Health

Health, the promotion of physical well-being and actions designed to educate South Africans about the scourge of HIV/Aids and related diseases, is an important part of the Eskom Foundation’s diversified corporate social investment programme.

Autism is estimated to impact 270 000 South African children who are forced to rely on the limited resources of seven schools for specialised assistance and care. Parents of autistic children, who wish to know more about the affliction, therefore often turn to Autism South Africa, a non-profit organisation, for information and assistance.

The organisation, in an attempt to meet demand for information, has established a resource centre and library which offers parents and medical professional’s access to 1 000 books, 80 facts sheets, the Internet, informative DVDs and videos. It also, through the British National Autism Society, reprints and translates a range of booklets and distributes more than 7 000 copies of a 48-page newsletter known as “AUT – TALK” which is packed with informative articles.

The Eskom Development Foundation assisted Autism South Africa with office furniture, computer equipment and material required to make the resource centre a reality.

The Msengi drop-in-centre

Created and driven by unemployed women in the remote village of Ximawusi in Limpopo, the Msengi drop-in-centre cares for 103 children infected with HIV/Aids and vulnerable children such as HIV/Aids orphans from the poverty-stricken area.

Providing “parenting” and guidance to the children, the women operate from a building owned by the Department of Agriculture. The Eskom Foundation supported the work of the centre by equipping the kitchen, a vital part of the operation which ensures that the children receive fresh nutritious meals instead of canned foods.

The Laphumilanga home-based care centre

The Laphumilanga home-based care centre for HIV/Aids orphans in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality in the Eastern Cape enjoys the support of major corporate sponsors including the Eskom Foundation, which makes a practical contribution to the home through donations of blankets, stoves, beds and household equipment.

The Sunflower Fund

The Sunflower Fund recruits bone marrow stem cell donors for a national registry. Potential donors are asked to undergo a blood test so that tissue-typing can take place for patients suffering from life threatening blood disorders like leukaemia.

A donation from the Eskom Foundation has enabled the Sunflower Fund to tissue-type 659 potential donors and make significant progress in reaching their target of testing 100 000 potential donors.

Vlakbult home-based care

Vlakbult home-based care was established in the underdeveloped area of Mdladla in Mpumalanga in April 2005. Since there is no clinic in the area, the project secured a house which is used as a centre for orphans and children in child headed households that have no one to take care of them. The centre also offers a weekly clinic and plays a parental role by providing food parcels, school uniforms and cooked meals to over 300 children.

The Eskom Development Foundation made a donation to fence off and secure a larger area for Vlakbult’s vegetable garden, which supplies the kitchen for the cooked meals provided in the food parcels and additional income for the care workers.

CS Medical & Relief (Bethesda hospice)

CS Medical & Relief runs the Bethesda hospice in Rosemore, George, providing essential palliative care to terminally ill TB & HIV/Aids patients. The hospice also accommodates and treats TB infected children for the mandatory six month period prior to being released back into the community.

Eskom was approached for a donation towards erecting a partition dry-wall to create a much needed reception area to receive visitors and a medical PI gauge for use in TB treatment.

Autism South Africa