Project 04/2017 St. Josephs Home for chronically ill children in Montana/South Africa

St. Josephs Home Montana/Südafrika

On February 13^th, 2017, the members of the  Board of the Dieter and Bettina Wulkow Foundation (Dieter and Bettina Wulkow) had the opportunity to visit the St. Joseph’s Home for chronically ill children in Montana, a suburb of Cape Town in South Africa. CEO of the St. Joseph’s Home, Thea Patterson gave them a very warm and heartily welcome. Thea Patterson did not only show and explain to us in great details the task and the aim of the children’s home; moreover she took us around the St. Joseph’s Home and introduced us to all the wards and her staff members.

(Photos: by our own and St. Josephs Home for chronically ill Children, Montana, S.A. with the friendly consent for usage)

In 1935 the St. Joseph’s Home was established by Pallottine Missionary Sisters in response to a need to care for orphaned and vulnerable children left destitute after the Great Depression of 1930. In the years of 1940’s the Home and the number of children grew rapidly to 120 children, all receiving nursing care, rehabilitation and education. Some of these children came from hospitals in the  districts close to Montana/Cape Town. A kindergarten and a primary school became integral part of the St. Joselph’s Home. In the beginning  of the 1950’s the St. Joseph’s Home was relocated from Philippi (a designed black area) to Montana as the Group Areas Act forced the Sisters to leave Philippi as white and coloured children could no longer be cared for in a designated black area. In the following years a training course for nursing auxiliaries a nursing school had been established in offering training for nursing auxiliaries in response to a steadily increasing need to care for more than 120 children. Today more than 50 nurses, carers, therapists and volunteer nurses rehabilitate the chronically ill children suffering from conditions such as HIV/Aids, TB, cancer, heart-lung-kidney-respiratory failures, neurological impairments and congenital abnormalities. Most of the children stay at St. Joseph’s for between 3 to 6 months, providing 24-hour general and specialised nursing care, multi and inter disciplinary rehabilitation regular access to medical treatment in hospitals including pastoral care and parental education, transport to and from hospitals and on site accommodation for parents and follow up home visits after discharge for rehabilitation patients. The St. Joseph’s is a child centred Home and they subscribe to the rights of the child as contained in the UNCR. 

The home is guided in all their actions and decisions by the “Best Interest of the  Child”  and  is equipped with all  necessary clinical facilities including  leisure  facilities  to provide best possible care for the chronically ill children. Most of the patients come from the Cape Metropolitan area and many of them from Western-Cape region.

The model of St. Joseph’s is holistic in that addresses that the physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, educational and social needs of the children. A team of health care professionals work together with the parents/family/caregivers to facilitate the child’s healing and development. 

The St. Joseph’s Home forms a part of the Community based Services (CBS) of the Department of Health  and  receives a subsidy  of  117 beds, out  of 140. Therefore  the  home,  a  registered  NPO (Non Profit Organization) relies greatly on fundraising activities, sponsorships and private donations/contributions  to cover  the  costs  for the 140  beds and the care of the  patients  and  the education of the skilled nurses, auxiliary nurses and care workers.

We  were  touched  by  the  suffering  of the  little  patients  nursed in the St. Joseph’s Home  and we could see the cherishing dedication of both the staff as well as the Managing Board as demonstrated in the care and treatment of every child.

We thank so much our sub-donors, especially a Croatian woman doctor and a renowned Sensoric company in Cologne, who remitted to us a generous donation for the purpose to use this contribution for the medical treatment and care of ill children in Africa. The Dieter and Bettina Wulkow Foundation supports the St. Joseph’s Home for chronically ill children and add moreover with own funds the  contribution up to 35.000 S.A. Rand (appr. 2.600,- €).