AS AN early Christmas present for the children of Tygerberg Children’s Hospital School, the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation yesterday handed over a R40 000 upgrade of the school’s playground.
The colourful playground is now equipped with a trampoline, swings and a tree house. The once bland walkways have been transformed into painted roads for the children to ride bikes and walk along.
In November, the foundation hosted the Leah Tutu Unsung Heroes Award. Proceeds from an auction at this event were used to refurbish and paint the school’s play area, and for an additional donation of R15 000 to the Tygerberg Children’s Trust.
The hospital school serves as a bridging facility while the pupils are patients. It offers multi-grade and multi-language classes. Teachers strive to keep the children on par with their schoolwork as far as possible while they are in hospital. During an average year, the school teaches between 1 300 – 1 400 children, and follows the national curriculum.
Principal Susan Potgieter said: “To be in hospital is never a good experience. We treat the children as learners and not as patients. The school is a known experience for them and we speak the language they understand – not 'hospital' language. The school has grades from 1 to 12 and also accommodates high school learners with psychiatric disorders.
“While they are here and in not too much pain, we go to the wards, we fetch them and we bring them down to the school, where they have a normal school day. They have break, and this is why this is so wonderful, for them to just be children again… Here we don't talk about their illnesses,” said Potgieter
The Tutus are Patrons of the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital. Over the past two years, the foundation has refurbished a playroom and the dining area in the Kangaroo Mother’s Ward. Legacy Foundation project manager Dean Jacobs said: “To be in hospital as a child is really not fun. So we tried to make the playground as inviting and safe for them. We have committed to do a lot more for the playground… When they come here, when they walk into the ward, it is doom and gloom… We believe in spreading a little bit of joy.”
Malcolm King, the Tygerberg Children’s Hospital Trust funds procurement manager, said it had more than 300 children’s beds and admitted about 15 000 children yearly. “The big project we are busy with is the upgrade… of our ICUs,” he said.