This last year has been amazing! As a committee, we are extremely pleased with the progress we have made in a number of areas, which was very evident in the projects we were able to undertake and the enjoyment they brought to the patients. Friends of Umgeni was founded in 1978 by members of the local community, and now 38 years later, we feel very privileged to be able to continue the amazing work that they started. Firstly, we want to warmly welcome our new committee members who joined us this past year. We are delighted to have you on board!
Here are a few of the highlights of 2015.
The highlight of the year was securing a large donation from Hulamin which we used to purchase Madiba Buggies and RoHo cushions to be used by the Physiotherapist and Occupational Therapist to correctly seat patients who were previously confined to bed. Everyone was so excited with the receipt of the Madiba Buggies. One of these buggies are used to seat a young man who, due to his deformities, had been bedridden for more than 3 years. He is now able to sit up during the day and experience the small joy of eating his food in an upright position as opposed to lying down! It has allowed patients like him to leave the confines of a stark ward and experience the sun and see the blue sky, his joy was contagious and a very special moment for everyone involved.

Few people are aware of our very own hospital band, comprising a few extremely talented patients (one of whom is blind) and who periodically get the opportunity to play at functions in the local community, as well as at all the festive events like the Hospital Christmas Lunch and New Year dance.
Recently it was brought to our attention that the piano accordion was very old and so FOU kindly donated a really good second hand one to enhance their music. The previous year we replaced the drums.

As the hospital has very well kept cricket and soccer fields, we decided to purchase a new full cricket kit to encourage the patients who are interested in sport to make use of these facilities. The hospital’s PRO Ayanda accepted the kit from our Chairman Dr John Tungay.

Once again The Royal Show was a resounding success and FOU was able to sponsor a number of patients with R70 each for entrance tickets, and lunch. Each year a few of the patients work tirelessly on their crafts, which are exhibited and entered in the craft competition. They get great pleasure attending the show and seeing their crafts on display and finding out how they fared in the competition. FOU sponsored part of a fun day at Butterflies for Africa, after which they all went to Mc Donald’s for burgers and chips!

As few of the Howick community are aware of “Friends of Umgeni”, we erected two large bright yellow sign at the hospital entrance which has been received positively. Beautiful benches (made out of recycled materials) were recently purchased and can be seen outside most wards for the patients to leisurely sit in the winter sun, these were an absolute winner!
One of our recent projects was replacing the curtains on 52 windows at Saamstap, which is the geriatric ward. Lorraine, one of our committee, tirelessly helped with the never ending curtains!
The nursing staff and patients were very supportive and appreciated all our hard work.

Although 2015 has been a busy and very productive year, it is far from over and we still
have much to do. Obviously our hands are tied without funding so once again we are
appealing to you, our kind supporters, to please continue with your generous donations.
Regardless of what the amount is, every cent is put to good use and monitored carefully by
our team of dedicated volunteers.

Revamping the new Ward 2 for bedridden patients so we are decorating with wall murals,
bed comforters, curtains and ceiling mobiles all in an “Under Water” theme with different
kinds of fish and shells. it’s sure to be a winner!

A very exciting Hydroponics project to grow vegies is underway, with the support of Rotary
to whom we are most grateful. It’s still in the early stages but we are confident that it will be
completed by the end of this year.
We have undertaken to upgrade the gardens most used, with indigenous flowering shrubs
and plants. A huge project but one that no doubt will be greatly appreciated by patients and
staff.
Other projects are our normal annual Christmas party which, with the help of the
community, we are able to give each patient an individual gift in a handmade bag and lots
of delicious eats. The Easter and New year parties are also a great success.

If you feel you can assist with any of the above, please contact me on 082 459 2743 so we
can arrange to meet with you. Any help is greatly appreciated! Perhaps you would like to
consider being on our committee, which consists mostly of retired volunteers and one or
two staff members? You don’t have to be an expert in anything, but rather a willing person
with a passion to help those less fortunate!

God bless you,

Kind regards

Bev Habermann
(FOU committee member)
info@friendsofumgeni.co.za