A makeup company made two little hospital patients feel a lot better.
Cosmetic company Clinique helped put a smile on two children faces at the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital in Parktown when they handed over a cheque for R19 800 to the Smile Foundation at the hospital’s Ward 275 on 5 March.
This was part of Clinique’s Happy Day initiative which performs random acts of happiness. The cosmetic house began their initiative on 7 December when, on the day, R100 was donated to the foundation for every bottle of Happy fragrance sold.
The operations executive director at the Smile Foundation, Moira Gerszt thanked the cosmetic company. She said the donation would finance facial paralysis surgery for two children which costs about R10 000 per patient. The procedure includes pre-surgery and counselling.
The foundation began 14 years ago after a personal request from former State President Nelson Mandela to the Lubner family to help him secure surgery for a young Thando Manyathi, who suffered from a rare medical condition causing facial nerve paralysis also known as Moebius Syndrome.
Dr Ron Zucker and Dr Craig van der Kolk were invited to the country to transfer the surgical skills of their techniques to local medical practitioners.
The foundation has changed the lives of over 1000 children.
Communication and public relations manager at Clinique, Natasha Bennett thanked their customers whom, she said made the donation possible.
“If the consumer didn’t purchase that fragrance, R100 would not have been donated, we are exceptionally thrilled,” she said.
Facial paralysis is loss of facial movement due to nerve damage, which results in facial muscles drooping or becoming weak.
This usually happens on one side of the face, the most common cause is Bell’s palsy, an idiopathic disease.
Nursing staff in ward 275 were also treated to beauty pampers and gifts by a team from Clinique.
“Not often are they recognised for the dedication they offer the kids,” said Bennett.
