The Sarah Fox Children’s Convalescent Hospital’s milk room and mothers’ room were given a much-needed refurbishment, thanks to an international Christian-based organisation.
Members of the Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem in the Western Cape did the official handover of this initiative, on Saturday March 18.
The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem is an international self-governing and independent body with its own constitution.
Its members are all of the Christian faith, and are in good standing within their denomination.
The much-needed upgrade could not come at a better time, as the milk room, where 300 milk formula bottles are prepared every day, was condemned by the Department of Health.
Professor David Beatty, a representative of the board of Sarah Fox, expressed his gratitude at the formal handover ceremony.
“I am overwhelmed by the generosity and diversity of the people in the Order. This hospital serves children in need, and food and sterility and milk are critical. Historically, we never had mothers here.
“Therefore, the mothers’ room is groundbreaking. Children need their mothers, and there is a philosophy that it is easier for staff to do their work in some ways, when mothers are here. We want to thank you for taking this on, and assisting on an ongoing basis,” Professor Beatty said.
Tamra Capstick-Dale, who heads up the Order in South Africa as its Grand Bailiff, said during the handover that the money needed for the upgrade was raised through crowdfunding on social media.
She added that Sarah Fox and Christine Revell Children’s Home, are the two institutions that the Western Cape chapter of the Order supports.
She thanked father-and-son team Tim and Shaun Moffitt for their contribution in making the upgrade possible.
“Our next project would involve the upgrade of the play area outside,” Ms Capstick-Dale said.
The Order, with its current membership of 7 000, dates as far back as the year 125 BC, and its traditional humanitarian activities are in the field of leprosy.
From the First Crusade the Order protected the weak and helpless. This continuing concern with the care of the people in need made it a Hospitaller Order as well as a military one.
Members of the Order, small in numbers by comparison with other such organisations, form a world-wide body dedicated to the ancient Hospitaller chivalric mission.