van Wyk told the couple and the attendees that Sun Pharma had donated R350 000 to PCA and R25 000 to Todd-Heine.

Van Wyk said although the gala was over, an external raffle is still being run to help generate more funds for the PCA. The raffle tickets cost R500 each. Those who enter could win the following: a weekend for two at Kings Camp worth R60 000, a midweek break for eight at Nahyeeni Lodge, Inhaca Island, Mozambique worth R50 000, a two-night stay for two at Garden Hotel, Umhlanga, KwaZulu-Natal, a one-night stay for eight, plus two game drives at Seldom Seen Lodge (self-catering), a gift voucher and a two-night stay for six at Kalahari Guest House in the Northern Cape, a two-night stay for two at Suncoast Hotel in Durban and a sushi platter for two at Cicada.

The raffle will run for the next two weeks. To purchase a raffle ticket and find out any more information regarding the raffle, WhatsApp Walda on 083 635 5989, Louise on 082 453 4543 or Joyce on 076 392 2177.