Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital billboard unveiled
As part of the Nelson Mandela Day celebrations, The Nelson Mandela Children's Hospital Trust yesterday, 18 July 2013, unveiled a billboard on the actual ground of where the hospital will be built.
Wits University has donated the land where the hospital is going to be built. The hospital will be in Parktown near the Wits Medical School in Johannesburg. This means patients will have access to world-class health care through collaboration with other medical institutions. It will also be easily accessible by public and private transport as well as by air.
The billboard is special in that every time more money is raised, the barometer on the billboard will be adjusted accordingly. Everyone can be part of the fund-raising process and be able to keep track of how close the hospital is to being a reality.
Sibongile Mkhabela, CEO of the NMCH says that, in every aspect of the design, the building puts the children and their families first. We have also taken special care to consult paediatric nurses, doctors and therapists who have comprehensive experience and understanding in what the children would need to have a comfortable and positive stay at the hospital.
Open, bright and non-institutional space
All the wards are on the first floor level with low-set windows that look onto views over Parktown, Wits University and the green courtyards. The result is a space that is open, bright and non-institutional.
Once complete, we can look forward to a warm, ground-breaking space that not only promises to never turn a child away, but give them the nurturing care and surroundings to help them get better quicker.
"It will be an important part of Madiba's legacy. Every contribution from the public, however small, will be a way of thanking him for his immense contribution to bringing us all from the old to the new South Africa".
"It will be a living and continuing memorial to this great legacy as well as providing a second chance to our children who suffer from severe illnesses", concluded Mkhabela.
South African citizens looking to donate can SMS the word GIFT to 40301 (Terms, conditions and network administration costs apply, SMS cost R20) or go to www.nelsonmandelachildrenshospital.org.
