Cape Town - Young patients and staff at Victoria Hospital were presented with plush toys as the Stormers rugby team paid them a visit.
With their campaign “Make Cape Town Smile”, the team took the initiative to visit the hospital’s paediatric ward. Despite the day being dedicated to patients and staff, others showed up just to meet and greet the players. Some were wearing their rugby jerseys and carrying flags and rugby balls to be signed by the Stormers.
Victoria Hospital’s CEO Jonathan Vaughan said: “We requested for the Stormers to come and visit our hospital, visit our patients and staff. They were very happy to come. There’s two reasons why they are here. One is just an encouragement to our staff for working very hard, under very difficult circumstances.
Another reason is to visit our paediatric ward and hand over presents.”
From the team, Ernst van Rhyn said: “The squad is split in two, half of the guys are here and half are at Red Cross. It’s all about giving back. One of our big missions is to make Cape Town smile.”
With babies who could not speak for themselves, mothers took the platform to thank the Stormers for their kind gesture.
A mother to a one-month-old baby girl, Charne van Boom said: “This is the first time that I am meeting the team. It is a privilege and a nice gesture for them to give our children toys. We were suppose to be discharged today, but it was changed to tomorrow. I guess my baby and I were meant to meet them.”
Paediatrician Dr Kele Khowane said: “This is a state hospital seeing a lot of underprivileged communities. This day comes as an opportunity for the children who would have never otherwise had this opportunity to meet people that they can aspire towards. This day means so much to us because it changes the children’s mindsets.
“We are about children that are healthy, children that are thriving, and this for us, it's about exposing them to life’s possibilities beyond the hospital and their communities,” said Khowane.
siviwe.melapi@inl.co.za