Cape Town - The Tygerberg Hospital Children’s Trust (THCT) hosted a week-long inaugural Preemie Festival supported by various stakeholders to raise awareness, funds and rouse support for babies born prematurely.
The festival, which came to an end last night with a special gala, saw the trust – in partnership with the City, Lagoon Beach Hotel and Cape Media – raise a substantial amount of money and garner support from the public through a host of engaging activities throughout the week.
THCT CEO Jason Falken said: “Celebrating WPD is something we do every year out of love for our babies born prematurely. This year we wanted to extend the celebrations, to be able to do more.
“Preemie babies are special, and they teach us the meaning of resilience and the courage to overcome. We wanted to honour their endearing spirits through a world first, the World Preemie Festival series of events," said Falken.
Tygerberg Hospital provides specialist medical care for more than half of the babies and children in the province. Annually, almost 15 000 babies are admitted to the ±300 in-patient beds at Tygerberg Hospital.
City spokesperson Luthando Tyhalibongo said: “The work done by the THCT to support new mothers with premature babies is in line with our efforts to educate and raise awareness of neonatal and antenatal care services at our facilities.
“We are delighted to support an initiative that helps others, and we encourage residents to assist in the efforts to raise funds for this cause.”