Foundation launches dream rooms in hospital
PARKTOWN – A foundation which focuses on fullfilling children with life threatening illnesses' dreams is in partnership with Standard Bank to launch dream rooms in major hospitals all over the country.
Some brave and strong little souls may find themselves faced with life-threatening illness but it does not mean they shouldn’t have dreams.
The Reach For A Dream Foundation, which focuses on fulfilling dreams for children in such situations, marked their 30th year of doing so at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital (CMJAH). They made the celebrations even more special by launching an exciting new campaign where they created dream rooms for patients and their families as some of the major academic hospitals in the country.
Reach For A Dream chairman, Mervyn Serebro said he had been privileged to be part of the foundation which was enriching the lives of children. “We help fulfil six dreams every day and that is every day of the year. Where there is hope, patients and families will get on the road to recovery. We had a dinner to launch the 30th-anniversary celebrations and that was where we came up with the Dream Room project and we raised funds for 16 dreams that night,” said Serebro.
He added that they initially had a vision of 30 rooms but they have since realised they might need about 20 more. “Each room came at the cost of about R300 000 and these rooms are so critical because they act as a tiny sanctuary for a family and patient to connect away from the constant hospital movement.”
Paediatric pulmonologist at Charlotte Maxeke, professor Debbie White said being at the hospital reminded people that most people cannot always afford even the basic needs. “We work with children who have various lung diseases and asthma and most of them become oxygen dependent and may fail to thrive. Sometimes the families of these patients are urged to provide dietary supplements which they mostly cannot afford,” she explained.
White further added that the hospital handed out food parcels comprising of non-perishables every day through the spaza shops. She added that the Reach For A Dream Foundation came into the picture to also assist in granting these children’s dreams and wishes with some of them having gotten Playstations, trips to Durban and met their ‘superstars’.
David Pike from Standard Bank which also contributed to making the project possible, said they did not want it to remain a money project but as more of a way of enriching lives through giving.
Head of Department for Paediatrics and Child Health at CMJAH, Prof. Mphele Mulaudzi said she had attended the foundation’s dinner and was glad it wasn’t just a table talk but a reality. She said, “It is not just the dream rooms but the dreams given to a child and fulfilling their rights to play that inspire. Hope is a placebo effect and somehow the playing does impact on the improvement of their health.”
Details: Reach For A Dream Foundation www.reachforadream.org.za; Charlotte Maxeke Hospital 086 001 1000.
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