For the past 3 months I have been volunteering at Brooklyn Chest Hospital working with the children that have TB. The children that I worked with are mostly babies and have endured so much in their life. These children are brought to the hospital where they receive treatment for their disease. The hospital tries their hardest to provide the necessities for these children, but the government does not provide them with enough financial means in order to run efficiently. They are only provided with a certain number of diapers a month, with leaves these babies in dirty diapers for hours. The children also have a very limited amount of toys, and the playground outside has dangerous hazards that can cause harm to the toddlers.
For two days a week I went to the hospital. We were only given two hours there, but during our time we were able to play with the babies and feed them. They seemed so happy for the short time we were there and cried every time we left.
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| Inam |
Last Saturday we had our final party for the children at the hospital. The volunteers raised money to buy toys, diapers, and treats for the kids. These things brighten up their day. While we were playing outside with bubbles, balls, stickers and trucks, all the babies had smiles on their faces. Even though these objects will not last the patients forever and most of them will still be in the hospital for months trying to overcome this life threatening disease, it was a great feeling to make all these children happy for a day.
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| Jacqui and her baby |
Saying goodbye to them was extremely difficult. It was very sad to know that the next time I will be in Cape Town, these children will no longer be at the hospital and I will have no way of finding out if the children were able to overcome TB, or where they are in their lives. After putting the babies back in their cribs, we had to leave as they cried themselves to sleep.
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| Crazy Paul Harris |
I truly appreciate the work that the nurses and volunteers are doing for these patients. They are not making a lot of money, but they are helping children that have their entire life in front of them. I believe that this hospital will find sponsors in order to continue their operations and continue saving lives.
