|
RED CROSS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL CARE PROJECT
This rewarding Care project takes place
in the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in South Africa.
The Red Cross is the only dedicated Children's Hospital in
sub-Saharan Africa. Children of all ages from a few months to 12 years
old attend the Hospital for specialised treatment. Internationally it is
regarded as the 'one-stop shop' for excellence in child health care and
treatment.
The Children’s Hospital is affiliated to the
University of Cape Town and is a leading teaching and research
institution. The first liver and heart transplants on children in South
Africa were performed in this hospital, as well as other groundbreaking
achievements.
|
►SUMMARY
FACTFILE |
| Start Dates |
All year round - you choose your
start and finish dates! |
|
Duration |
2 weeks and up to 1 year, subject to visa
requirements |
| Requirements |
No qualifications required, just a
love of children. |
|
Price |
From £895 /
US$1,345 for 2 weeks, ranging to £2,695 / US$4,045 for 12 weeks.
Full Price List and other
Currencies |
| What's included |
►Accommodation
►Food
►Meeting you at the Airport
►Transfer to your accommodation
►Full pre-departure support
►Local in-country team support
and backup
►24-hr emergency support
►Two free T-shirts. |
|
What's not included |
Flights, Insurance,
Cost of Visas (if a visa is required, but we'll provide necessary documents and
assistance),
Return transfer to
airport, Transport to and from your
project. |
|
Who can do this Project? |
All our projects are
open to all nationalities.
Unless otherwise stated, you need to be aged between 17 and 70+ |
PROJECT OVERVIEW
These children need every
bit of love and attention they can get. The Matron and staff of the
hospital are very grateful to have you there to help because, according
to the Matron, “the kids love having volunteers from overseas around
because they’ll be new faces who can tell them new stories about their
own country”. Even something as simple as entertaining the children with
stories lifts their morale and helps the healing process.
As the
staff at the hospital have mentioned many times, having the volunteers
give the children some extra love and care is wonderful … but the extra
hands are very welcome as well.
WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PLACEMENT:
You'll learn a lot from experts in your field
about how they work in a culture that is very different to what
you're used to.
New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding
of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional
development.
An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head
and shoulders above most others in the job market
And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!
WORK CONTENT:
Some of the work at the hospital on this Care project can be
overwhelming at times because some of the children suffer from AIDS/HIV,
which is even more reason why the children need love and attention. Your
main tasks and responsibilities will be to visit the children, hand out
toys, play and interact with them, and give them lots of comfort and
love. You may also assist with general non-medical support, e.g.,
accompanying a patient to another department, collecting folders and
fetching food, etc, or assisting the pharmacy area or clinics where
patients wait for their medication (which can often be for long periods
of time).
You may also assist in various out-patients departments as
administrative support, or assist in the fund-raising shop where your
duties would be to sort out and sell a range of donated goods, such as
household equipment, clothing and books, that cannot be used in the
wards.
Your hours may vary insofar as they will be subject to shift rotas.
Therefore, you may sometimes work evenings or nights, sometimes over
weekends, etc., but you'll have time off on other days instead.
A Brief Description of Typical Work Duties our Volunteers Perform:
During the morning you'll generally be in the toys room to pack your toy
trolley. Your supervisor at the hospital will inform you which ward
you'll be in for the day. They will also inform you of any wards that
are out of bounds due to infection diseases. Once you have determined
which ward you're going to, you'll be able to stock your trolley with
the appropriate toys.
You'll then join the ambulant patients in the play room where you'll
distribute the toys. After that, you can give individualised attention
to specific children. This is where volunteers are so valuable to
both the Hospital and the patients - the personal care and attention.
And you'll find that the children crave the attention and fun you can
give them. This session will usually last for most of the
morning and afterwards you will be expected clear up and return the toys
back to appropriate place.
Sometimes the Hospital will hold concerts and events to entertain the
children. Children love these performances and you will play an
important role by escorting the young patients to these events.
"Just wanted to drop a quick note at the end of my
placement at the Red Cross to say thank you for all the organising that you put
into it. It far surpassed my expectations and I was able to gain hands on
experience in all areas of the hospital. The staff were very friendly and
accommodating, and I was given access to stuff I just wouldn't have managed in
the UK. My host family too have been quite incredible, treating me like their
own son, which has no doubt augmented the experience."
Andy Hamilton
ABOUT THE RED CROSS CHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL
Established in 1956, the Hospital has
become a major centre for paediatric medicine and surgery in Africa. The
Red Cross treats up to 300,000 children each year, from South Africa and
beyond its borders.
The Red Cross Children's Hospital is the
centre at which undergraduate and postgraduate medical students receive
their core training in paediatric disciplines. Specialist paediatric
nurses and allied paediatric health care providers, such as
physiotherapists, child psychologists, speech and occupational
therapists are also trained here.
The Hospital is equally active in
preventative health care, and plays a critical role in educating
community health workers, thereby facilitating the exportation of models
of good practice to the community. Several services are provided,
including education of children, parents and community health care
workers in, for example, HIV, Aids, family planning and contraception,
rehydration and nutrition.
The Hospital has also established and
maintains three significant national information database resources:
- The Poisons Information Service
- The Childcare Information Centre
- The Childhood Accident Prevention Foundation of South
Africa (CAPFSA)
The new medical emergency entrance was
completed in June 2001. The new specialist outpatients wing was built in
phases and completed in June 2001. The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s
Hospital’s new specialist outpatients and medical emergency facilities
is a lasting symbol of community generosity and fundraising success. The
staff education building was completed in 1998 and includes the Johnson
and Johnson Hall for functions and lecture rooms for the training of
nursing staff.
The “Ikhaya la Rotary” (Home of Rotary)
section was completed in 1998, specifically to provide accommodation for
out-of-town parents whose children are being treated at the Hospital.
The Ikhaya has rooms of all sizes, ranging from double rooms to rooms
with 6 bunks … and all 63 beds are often in use! The rooms are
comfortable in the hopes of alleviating just a little some of the stress
of having a child in hospital
The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s
Hospital performs many operations on children, e.g. Conjoined twin
separations, liver and kidney transplants, to name a few. The theatres
are busy 7 days a week, 24 hours a day.
This
care placement is not suitable for medical
undergraduates or graduates unless you are prepared to accept the
limitations of the project.
|
|
|
List of
all CARE projects in South Africa
Red Cross Children's Hospital
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
OPTIONAL ADD-ONS
Parents Accommodation |
.
