Two weeks ago, Stepping Stone Hospice received a generous donation of children’s nappies and nappy bags from the Avril Elizabeth Home, all in the spirit of ‘paying it forward’. The handover was done on 20 April at the hospice’s In-Patient Unit in New Market Park by Salome Smith and Jenny Ford from Avril Elizabeth.

Said Sr. Sheryl Newman at the time: “We know of young patients at places like Lambano, which provides care for children with life-limiting and life-threatening illnesses. We support Lambano as a hospice and just as the Avril Elizabeth Home has paid it forward to our hospice, we will do the same.”

Lambano Paediatric Medical Step-down Facility/Hospice opened its doors in 2009 and is a 16-bed facility that focusses on children who suffer from critical health problems, including HIV/TB, renal, cardiac, brain damage, burns, respiratory, genetic defects, neonatal and cancer. 

“Our needs are great,” said Lyn, who runs Lambano on a sparse grant from the government and, like Stepping Stone Hospice and Avril Elizabeth, relies heavily on the generosity of donors and the community. “Besides love and care, my children need what all children need – the basic essentials like food, toiletries and clothing – plus there’s the cost of medical supplies, qualified nurses and our supporting team of caregivers.”

Said Stepping Stone Hospice’s CEO, Tersia Burger: “Today’s handover at Lambano serves as proof that organizations such as theirs, ours, as well as Avril Elizabeth, will have to rely more and more on each other in future, as funding becomes increasingly difficult to come by.”

For more information about Lambano, visit www.lambano.org.za.

Caption: Giving back and paying it forward to another hospice – what a great way to commemorate Hospice Week (1-8 May). From left to right: Jenny Ford and Salome Smith (Avril Elizabeth Home); Tersia Burger and Sr. Sheryl Newman (Stepping Stone Hospice) and Lyn Croote (Lambano)