By Own Correspondent
Cape Town –The China Construction Bank (CCB) has adopted the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital as a beneficiary for upliftment programmes.
As the CCB Johannesburg branch celebrates its 20th anniversary since its establishment in South Africa in 2000, it said the hospital remains a cornerstone of child healthcare in southern Africa and is the first stand-alone tertiary hospital in sub-Saharan Africa dedicated entirely to children.
Chief executive of the Children’s Hospital Trust, Chantel Cooper, said: “We have developed a special relationship with the team at CCB and look forward to their visit every year.
“We are deeply grateful for their support as their donation and their presence makes a very real difference to the Red Cross Children’s Hospital.”
In addition to protective masks donated this year, the CCB will contribute 500 snack parcels to be distributed to children cared for by the hospital. It said it intends to maintain close contact with the hospital staff to offer further assistance when possible.
“The hospital is dedicated entirely to children and manages 250000 patient visits each year.
“Most of these patients are from poor and marginalised communities and one third are younger than a year.
“The hospital’s patients are referred from the Western Cape, the rest of South Africa and the continent.
“It also provides training to paediatric health-care professionals from the entire subcontinent and does important research into the illnesses of childhood, which has global impact,” the CCB said.
Cape Times