The Wynberg Campus of Schools today announced that as part of its commitment to give back to healthcare workers, it will be donating funds raised by the four campus schools to create an outdoor break area for the staff of the Western Cape Government Health Victoria Hospital.The four Campus Heads, Mrs Dee Cawcutt (Wynberg Girls’ Junior School – WGJS), Mr Cedric Poleman (Wynberg Boys’ Junior School – WBJS), Dr Jenn Wallace (Wynberg Girls’ High School – WGHS) and Mr Jan De Waal (Wynberg Boys’ High School – WBHS), met with CEO of Victoria Hospital, Mr Jonathan Vaughan to hand over a letter of commitment and to see the space earmarked for the break area.
Also in attendance were the four service pillar representatives of the schools – Nabeela Sali, Service Pillar Head at WGJS, Jessie Theys – Service Pillar Head at WBJS, Jenna-Morgan Mouton, Service Pillar Head at WGHS and Christopher Kleynhans, Service Prefect at WBHS.
In February, the four schools made a public display on their fields as a token of thanks to healthcare workers all over the world, for the sacrifices they have made during the Covid-19 pandemic. The schools committed to raising funds via civvies days in aid of their local healthcare workers – and to date, over R60 000 has already been raised.
“One hundred percent of these proceeds will be donated to Victoria Hospital to build a “reflective space” for staff to use as a lunch break area,” says Dee Cawcutt, Principal of WGJS and spokesperson for the Campus. “As a Campus, we focus on values-based learning, and believe that our values of persistence, resilience, and reliability to name just three, are values that are also shared by healthcare workers. Over the last year, they have taught the world what these values truly mean. We find it only fitting to create a space for them to take a break, to re-group, to re-energise and to practice a little self-care.”
Mr Vaughan says that one of the biggest focus areas at Victoria Hospital this year is on the mental wellbeing of the staff. “The Victoria team has done extraordinarily well over the last year in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic amid the already existing pressures of providing healthcare to a large community. We want to make sure that we look after their mental health, and this space will help us do just that. We are very grateful to the learners and families of the Wynberg Campus of Schools for showing their gratitude in such a generous way – and we look forward to working together over the coming months to make this dream a reality”, he says.