Gallery: Tutu visits Tygerberg Children's Hospital
By Mary-Anne Gontsana
Singing a popular hymn, the Desmond Tutu Tuberculosis (TB) Centre Choir opened the ninth annual Tygerberg Children's Hospital Interfaith Thanksgiving Service yesterday, at the hospital's Disa Hall.
Decorated with flowers, more than 100 candles and a big screen displaying cancer and TB patients, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu sat in the front row alongside his wife, Leah, with a big smile on his face.
Tutu and his wife have been patrons at the Tygerberg Children's Hospital The service was conducted to give thanks to the staff for their dedication and hard work in caring for patients.
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Beth Engelbrecht from the Department of Health said: "I am very proud to be here today and to look back on how far this hospital has come. Since the construction of Tygerberg Hospital, it has admitted 55 000 patients with 20 percent of those being children."
She said the reason Tygerberg was such a success was that the staff lived and believed strongly in equality, meaning they did not discriminate and it did not matter where you lived or what you were suffering from.
Tutu led the service, firstly greeting the audience, which consisted of patients from the children's ward and the choir, in three different languages.
"Even though so many bad things are happening in the world out there, I just come to this hospital and it warms my heart because everyone here cares. The staff are doing an amazing job," Tutu said.
He praised everyone, from the doctors to the management team, for their work.
Tutu and his wife have been patrons at the Tygerberg Children's Hospital for seven years since its construction in 2002.
Before the service ended, there was a candle ceremony, where everyone was invited to light a candle to pay tribute to all their loved ones, those who had died and those who were still alive.
mary-anne.gontsana@inl.co.za
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This article was originally published on page 3 of Cape Times on November 19, 2009
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